StreetScooby 5 #1 August 1, 2009 This is part of being American. I ask that only US Citizens vote in this poll. Thanks.We are all engines of karma Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
quade 4 #2 August 1, 2009 QuoteThis is part of being American. Huh? While I'll agree that the most productive workers (as a whole and nationwide) are the American workers, I'd hardly call it an integral part of being an American. Especially that whole thing where we used to own people to work for us.quade - The World's Most Boring Skydiver Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DSE 5 #3 August 1, 2009 QuoteThis is part of being American. Couldn't agree more. I identify my quality as a person with the quality of my work regardless of what I'm doing. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
quade 4 #4 August 1, 2009 QuoteQuoteThis is part of being American. Couldn't agree more. I identify my quality as a person with the quality of my work regardless of what I'm doing. But what does that have to do with you being "an American"? Are you telling me that if you lived in another country you'd no longer take pride in your hard work? [devil's advocate mode and tongue in cheek] In fact, isn't "hard" work almost the antitheses of the American Dream? Seriously. Isn't a huge portion of what has made America a "great" country the majority of people trying to get out of work? Isn't that what the "gold rush" was all about? What about all our mechanical inventions or do you guys still take care of horses so you can ride a buggy into town? Do you own a dishwasher or washing machine? How about a vacuum cleaner? You still pushing a manual lawn mower around? When was the last time you built your own house? Hey, how's that typewriter doing? Seriously, isn't it a chunk of the American Dream to have -more- leisure time?quade - The World's Most Boring Skydiver Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
StreetScooby 5 #5 August 1, 2009 Quote But what does that have to do with you being "an American"? The individual pursuit of liberty and happiness in America requires hard work. Equal opportunity, not equal reward.We are all engines of karma Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
StreetScooby 5 #6 August 1, 2009 Quote Seriously, isn't it a chunk of the American Dream to have -more- leisure time? Where did you grow up? Was it on the wrong side of the train tracks? We are all engines of karma Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
quade 4 #7 August 1, 2009 Quote Quote Seriously, isn't it a chunk of the American Dream to have -more- leisure time? Where did you grow up? Was it on the wrong side of the train tracks? Seriously? As in the house I lived in for the first 5 years of my life? Compton (yeah, that one). Across the street, train tracks. So, yeah, I guess you could say that although I don't think the other side was any better.quade - The World's Most Boring Skydiver Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
nanook 1 #8 August 1, 2009 Looks like i'm the only dissenter here. I hated hard work. I picked chili alongside my mom as a kid. $4 a 25 gallon bucket. I promised myself I would rise above this, get a degree and never had to work hard again. I even thought myself better for accomplishing this. Whoops. Very narrow of me. Manual labor is not the only genera of hard work. Intellectual persuits come at an intense dicipline. I have much respect for attorneys and doctors. I hated the fact I had to do a lot to get to where I am, but in the end i'm proud of myself, and I'm not finished yet. But there's drudgery getting there and I didn't enjoy it. At least I didn't shy away from the work. One of these years I will have those three stripes on my graduation gown. I won't need it anymore, but I want it. I only hope my daughter growing up around this sees hard work as a norm rather than a barrier and not think twice about it as I had. Work sucks._____________________________ "The trouble with quotes on the internet is that you can never know if they are genuine" - Abraham Lincoln Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
StreetScooby 5 #9 August 1, 2009 Quote and I'm not finished yet +1 Quote I only hope my daughter growing up around this sees hard work as a norm +1 Quote Work sucks. Get over it We are all engines of karma Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
quade 4 #10 August 1, 2009 QuoteWork sucks. The only thing worse than hard work . . . is NO work. I'm happy to get the work that I can. It's not particularly "hard". I'm not a roofer or bricklayer. I work with my brain (sort of). I am trying my hardest (well maybe not my hardest, but still hard) to break out of that and do something that might someday put hundreds (thousands?) of people to work and give all of them income, including myself. If I could do that once or twice I think I'd be satisfied to be finished with working hard ever again. I think the issue with this thread in general is the ambiguous and relative nature of the phrase "hard work."quade - The World's Most Boring Skydiver Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
StreetScooby 5 #11 August 1, 2009 Quote I think the issue with this thread in general is the ambiguous and relative nature of the phrase "hard work." There is nothing ambiguous about hard work. There is a relative nature to hard work. These things should be self evident.We are all engines of karma Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
quade 4 #12 August 1, 2009 QuoteQuote I think the issue with this thread in general is the ambiguous and relative nature of the phrase "hard work." There is nothing ambiguous about hard work. There is a relative nature to hard work. Disagree. Do you mean "hard work" as in a prisoner doing "hard labor"; sweating and toiling in the hot sun breaking rocks? "Hard work" could also mean "tedious work"; screwing the same widget onto another widget over and over, day in and day out. It's not necessarily physically "hard", but it's certainly not enjoyable and therefore "hard to take". "Hard work" could also be "mentally difficulty work"; an engineer working on some critical design that if he screws it up somebody is going to die. I'd say the term is at the very least ambiguous.quade - The World's Most Boring Skydiver Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
