Servants and Patrons VII

For he satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things.

 - From Psalm 107

It's Labor Day. Today we recognize the contributions made by unsung heroes in our history; people that worked, saved, invested, volunteered, to make the land great. 

Yes, I know. It's more popular to recognize blue collar union people today, and none other. But everybody on the front lines of our economy, doing the manual labor, getting their hands dirty, merit respect on this day. 

Not just union members.

And I would include all middle managers . . . the anonymous people grinding away at their desk, day after day, bringing in sales, balancing the books, writing the reports, doing the research, designing the products. Today is for all people that do the work and get little credit. It's for them.

Research shows that something like 65% of people fit the profile of someone that just wants to do good, quality work for eight hours a day. They do not seek credit for it. Just pay them well and leave them alone when they go home to their families and hobbies. That's the overwhelming majority of people. And it's too bad our government has to be so dominated by people on the edges, on the fringe; people whose influence is unfairly magnified just because they are a celebrity, or wealthy, or a famous sports figure. 

They are not the ones doing the real work, and they are not what today is all about. 

A day off, though, doesn't go far enough. We need to recognize these Real People in our economy, throughout the year. And I believe it's up to families to make sure they're well taken care of . . . especially their kids and elderly parents. 

This is the work of a servant. Servants begin close to home - they help there first, and then they branch out. And servants need support. Not just a day off. They need to be checked in on, and treated as though they are a the CEO of our extended families: a person so valuable that we don't want a competitor to take them away.

Labor Day, like Christmas, needs to be all the year long. And it needs to focus on the Real People making life better for all of us . . . make them comfortable; for they spend their entire lives doing that for us.