This guy is a genius, he’s a National Treasure.
I still remember his poor daughter.
The notion of physical work, or lack of same, also underpins the United States’ massive illegal immigration problem. …It is merely a notion. IOW, a lie promulgated by the left, one among numerous.
Our current elite more resemble the decadent aristocracy of 18th Century France, more suited to the cocktail lounge than the shop floor, much less the field of combat. It will not take a lot to topple them, just the right circumstances. Imagine the current elite if we were in the military situation of early 1942, with the Japanese defeating us at every turn and our first North African expedition resulting in German victory. Picture Obama, or Hillary or Bill Clinton, rather than FDR, in this situation. Any of the three would either give up or go Hitler-level insane.
Plumbers and undertakers....
Remarkable insights in this article. Thanks for posting it!
Bfl
If nothing else, knowledge of physical labor creates an understanding and motivation to invent something to automate that labor. Surely, the first holes were dug with hands. To create larger holes in less time, hands gave way to shovels; shovels gave way to backhoes, and so on.
Great column. The value of physical work cannot be understated.
My job has transformed to where I have to do a small amount of construction on occasion. Today, I’m attending a small trade show for contractors. There’s a bunch of tools in the back of my truck because I wanted to build a new display item for our products.
Most of my colleagues have no clue how to do such things.
Last week, I was having my house re-sided and we found some asbestos panels that needed to be removed. After some research, I discovered that I can remove them myself for free or pa a remediation company thousands of dollars to do it for me.
5am last Thursday found me in a Tyvek suit, rubber boots, rubber gloves and a respirator. I was almost done when the contractors arrived, absolutely exhausted. One of the contractors was a wildfire firefighter and told me that in the field, guys were passing out right and left in similar conditions.
A few years ago, I was on a project and gave a millennial co-worker a project that involved hammering some nails. This kid had never in his life held a hammer.
There is a huge value to the knowledge that you did it yourself.
I'd done lots of manual labor on our family farm, but that wasn't for pay. Somehow that seems different.
“Money had replaced muscle, glamour had replaced grit.”
— John W. Vance; “The Death: Eradicate”
I’m closer to 70 than I am 60 and grew up in the oilfields of West TX with very few of the jobs offered that I haven’t worked. It’s interesting to look at those my age that didn’t grow up in such a physical environment. so many just seem to have wasted away.
When societies blow up or are destroyed from without, brawn is very necessary. No so when you live in a decadent society likes ours - at least, for the moment.
BTTT.
Thank you!
Great Post!
The robots will do it all bleep-bleep
With AI the next group to be ‘freed from labor’ will be the world’s intellectuals - writers, artists, and thinkers.
Sadly the opposite of being ‘useful’ is to be ‘useless’... Not the best of goals.
Hard work builds character.
Robots are coming, which will eliminate the bulk of hard work, in a matter of decades - but really in earnest starting in the 2020’s. It is been a gradually accelerating process throughout the industrial era, but human-like (and superhuman) senses, decision-making, dexterity, mobility and precision are beginning to come together.
How can we still raise citizens with character?
It is realistic to anticipate vast hordes of weak and whiny pampered pansies, growing up without ever manning up for anything, still being able to vote. Democracy itself is at risk when the virtue of the citizenry is lost.
Perhaps making physical education an inherent part of education, physical challenge/adventure part of coming of age culturally, or mandatory military service; might help.
Then again, a culture of rugged individualism/resourcefulness might arise naturally among those challenged by the rigors of colonizing outer space.
Ping
Interesting article. Reading this after my husband left for the job site and while I’m getting ready for my waitressing shift.
Both of us have college degrees and upon graduating, worked in our professional field. I quit to be home with our children a few years later.
Two years ago my husband’s professional career was over and he started his own construction business (he’s honed his skills over the past 20 years) and I went back to waitressing to help out.
We sometimes laugh at how in our 40’s, we are in better shape because of our physical jobs. On busy nights I move as quickly as I can for hours , carrying heavy plates of pasta, then end the night with cleaning up and putting heavy chairs up on the tables.
As hard as that can be it doesn’t hold a candle to what he does day after day. He’s commented on how much more rewarding it is to see tangible results of his labor.
