Labor Day – The Importance of Hard Work
In the United States, Labor Day weekend is the grand finale of summer. People rush to squeeze in one last vacation, project, or party before settling into their fall routines. I admit, I do the same thing. But that is not all there is to this holiday.
Celebrating the Hard Work of Change
Labor Day is a holiday whose purpose is to celebrate the achievements of the labor movement in the United States. It celebrates people who saw things around them that were not right and firmly believed that by standing up and banding together to push for positive change, they could make a difference.
And they did. Many of the things we now consider “standard,” such as regulations about safe working conditions, fair pay, and reasonable working hours came about because people worked hard to make that change happen. When you think about it, part of what Labor Day celebrates is hard work.
Americans Recognized the Value of Work
That is not really a surprise though. In fact, early Americans recognized the value and importance of hard work. One of Benjamin Franklin’s famous aphorisms states:
“It is the working man who is the happy man. It is the idle man who is the miserable man.”
While Thomas Jefferson, put it like this:
“It is neither wealth nor splendor; but tranquility and occupation which give you happiness.”
The value of hard work was a recurring theme throughout American history. In addition to recognizing the role it played in an individual’s happiness, earlier Americans also realized that struggle was necessary for our continued growth and progress as a nation. In 1857, Frederick Douglas stated:
“If there is no struggle, there is no progress.”
Hard Work is Necessary for Progress
This idea that hard work and struggle were the pathway to change was very familiar to the U.S. labor movement of the late 19th century. These men and women persevered through extreme difficulties and loss to advocate for positive change in the working environments of America. They would probably have agreed with this statement from Theodore Roosevelt:
“It is only through labor and painful effort, by grim energy and resolute courage, that we move on to better things.”
Recognizing Hard Work this Labor Day
In America today, we have moved on to better things. We have protections and benefits that the early labor activist could only dream about, and we have these because of their hard work and struggle. So this year, as we are enjoying our “last long weekend of summer,” let’s take a minute to think about the importance of hard work. Let’s consider the impact the hard work and struggle of the early labor activists has had on our lives today. Then let’s take a moment to consider the impact that our hard work could have on those who come after us.
Warm Wishes for a Happy Labor Day!
From your Westlark Advisors Team
Labor Day – The Importance of Hard Work
By JD Buss
