Western civilization, as a whole, finds itself caught in this trap. One wonders if there is anywhere left in our declining order where youth, strength, and ambition might still find an outlet for achievement and greatness.
American Greatness
I pulled myself up by my bootstraps a half dozen times over. And I resent every minute of it.
Hard work does not, in itself, improve character. For a talented and spirited young man, especially, doing menial labor for pitiful wages under idiot supervisors not only fails to build character—it can destroy it.
Man does not exist to labor for the sake of laboring. Work must serve a purpose. It must be fit to the nature of the one doing it. The modern liberal bureaucratic corporate state—with its hatred of excellence, beauty, and strength—actively seeks to destroy the natural hierarchy of labor and laborers. More
“For the highest and best human types, work might not even be tangible at all.” Of course, the smug, conceited asshole writing the article includes himself in that category.
One of the many aspects of character building, in doing manual labor as a young man, is I developed a respect for those who do such work. A respect the author seems to lack. Even as an old man, I enjoy the satisfaction I get from seeing the results of my labor.
” Nobody ever drowned in their own sweat ”
Gaspar Perricone….one of my childhood heroes….
Interesting. He has a radio show at Hillsdale, appears to be a conservative in every way. He says that he worked a lot of manual labor and that he grew from it – but he worked 4 months at a job just because he had spare time prior to Basic Training, instead of enjoying that time, so now he thinks that smart people shouldn’t do menial jobs.
Some the people I admire most did menial jobs to put themselves through school, and through getting started in their careers. It does add a lot to a person, in fact I regret not having done more myself.
Also interesting: At 72, about the only thing keeping me alive is hard, manual labor. The more I do (and keep doing), the better I feel.
He made his own choices. He can only blame himself for any regrets.
Nothing ventured, nothing gained.
That being said, some of his rant does have merit. I found early on that I was my own best teacher. I taught myself how to build and fly model airplanes which manifested itself into flying helicopters in real life. I taught myself how to shoot firearms and how to make my own…..etc., etc.
If I have only one regret in life it is that I lack in self-confidence. People who know me and hear me say that usually look at me funny like I’m delusional or something.
Boy, wouldn’t my life improve 10K fold if I only focused on the dreary portions of my life? … Of any laborers life? I did my time, glad to have contributed, but I chose to focus on the accomplishments and the people I was helping out.
Lawns must be mowed, dishes must be washed, food must be cooked, pig shit must be shoveled – See ‘dirty jobs’ – the work that makes up the core of life.
Some are not designed to program computers, design vehicles, bridges or buildings. Some are capable of only doing menial tasks. This does not take away from their integrity and ability to be successful. One may not be able to buy a yacht, or a vacation home in the mountains, but it will put food on the table and keep a roof over your head.
Menial labor also encourages learning and moving up in the world, if you so choose and if you are able. It may suck, but much of life sucks. If you focus on that, it destroys hope. Once hope is gone, there is no moving up the ladder.
It all comes down to one simple fact, did your parents instill a work ethic in you?
A work ethic is 2 pronged; getting satisfaction and purpose from the sweat of your brow, and striving for excellence in its application.
I retired at 50, and did well for myself financially so I was lucky enough to walk away. That was over a decade ago but I still do odd jobs officiating at weekend tennis tournaments. I don’t need the money but it is really hard to turn off the need to work and some days it’s damn hard, but I always feel good afterward. Being productive is its own reward.
He sounds full of resentment that he isn’t a trust fund baby.
He also doesn’t seem to understand the Bible.
God said the ground is cursed, not hard work.
Sounds like he needs a long vacation in Venezuela.
beachmom
AT 1:48 PM
“God said the ground is cursed, not hard work.”
…indeed.
And never forget that the most terrible of living punishments God chose to inflict on Cain, the world’s first murderer…
…was to cause his labor to be in vain and to make him into…a tourist.
“12 When thou tillest the ground, it shall not henceforth yield unto thee her strength; a fugitive and a vagabond shalt thou be in the earth.
13 And Cain said unto the Lord, My punishment is greater than I can bear.”
Genesis 4:12-13
My first thought was What a whinny little snot. Then I decided he wasn’t worth a second thought
My wife grew up with money. She went to a private high school where the richest kids in the Bay Area went and had at least half a dozen friends who live off their trust fund, and never worked a day in their lives. Most are single, divorced, or alcoholics, with lives unsatisfied and unfulfilled, but at least they ain’t poor.
I honestly think that Sean Hannity, who reminds his audience every day that he did menial work, and look at him now. He did roofing, sheet rock, painting and wallpapering. Young people resent having to show up, and they let you know it too. I put my panty hose on everyday, fought 2 hours of traffic to get to a job that I didn’t particularly like, but I did it. Had nothing to do with character, it had everything to do with survival.
People these days won’t walk two blocks.
America is growing fatter & fatter.
80% of black women over age 17 are obese. Think about that?
No wonder black guys are down with the White women.
Nothing more satisfying than being exhausted in the evening when I’ve done a hard days work.
