Holidays are for the slaves……..

[user 22017]

Tx pointed out something I wanted to post about days ago, but saved it in Notepad instead. Not sure why I did that, but here it is:

It means we get to spend time with family (and friends) who are still working.

Indentured servitude was repayment (to a ship captain) for passage to America and lasted roughly 4 years. How are the requirements between the two the same? (today's jobs and indentured servitude)

You are forgetting that many people love their jobs. And for government workers, most have benefits, numerous "holidays" off from work, paid vacations, etc. But even in the private sector there are many interesting professions that people love. Some people just love to work.

In order to not end up in a job you hate, it's vital that you not make mistakes that can become a barrier(s) to achieving what you want. Like having kids at a young age, having too many kids, getting in debt via car payments, credit cards, a substance abuse problem and/or a mortgage(s).

Anyway, yeah, some jobs suck (esp. in the U.S. versus Scandinavia and many European countries).

Lastly, seems you are assuming your lifestyle is superior to that of others. I know what you mean about being free from a 9-5, but I know others love their jobs and the comforts of a home, bed, central air and heat, plumbing, indoor toilets, etc.

 

[A Wing and a Prayer]

The next holiday I am celebrating is Christmas and for me it is time to celebrate what Jesus did for me coming into the world. I asked my family if they were okay with not exchanging gifts this year and they agreed we don't need anymore "stuff". And so with that and the fact that I am newly retired I can finally focus on what's important this Christmas without all the hustle and bustle.

 

[AtlantaGuy]

The other side of that coin is the rather large percentage of the people earning money who have actually enjoyed a CAREER as opposed to just working a job. Many, if not the vast majority, make a good living wage, or way above that, and actually ENJOY the work. Many keep doing it beyond normal retirement age...imagine that. They dont feel enslaved at all, many of them actually prefer to keep working...it's the satisfaction they get FROM the work...the challenges, the day to day excitement, the interaction with co-workers, customers, etc.

Think about doctors, lawyers, actors, commercial pilots, entertainers, singers, teachers, craftsmen such as painters, carpenters, builders, photographers, tradesmen such as welders, bricklayers, plumbers, electricians, truck drivers, railroad engineers, mom-n-pop business owners, entrepreneurs...and the list goes on. Lots of these people keep doing their 'profession' until forced out due to health, rules, laws, changing circumstances, etc.

Many of the guys and gals I worked with over the years can easily afford to retire, but simply choose to keep working...they are making good money and it sure as heck beats sitting at home in a rocking chair watching 'Oprah' or 'Judge Judy'.

The ultimate example of this is that rich guy who plays with bird apps, electric cars and rockets. I forget his name(!) But if anyone can afford to not work, it would be him. Yet he keeps on working. Why would that be? Because he enjoys it. Plain and simple.

Hold on now. There is very little that beats Judge Judy.

 

[Spaceman Spiff]

Holidays cause increased anxiety & depression for much of the population: .....

That is an indictment of our culture, not holidays. We have let Madison Avenue redefine the meaning of our holidays:

Christmas -> Xmas, the celebration of greed​

Thanksgiving -> Turkey day, overindulge on food and football​

The day after (black Friday), prime the greed pump.​

Other holidays are just an excuse to get away and play our toys, no thoughts for the reason for the holiday.​

Knowing people in other cultures has taught me that the poorer the people the more joyous and important holidays are. These people have a far better understanding of what it means to celebrate a holiday.
If you want to understand a good meaning of gift giving, read: 'The gift of the Magi' by O. Henry.

As to work: There are more than 200 people who have to go to jobs that are boring, repetitive, uncomfortable, and sometimes dangerous to enable us to afford the vehicle we are driving. In order for a society to function at any level a lot of people have to do unappealing jobs. If you found a job that you enjoy, give thanks. The reality is that most people in this world don't have that luxury. If you can supply your needs without having to work, you are wealthy.

 

[BelgianPup]

I wonder if the OP will be heading out somewhere to suck up the food provided by society's "victims"?

 

[Thomas]

When I was working I used to wonder if retirees enjoyed their weekends and holidays as much as I do (did). I left the workforce over a decade ago at age 49 with a little military pension and savings. Now every day feels like a Saturday. I enjoy everything much more because there is no time pressure. This Spring I was feeling low over the situation in Ukraine, so I walked up the road to the little church and found Jesus - best thing that ever happened to me. I now work on lots of projects, but I donate my labor. Never been happier. When I finish my DIY RV in a couple months I'll probably use it primarily to attend revivals.

 

[eDJ_]

The first time i read the OP it took me back to elementary school days in my musings. So many boys learned to measure the school year by the "holidays" when they could be away from school and be free as they were in the summer. And I was in elementary school before they combined all of the "February's Famous People holidays" (days we got off in February) into "Presidents Day" which gave us one day off in place of many. We were out of school most of February back then....and we loved it. And we had the three summer months off thus having a measure of freedom to compare and judge against the short school year holidays. Years later I would hear these referred to as "Hallmark Holidays".