StreetScooby 5 #13 August 1, 2009 In my world hard work let's me pay my bills, etc. Take care of my family. Without government involvement. There is absolutely no ambiguity there, IMO.We are all engines of karma Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
quade 4 #14 August 1, 2009 QuoteIn my world hard work let's me pay my bills, etc. Take care of my family. Without government involvement. There is absolutely no ambiguity there, IMO. Hmmm, in -my- world, we simply call that "work".quade - The World's Most Boring Skydiver Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BrendaHupp 0 #15 August 1, 2009 I believe in working smart not hard Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
FallingOsh 0 #16 August 1, 2009 Typical of this forum. Take the term and twist it every which way until it's hardly recognizable. The American Dream is achieving something for yourself through work. The current american attitude is 'gimme gimme gimme while I sit on my ass.' 'Work is too hard.' The Greatest Generation was made by a bunch of hard working men and women who knew what they wanted and how to get there. The current generation is a bunch of whiney ass pussies who think the government should provide everything without any amount of work; let alone hard work. I like work. I love hard work. If you enjoy sitting on your ass bitching about how unfair life is then fine. Go do it somewhere out of my sight. -------------------------------------------------- Stay positive and love your life. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Andy9o8 2 #17 August 1, 2009 Quote Post deleted by StreetScooby See, now this I can get behind. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
airdvr 210 #18 August 1, 2009 Been chasing the gold ring for a long time and I've come to the conclusion that you never quite catch it. I know broke people and I know millionaires, and I think the broke ones are happier. The monied people I've met spend alot of time worrying and working to hang on to their stash. As for all of the advancements over time, they just give you more time for work.Please don't dent the planet. Destinations by Roxanne Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TomAiello 26 #19 August 1, 2009 If you have a chance, try to read The Man Who Was Too Lazy To Fail by Robert Heinlein.-- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kallend 2,147 #20 August 1, 2009 QuoteThe current generation is a bunch of whiney ass pussies who think the government should provide everything without any amount of work; let alone hard work. . Stop dissing investment bankers - without them we wouldn't have this recession to discuss. They deserve their huge bonuses.... The only sure way to survive a canopy collision is not to have one. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TomAiello 26 #21 August 1, 2009 Quote Quote The current generation is a bunch of whiney ass pussies who think the government should provide everything without any amount of work; let alone hard work. . Stop dissing investment bankers - without them we wouldn't have this recession to discuss. They deserve their huge bonuses. Good thing we gave them all those taxpayer dollars, then. -- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
nanook 1 #22 August 1, 2009 QuoteI know broke people and I know millionaires, and I think the broke ones are happier. My experience was different. I remember much shorter tempers and overall attitudes being much lower in my childhood. I've noticed that generally, wealthier people have a smaller chip on their shoulders and tend to get "worry lines" twenty years or so later in life._____________________________ "The trouble with quotes on the internet is that you can never know if they are genuine" - Abraham Lincoln Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
lawrocket 3 #23 August 1, 2009 Quote I believe in working smart not hard The smarter one works the more one can accomplish. I think I work hard. This last week I feel physically and mentally like Sonny Corleone at the toll booth. Working hard. (Had a trial starting Monday and didn't know I'd be trying it until last Thursday evening. Needless to say my kids haven't seen much of me.) I think that I find myself most apt to say "fuck you" to anyone who says or otherwise intimates that I had anything handed to me. Like Paul, I spent my formative years on the wrong side of the tracks. I came out of college debt free thanks to paying cash for it (working 80 hours a week in summer (2 jobs) and 35 per week actually in school (2 jobs) made it affordable) until I competed for a scholarship and got it - all uncle sam wanted was 8 years from me. I could lower my school work hours to about 25. And the work has just gotten harder. I can't say I particularly _enjoy_ it. I look forward to retirement. Still, I cannot see myself staying idle in retirement. My wife is hotter than your wife. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
airdvr 210 #24 August 1, 2009 Quote and tend to get "worry lines" twenty years or so later in life. That's just Botox Please don't dent the planet. Destinations by Roxanne Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kallend 2,147 #25 August 1, 2009 Quote Quote Quote The current generation is a bunch of whiney ass pussies who think the government should provide everything without any amount of work; let alone hard work. . Stop dissing investment bankers - without them we wouldn't have this recession to discuss. They deserve their huge bonuses. Good thing we gave them all those taxpayer dollars, then. Now you're dissing Paulson. You should save some diss for Greenspan.... The only sure way to survive a canopy collision is not to have one. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