The gym can make you feel similar but it’s not the same.
It’s a different world and will only go back with an EMP.
Rich Taylor at 1:47 pm
It all comes down to one simple fact, did your parents instill a work ethic in you?
——————–
What was instilled in me from my parents was the fact that “if you don’t work you don’t eat.” My father also instilled in my brothers that if you don’t stay in school, you will be digging ditches the rest of your life. One brother listened, the other didn’t. Ironic, my brother passed away April 1 a few years back, he didn’t listen. He was a drifter his whole life.
The main benefit of menial labor, much like minimum wage jobs, is to realize how much it sucks. It provides the impetus to get more education, and more experience so that you can do something else.
The author’s tone is pessimistic, but he does make some good points. If you don’t like what you are doing, take steps to do something else. This is a principle I sometimes find myself violating – I don’t want to be a quitter, and sometimes it’s easier to stay in a bad or mediocre situation than do something else.
Menial labor is a fact of life; it usually sucks, but it must be done. But you don’t have to be stuck there the rest of your life – get off of your ass and do something about it. Or consider it training for what you ultimately want to do in life.
It’s only ‘menial’ labor because you believe it to be menial.
willysgoatgruff at 1:22 pm
” Nobody ever drowned in their own sweat ”
Gaspar Perricone….one of my childhood heroes….
Absolutely! Just look at the way the human body was designed. Without it, NO meaningful menial or hard labor would be possible!
Thus, all we see around us (buildings, houses, machines, sewage and rainwater, power and energy systems, etc, etc, etc, et al. would never have been possible. Sweat and the final product is the reward, which has made the human race better off by being able to buy other people’s sweat and labor.
The brain was attached to the human body so that we can learn how, and the best way, we should sweat and toil to achieve goals and dreams.
My first job was putting boats together for minimum wage, 50 yrs later I’m still putting boats together although not for minimum wage, just a little more & I get a new boat every year.
First, Mr. Entitled declares, “the Bible itself presents menial work as a curse.” No, sin upended the natural order, so that as man disobeyed God, so nature—that which men were given dominion over—disobeyed him. Menial labor is the natural result of sin, but can be sanctified by men. Certainly being a carpenter would be well beneath this “thinking man,” but God did not think it beneath Him. This guy worked a few summer jobs before going into the marines after graduating Hillsdale. Now, he is getting his useless PhD at the Graduate School of Statesmanship. His interests? American foreign policy and the intelligence community. The life of hard toil might, indeed, be a “peasant’s life,” but it has put food on the table for generations, while men like him pontificate war and break families. Finally, where did he ever get the idea “the old should sacrifice for the young?” Perhaps parents for their children, but I won’t be sacrificing for anyone who claims I should just because he has not toiled in the dirt as long as I have. This guy has ZERO skills other than being able to read. When times get hard, it won’t be men like this society needs. Shame on Hillsdale for educating such a creature.
I’m 66 years old and I waitress 4 days a week and I thank God I have 2 jobs that I can go to and do that otherwise I’m sitting in my room alone and depressed some of us need to work to be with people
Most people get good at what they do, unless they are government employees with few exceptions.
Some in the comments section of the article wonder if this is parody, but I don’t think it is; it’s generational. And I thought the baby boomers were the most coddled and spoiled generation. What generation is this guy anyway? Millennial, Gen X? Either way, he still has a lot to learn.
Let the economy continue on it’s current trajectory and let’s see if the fucker can fend for himself. He wouldn’t know where to start.
I found the read insufferable. Writing by a person who believes he is just about above it all, once he gets that paperwork he will be above it all.
He believes himself competent to editorialize on the value of labor to the man and the relative value of straight muscle labor versus brain labor, as though the things are comparable in any real way. He likewise fails to recognize quality in any sense I can determine in his little essay. Quality results from applying knowledge and brain power to muscle labor in this case. Highest and best? Suck willie, boy, you telling me the credential makes the man? Look at the quality of our credentialed class from edge to edge and for the love of God show me a competent actor on that stage.
One of my deepest social annoyances is the physically idle person pontificating on the various qualities of people who are performing physical work. Even if a person worked for a few months here and there at labor, that person has no place discussing the merits or demerits of a life lived doing physical work. He is not competent though he arrogates such competence to himself through his lack of valid experience and his reliance on credentialing by other individuals whom he has paid to do just that. If I was a snowflake I would say he triggered me.
https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/580714-an-excellent-plumber-is-infinitely-more-admirable-than-an-incompetent#:~:text=%E2%80%9CAn%20excellent%20plumber%20is%20infinitely%20more%20admirable%20than,its%20pipes%20nor%20its%20theories%20will%20hold%20water.%E2%80%9D
I have always enjoyed physical labor. Am able to think while working.