The point I'm trying to make here is that so much of the formation of our needs, emotions, and behaviors as adults may harken back to our childhood in school days. Most of us have heard the idiom, "The Child is Father of the Man" and part of our "child" may still reside within us. I've listened to grown men and women groan like kids about having to come in on a Saturday and work to help the office get caught up where circumstances have caused it to lag behind.

I've also listened to the families of "the principal bread winner" who is more married to "it's" work than wife & family. This principal may not feel it's a slave but the family may feel they are in bondage owing to the principal's love of it's career occupation.

Similarly people at work often come to feel like slaves if they serve under an over bearing boss or a fellow employee who is a hard worker and tries to push others to work as they work. They may feel that not giving it 100% every minute on the job is to be "living in sin". Most of us are familiar with that type whether we've worked with one or heard others speak of the one they worked with.

A lot of us enjoy our work but in any organization there are those who can take the "joy" out of it quickly.....and leave the rest of us looking at the calendar for the next interlude of escape to freedom in a long chain of years before retirement and final freedom. (but even this is rather dated & old school)

The future may look more like this for today's younger workers:

10 Biggest Entrepreneurship Trends to Watch in 2022 and 2023

 

[Dingfelder]

What does it say about us, who are living 'free' off of the 'slave' labor of others?

These 'slaves', the people who get up at 5am to go to an unattractive job are the 'heroes' who make van life possible. We are the idle rich who are living off their labor. So, what's contemptible?

I get up at 4 a.m. to go to an extremely filthy, unattractive job that pits workers against workers and management against workers(health care) for the benefit of SURELY not patients but absolutely for the corporate overlord investment class.

And I've been contributing to social security all my life, since the 80's(but before then in my case) the second highest tax most people will ever pay -- and a non-progressive one to an extreme degree.

I've never owned a home. I've never had adequate savings or been free from fear. I've contributed to the system since I was working on the books at 15, and off the books and for considerable hours including a full day's work since I was 9.

I don't mind contributing to others. After all, I'm childless and have been doing so all my life, since a child myself. It's good for society, in the long run. (I guess??? Or so I've been told to believe.)

I just want to be able to get something back for all I've paid in over a lifetime of promises and little reward for always doing the right thing while so many others rich and poor profited around me without a dollar coming my own way from all my own thankless and disregarded work and public diminishment as anyone worth considering while still paying good money for the rich to have their toys and their wars and tell me what a piece of crap I am.

 

[Dingfelder]

Hmmm...as a nomad forum noob Im still learning and identifying the consensus mechanism(s), protocols, or incentives that elicit engagement and perfunctory participation.

But with one of my undergrad degrees in communication and a thesis/research focus on compliance gaining that facilitated an accomplished career as a financial intermediary and MBTI:ENTJ-A that spent almost three-decades pitching, closing, and nurturing professional services contracts with two-thirds of the Fortune 500, countless SME's, and the public sector as well. Which ultimately, I believe allows me to offer unique contextualization to this thread.

I acknowledge that we're all proud of the freedom, or perhaps "compulsive privilege" we enjoy to go wherever, do whatever, whenever we want. But language matters, and "slave" is a complicated word that has traditionally been a tool to subjugate, disposes, and deprive our human family of the inalienable rights we've all been endowed with by our creator with a blunt dehumanizing noun. In his brilliant "The Soul of America" Jon Meacham calls slavery and indigenous relocation our collective Original Sin that requires atonement.

Additionally, holidays are how we reconnect with family that is usually our strongest link to our past.

So there's my opinion added to the cacophony. Thank you for letting me share.
Happy holidays everyone.

Best CC

I'm not even sure what that opinion was.

 

[bullfrog]

^^^ To me it’s saying some who come here are just trying to survive after trying to live the American dream. Many do not know how, want to or are able to deal with living simply. Many of the formerly middle class are lucky to make it to Social Security age physically or mentally able to retire, both of which make it easier to live a simple nomadic lifestyle. The lack of affordable housing and inflation makes it impossible to live debt free while trying to continue living the American dream. For the majority of people in this country this is the case it seems and many like me continue to work although hopefully at jobs they enjoy in places they want to be well into their 70’s if they want to stay financially independent. Social Security is not enough to continue to support the lifestyle they attempted to live while working.

 

[tx2sturgis]

There was a post directed at me that was full of hate, because I simply said that some Americans actually LIKE the job or career they have. I didnt say ALL or MOST...I said SOME. And I actually enjoyed my career...otherwise I would not have done it for 40 years.

I did not delete your post, but it deserved to be deleted, no one is allowed to post hateful comments here.

