LABOR DAZED

Is Labor Day in honor of the American worker? Or pregnant women delivering?

Yes.

Is Fort Bragg recently re-named in honor of a Confederate general or a WW2 hero?

Yes.

Is a whirling dervish our granddaughter spinning and dancing at a recent wedding, or a practitioner of Sufi mysticism dressed in white outfits with cute little hats, hoping for spiritual ecstasy and union with God?

Yes.

But I kind of dig that second thing, now looking for the YouTube video teaching Sufi mysticism – Amazon delivering my white outfit and cute little hat this afternoon.

In today’s world of ‘I prefer my facts to your facts’, and ‘Everything now can mean two things – at least’, why not?

And with the public split 50-50 on just about everything: Tomato/tomatoe, Grape/grape, and Trump/Orange Man, outrage high on both sides of every ‘issue’ – real or not. For me, prompting laughter when I hear the ‘research finding’ that 50% of Americans are opposed to anything – even free money.   

I’m not on social media, so I only occasionally run into ‘outrage!’, which is 27% factual and 84% personal.

As an aside, did you know 73% of statistics are made up on the spot?

And the factual part can also be personal, since ‘my facts’ may not match ‘your facts’. All made more confusing by the firing of the people in charge of the ‘facts’, apparently for mortgage fraud. Or something – the facts a bit muddied.

The ‘facts’ – or at least one version – on Labor Day: Became a federal holiday in 1894 to celebrate the American worker, after a difficult period of strike-busting, child labor, and the first wave of RTO.

It’s timing in early September became the ‘end of summer’, because children went back to school, and everyone stopped wearing white clothing. Oh, and summer ends.

In 1894, labor unions were still developing, but growing over time. Today, are they in decline? Or in un-decline? Under 10% of private sector employees are now union members, but a NY Amazon warehouse and a Starbucks in Savannah have recently unionized, so … Yes.

Unions part of today’s polarized environment: Were the teacher’s unions protecting their members from COVID – If you make us go back to the classroom, we’re all going to die – or just looking for a year off?  Yes.

What role will AI play in the future job market? Will it destroy all jobs, leaving us unemployed? Or will it create new industries making workers more efficient?  

If AI creates new industries that require innovative training, will kids today (would shake fist angrily, but it’s a holiday) still have to ask “Do you want fries with that”?   

And if AI is now handling phone customer service for American companies, will it shorten or lengthen our wait times? Will it cause mass layoffs in India?

Yes.

So, if everything can mean something else, why not a Dual-Labor Day?

Why can’t today also honor mothers giving birth? It’s a holiday, so we’ve all got extra time – I can honor mothers at the beach just as easily.

Mothering critical work, and we all have a mother, who I’m sure would appreciate another sentimental card, and maybe a mimosa.

And while we’re at dual purposes, why can’t:

Columbus Day also honor Chris Columbus, the director of Home Alone;

We tack my recent epiphany onto January 6^th;

Every Friday be a good Friday? Why just one?

All that aside, no matter what you think who or what today honors, it’s still a day off from work – or is it if you’re retired?

Yes.

HAPPY LABOR DAY!