Quote:
Originally Posted by ThirdOfFive
Finally, and this is really not political but a fact, there are some jobs that Americans either can't or won't do. 80% of the workers on farms are foreign born. We need people to harvest our crops, vegetables, fruits and nuts. According to farmers in many parts of the country, Americans won't do this backbreaking work regardless of pay. There are other occupations as well with very few American-born workers.
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I was thinking yesterday (appropriate for the day, I guess) about "The Greatest Generation"; the Americans who survived the Great Depression, fought with our allies in WW 2, and later helped America become the greatest economic powerhouse that this planet has yet seen. I remember Mom talking about how people pulled together during the depression, in particular a time when my grandmother was too ill to do what needed to be done, and a neighbor (Irene) doing their laundry. Doesn't sound like much except that Irene lived over 1.5 miles away and walked to my Mom's house, carried the laundry back to her house to do with hers, washed, dried and folded it, and returned the laundry in the same way. Using gas for the trip was unthinkable and detergent cost money. That was just one example. She quoted many others, and that was just in our little community.
Dad also talked about taking odd jobs whenever he could find them and helping his family farming when he wasn't working. Far northern MN is incredibly poor farming land and no family could make it up there just on farming so he took work for pay whenever he could find it: tree planting with the CCC, sawmilling, a whole lot of other things, all hard work. and VERY little pay.
Today, we see statements like the one quoted above. The sad part is that it is all too true. Americans won't. But would they, if they had no other choice?
Maybe what this country needs is another Great Depression, where folks either pull together or die. "Backbreaking" work was not only the order of the day, but people lined up for it and took it gladly when offered. You don't become great if you live from handout to handout, after all.[/QUOTE]
When I was in college, I worked part-time on a janitorial crew in the winter and outside maintenance in the summer. I swept floors, learned to use a buffing machine, used a mop and bucket quite often, even stripped and sealed floors. Sometimes I had to clean bathrooms. I didn't enjoy that, but bathrooms had to be cleaned and I was a janitor. In the summer, I picked up garbage and cut grass all day long. Meanwhile, I was also going to college and making sure I kept my grades up.
This was not unusual for the 70-80's. I think it is unusual now. I graduated from college with no student loan debt and a bachelor's degree and my days working these kinds of jobs were over. Still, I think they provided me valuable experience and built my work ethic and I also know what it's like to show up every day for an unskilled labor job, punch a clock, and work as part of a crew. I never took a day off and I showed up every day on time. It was good for me.
Things have changed since then. I am not going to be like one of those people who say "back in my day" blah blah blah. The whole world has changed. We didn't walk around with cell phones or have social media in those days. I am not going to blame anyone, I just think things have changed.