For that person who is 100% sure they are right and I am wrong and out of touch, sir...I submit these links:

https://www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/2016/10/06/3-how-americans-view-their-jobs/
https://www.zippia.com/advice/job-satisfaction-statistics/

 

[dustytrailhead]

Holidays are for the slaves is titillating, provocative, inflammatory,…, what!? It’s bait.

 

[Ric G]

The next holiday I am celebrating is Christmas and for me it is time to celebrate what Jesus did for me coming into the world. I asked my family if they were okay with not exchanging gifts this year and they agreed we don't need anymore "stuff". And so with that and the fact that I am newly retired I can finally focus on what's important this Christmas without all the hustle and bustle.

You and I are a alot alike!

 

[INTJohn]

Fun in the sun for evah!
jonny boi livin the dream

 

[dhuff]

That is an indictment of our culture, not holidays. We have let Madison Avenue redefine the meaning of our holidays:

Christmas -> Xmas, the celebration of greed​

​

A quick PSA...

The "X" in "Xmas" is the Greek letter chi, and "Christ" in Greek is χριστός (chrīstós), meaning "anointed one". So it's perfectly legit, and traditional, for Christians to use that abbreviation.

Now back to our regularly scheduled programming.

 

[Dingfelder]

There was a post directed at me that was full of hate, because I simply said that some Americans actually LIKE the job or career they have. I didnt say ALL or MOST...I said SOME. And I actually enjoyed my career...otherwise I would not have done it for 40 years.

I did not delete your post, but it deserved to be deleted, no one is allowed to post hateful comments here.

For that person who is 100% sure they are right and I am wrong and out of touch, sir...I submit these links:

https://www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/2016/10/06/3-how-americans-view-their-jobs/
https://www.zippia.com/advice/job-satisfaction-statistics/

I'm sorry you had to experience hate, if that's indeed what you experienced. That's a very subjective thing, though. It implies mind-reading, which nobody can do. And it's hyper-politicized to a degree which could not possibly be overstated.

I hope we can all be understanding, if not outright generous to each other on this worthwhile forum. If not, well, I guess that's the tenor of the times. But we have to be careful not to contribute to it ourselves.

Your differentiation between some and all is eminently fair.

Good on you for providing links when in opposition to whatever someone said. I still support anyone's right to disagree of course, even with me.

Sorry you had a bad time. Unfortunately, the entire purpose of a forum would be defeated if things that were out of line not only popped up from time to time, but were in fact tolerated within reason. The open market of ideas is a fractious and sometimes unpleasant one. But if it wasn't, it would be nothing close to either open or welcoming, much less worthwhile.

 

[Dingfelder]

Hold on now. There is very little that beats Judge Judy.

The only thing I've ever seen hold her back is receipts.

 

[Dingfelder]

There was a post directed at me that was full of hate, because I simply said that some Americans actually LIKE the job or career they have. I didnt say ALL or MOST...I said SOME. And I actually enjoyed my career...otherwise I would not have done it for 40 years.

I did not delete your post, but it deserved to be deleted, no one is allowed to post hateful comments here.

For that person who is 100% sure they are right and I am wrong and out of touch, sir...I submit these links:

https://www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/2016/10/06/3-how-americans-view-their-jobs/
https://www.zippia.com/advice/job-satisfaction-statistics/

By the way I just looked for that post and couldn't find it. LOL oh it must have been mine! Because I just looked in my notifications and found a deletion with a "message" attached.

AND YES IT WAS DELETED.

Seriously dude, get a thicker skin. This is getting ridiculous on your part. HATE? Jeebus cripes, that is nuts.

AND your saying I gave you anything remotely like hate is as honest as your saying you did not delete the post.

So where is it?

You could always repost it and let everyone decide for themselves instead of your ruling from on high without giving anyone fair chance to respond. Oh heaven forfend ...

Start covering your tracks, I guess, by deleting this one too. Keep scrambling frantically and being dishonest. God forbid anyone have a truly open discussion and decide for themselves, or holey moley perhaps decide to disagree or say hey wait a minute now, let's not get carried away. Now THAT would truly be and define "hate," right. Nice try.

THIS is exactly why so many very good people have left this forum after over-zealous, illegitimate, disingenuous moderating.

 

[user 22017]

By the way I just looked for that post and couldn't find it. LOL oh it must have been mine! Because I just looked in my notifications and found a deletion with a "message" attached.

AND YES IT WAS DELETED.

Seriously dude, get a thicker skin. This is getting ridiculous on your part. HATE? Jeebus cripes, that is nuts.

AND your saying I gave you anything remotely like hate is as honest as your saying you did not delete the post.

So where is it?

Knowing Tx as a Mod, most likely he left your post, but another Mod deleted it because it violated forum rules.

 

[tx2sturgis]

Again, I did NOT delete your post...yes it was deleted, before I even saw it. But as mods we can look at posts that are removed or on hold for approval. I retained a copy of it.

Here is the deal: Stop now. I am NOT your target. NO ONE on this forum is a target for bullying, and certainly not me. No further warnings.