Dear readers and fellow bloggers:
Good morning. We wish all our fabulous working relatives and friends a great May 1st, their day. Today we especially remember those that every day toil in countless working places to make our modern societies work smoothly for all of us citizens. Without them, we would not survive a minute.
Note. This reproduction of Ford Madox Bown’s Work (1863) was taken from Wikimedia Images. The original painting is located in the Birmingham Art Gallery, United Kingdom.
By Ford Madox Brown – 1QG5Dp3Ti29BxA at Google Cultural Institute, zoom level maximum, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=29657515
After these terrible months, we should appreciate the sacrifice and efforts of millions of workers worldwide that defied the dangers of this still ongoing pandemic to keep us well fed and clothed. In our upcoming book Emotional Frustration – the hushed plague, we argued that society owes much more than a mere recognition to all of them, but rather increased wages and social benefits. We hereby enclose an excerpt of our book for you to read. Please let us know your valued opinion.
‘This zoonotic disease, which passed between animals and humans, was propitiated by a global trade of wildlife, agricultural intensification, deforestation, and urbanization that are bringing human communities in a much closer contact with wild animals’ habitats. These critical issues must be urgently addressed by all nations in international forums with real powers to regulate and enforce.
Another major upheaval is the change of the socio-economic coordinates of most societies regarding the labor opportunities that will be offered by employers. The purely physical labor will continue to keep downsizing in the Information Age, especially for positions that can be staffed by people working from their homes. The remuneration of the heroes that are now buttressing communities—physicians, nurses, care assistants, laboratory clerks, fire and police forces, operators of basic services, truck and delivery drivers, re-stockers of warehouse supplies, etc.—must be promptly, justly increased to reflect their real value for our mere survival.
Is a financier fiddling with numbers more valued than your local butcher?
As we are writing these lines, we are hearing the generalized hand clapping of the Parisians, exactly at their 8 PM time through the transmission of Radio France Inter [i] in honor of the medical and nursing personnel of their hospitals.
In a positive twist, the citizenry has stopped to subserviently follow the so-called “celebrities” of entertainment and sports that had polluted all public spaces. Who is the object of their dreams? The scientists that are working to bring a safe and effective vaccine against the Coronavirus. The blessed saviors of Mankind.
In the aftermath of this pandemic, the world all around us will feel “weird.” Many of the familiar physical and spiritual assumptions that anchored our daily demeanor in our societies will either be transformed or gone forever from Reality. Tom Frieden, a former director of the CDC [ii] said: “A new world is here. Hand sanitizers at building entrances, touch-free doors and elevators, health care that results in fewer infections of patients and staff, and similar measures are here to stay. Travel bans and quarantine of travelers will most likely continue until there is a vaccine, Vulnerable people may need to shelter in place even after others have re-entered our new world.” [iii]
Whatever the magnitude of the challenges ahead, we have the firm certitude that our dear women will be at our side. Let us appreciate their precious devotion by enthusiastically giving them their due respect.
As President François Macron said in an address to the French nation:
“On doit se réinventer, moi le premier” [iv]
References
[i] https://franceinter.fr/direct/
[ii] Acronym of the “Centers for Diseases Control.”
[iii] Tom Frieden, “I used to Run the C.D.C. Here’s What It Can Do to Slow This Pandemic”, opinion, The New York Times, April 12, 2020. https://nytimes.com/2020/04/12/opinion/cdc_coronavirus.html
[iv] Can be translated as: “we have to re-invent ourselves, starting with me.” Our translation.
Stay distant. Stay safe. Stay beautiful.
What do you think? Please tell us.
Don’t leave me alone.
On this day, I’d like to strongly commend migrant farm laborers for their very hard work, yet for minimal pay. Here in the Greater Vancouver region, I’ve observed over the last few decades that the strong work ethic exceptionally practiced by them is demonstrably notable in the produce harvesting sector. It’s one of typically hump-busting work that almost all post second or third generation Canadians won’t tolerate for themselves. Observing them, I even feel a bit guilty; considering it from a purely human(e) perspective, I don’t see why they should have to toil so for minimal pay and not also I.
Migrant farm laborers work very hard and should be treated humanely, including regular access to Covid-19 vaccination and proper workplace protection, but often are not. While I don’t favor Canada-based businesses exporting labor abroad at low wages while there are unemployed Canadians who want that work, I can imagine migrant farm workers being fifty to a hundred percent more productive than their born-and-reared-here Canadian counterparts.
I anticipate that if they (as citizens) resided here for a number of decades, their strong work ethics and higher-than-average productivity, unfortunately, likely would gradually diminish as these motivated laborers’ descendant generations’ young people become accustomed to the relatively easier Western way of work. One can already witness this effect in such youth getting caught up in much of our overall urban/suburban liberal culture — e.g. attire, lingo, nightlife, as well as work. I’ve also found that ‘Canadian values’ assimilation often means the unfortunate acquisition of a distasteful yet strong sense of entitlement.
Good morning, Happy Sunday, and thank you for your excellent commentary. We thoroughly agree on your socio-economic assessment of migrant labor in our modern societies. However, we are not as pessimistic as you are. We have witnessed the progressive Americanization of many children of immigrants and many of them are not fatally infected with the “virus of entitlement”. Take the example of the Mexican gardener who comes with his crew once per month to clean our patio. His sons run the company with him and are as hard-working, efficient and affable as he is. Chingada! Eventually they might move up in the social scale but I am sure they will continue to work hard. We hope that the awfully cruel experience of this tragic pandemic will have opened the eyes of many youngsters who are surely looking behind the mere pursuit of entertainment. My two kids are a good example. Their mother and I have been able to instill our culturally ingrained work and study ethic in their spirits. They can now fly on their own anywhere they want, soaring like eagles.
May God Almighty continue protecting your family and mine. Arrivederci,