Dinesh D'Souza’s list of the 10 great things about America. Prof. at Hoover Institution, Stanford University. 3-- Work and trade are respectable in America. Historically most cultures have despised the merchant and the laborer, regarding the former as vile and corrupt and the latter as degraded and vulgar. Some cultures, such as that of ancient Greece and medieval Islam, even held that it is better to acquire things through plunder** than through trade or contract labor. But the American founders altered this moral hierarchy. They established a society in which the life of the businessman, and of the people who worked for him, would be a noble calling. In the American view, there is nothing vile or degraded about serving your customers either as a CEO or as a waiter. The ordinary life of production and supporting a family is more highly valued in the United States than in any other country. America is the only country in the world where we call the waiter "sir," as if he were a knight. **may have been the forerunner of the Democratic party. IMHO __________________________________________________ ugg boots uggs
Well I respect work and trade. I know that without working hard I will have nothing. So I choose to work for what I want.
The laborer has lost a lot of respect in this country in the last few decades. We are taught that we should respect the greedy self-interested class of wealthy athletes, movie stars, and stock brokers. It is often claimed that business elites built this country and made us what we are today completely ignoring the hardworking labor class that are responsible for making this country great. We are the hardest working, most productive people in the world and yet profits are more important than people these days. When a large multinational shuts down and moves overseas, labor is often blamed yet it is profit driving the flight not the lack of productivity or the lack of skills in the labor force in this country. As we are able to do more work with fewer laborers, the people that actually built this country are being cast asunder as if they do not deserve a piece of the American dream. Change is inevitable and creates hardships that can not always be avoided. It can certainly be said that not only do we owe our parents and grandparents a debt of gratitude for building this country into what it is today, but that we owe ourselves and our children and their children a share in the prosperity they worked so hard to give us. Cynical right-wingers believe just the opposite.
dr moen's post reflects the inherent flaws in the liberal mindset. When a business shuts down, it isn't the laborers who are blamed, it's excessive gov't taxation & regulation and the antiquated unions who exploit the workers who bear the blame.
Yes....restricting free reign of the mega wealthy is always at the expense of exploited workers (who actually performed the actual labor that line the pockets of said businesses). Then those businesses go overseas to find penny labor and improve their stock portfolios, so when we bail out their casino debts next time, they'll have even MORE (more...the goal of corporate business.....period).
You would think that Dr Idiot could get something right at some point but alas, David is destined to live his life in ignorance and cluelessness. He is part of the problem because he faults the hard working people of this country for all of off-shoring multinationals are doing at a breakneck speed these days. The real issue is that multinationals can go to places like Indonesia and ignore any kind of environmental issues, pay people a dollar a day, and hire children to work 16 hour days. Yes we have government regulations against those kinds of practices but David is apparently against that. David, why aren't you rushing over to Indonesia to get a job and bringing your kids along with you so they can live the good life too? That's what I thought...for some reason you like it here better. Could it be the quality of life we have due to those government regulations preventing workplace abuses? The only reason you are not working 7 days a week, 12 hours a day is because unions fought for those concessions. They weren't free and you can go back to the workplace abuse days anytime you want. Just move to Indonesia. They don’t teach kids how to spell sweatshop in those countries.
Yes..I think Davey should move to Indonesia and enjoy a life free of those pesky regulations, some place where they aren't an issue.