After high school, I worked at an auto parts store for 18 months. When I realized that wasn’t going to get me where I wanted to be in the future, I joined the USAF. I had wanted to do that from the time I was twelve. I had a prestigious job that required a high level of work ethics and a natural skill for the work. In the Strategic Air Command, you were constantly evaluated on your military bearing, competence and sense of urgency when performing your duties. I wore my dress blue uniform and worked around very high-ranking officers every day. Colonels were a dime a dozen in the underground command post at SAC. I loved the work and I knew I had a natural talent for it. It was very rewarding. I was encouraged to stay in the USAF or go to work as a photo interpreter at the National Photo Interpretation Center near Washington DC as a civilian. I wanted to go back home and raise my family in an environment of stability. After looking for a job in chemical plants for three days, one of them hired me as a laborer. I was expected to do whatever they told me to do no matter how menial. I knew it was getting my foot in the door for a better job and I had a wife and small son to support. It was dirty, back-breaking work much of the time, but I was young and people were depending on me. I took on work that I wasn’t asked to do to try and secure a better position. There was a huge shower room in the change house that was so filthy that it was no longer used. It had a hard layer of crusty buildup that took years to form. I acquired the chemicals and tools necessary and began to clean that shower room. It took all weekend, but I was making overtime and I needed all I could get. On Monday, when the regular employees came in to work, they thought the shower room had been demolished and rebuilt. They could not believe the transformation. The plant manager was brought in there and he couldn’t believe it. I offered to paint every office in the administration building on overtime and he approved. I made good money that my family and I needed. On my 90th day as a laborer, I was offered a position as a process operator with Pennwalt Corporation with great pay and benefits. I spent the next 35 years working as a process operator, 32 of them with Mobil and ExxonMobil. I retired ten years ago, today, having just turned 59. I did it for the people who depended on me and that gave me a good feeling. I wanted to be like my dad because he did whatever it took to never let his family down. He worked in a petrochemical plant for 41 years to provide for his family. It sounds to me like the guy who wrote this article is one self-centered SOB. I hope he never has children. He doesn’t deserve them.
The one thing missing from the author, by self admission, is character. I guess the Marines will take anyone.
When I was in High School I had a part time job doing janitorial work in an office building. I didn’t particularly care about the work (the ladies room was a bit unnerving) but I was lucky to have the job so I tried to do my best. Having a little spending money in my pocket didn’t hurt either.
The author of this screed is an abject moron. Reading this piece of verbal trash puts the reader at risk of a sudden and notable IQ drop. Hard work NEVER EVER hurt ANYONE.
Read between the lines.
This young man is angry at his parents and doesn’t want to admit it, and so is generalizing. He doesn’t seem to be so much railing at menial work but railing at doing it unnecessarily to the exclusion of having balance in his life or being encouraged in other ways.
The guy is gay, that’s all.
The article is the result of a Marxist infested education – from kindergarten through college. The guy has no idea his mindset is based on a communist perspective.
Besides the poor grammer and sentence structure, you can tell he pronounces his disdain for “menial” work as if he were a cadre leader. He regards work that requires physical labor beneath him. A futile effort with no possibility of advancement and a function meant only for proletariat class.
The ex-Marine obviously is not one of the few good men the military branch aspires. He doesn’t have any allegiance to our country. He seems frustrated that the freedom loving and individualist society which defines America doesn’t appreciate his elitist restrictive concept he regards as perfect way to control society so there will be no deviation or originality.
This country is in great peril because the author of this article filled with progressive garbage is one of millions with anti-American ideologies. Sadly, they are the future leaders of The United States.
Also The Heritage Foundation shouldn’t get anymore support from conservatives if they are fostering woke knowledge.
America has a very bumpy road ahead.
^^^Oops! Meant to say Hillsdale College. Although The Heritage Foundation has been slipping into liberal concepts at times.
As a side note. Excellent points made by beachcomber, The Bible and Soldierom.
Cain was a master farmer. It was his gift and purpose in life. The bounty he presented to God must have been incredible. Cain knew the rules about offerings to God who had a preferential order Cain’s offering did not fulfill, but Abel’s did.
God was not rejecting Cain’s efforts and talents, it’s just that his offering was not the best – not sacrificial.
Instead of accepting and trusting God’s decision, Cain in a jealous, prideful rage, kills his brother Abel.
Cain believed his successes as a farner were based solely on him. He was offended that God is the ultimate authority. He hated Abels obedience.
Being separated from his passion was his only despair. In tyical narcissist fashion he had no remorse or sorrow about killing his own brother.
The legacy of Cain was to be mercifully sustained by God yet he is the architect of corrupt, sinful, deadly societies.
The consequence of willful disobedience only God Himself through Christ can redeem.
Thread Winner!
Rich Taylor AT 1:47 PM
It all comes down to one simple fact, did your parents instill a work ethic in you?
Second Place…
Ghost of Burner AT 3:01 PM
It’s only ‘menial’ labor because you believe it to be menial.
Have done numerous things as “employment / job.” Most always had an asshole for a boss (self employed). Tried retirement three times and failed all three times. “Go do something…” she said. Working a part time job as I type this that “pays” less than I can remember making in any other “job.” Can make more dollar wise in one “sale” from old career than two months labor where I’m playing now. Still, I don’t turn that away when I get the call, it’s cash.