The Conclusions of a Working Class "Taker" [View all]

[davidthegnome]

It's been one of those nights. One of those nights up here in Northern Maine, when the roads are so poor that it's almost absurdly masochistic to drive anywhere. Yet every day and night, I drive thirty miles to and from work - some times (like tonight) the roads are so terrible that I can't drive any faster than 35 MPH, even with my "snow tires". Lots of drivers, even up here, are crazy enough to go 55-65 - they're the ones you usually see on the side of the road, screaming at their phones for having no reception and hoping someone will come along to help (I do - when I can.) This post isn't just about the weather though...

Someone told me today that the poor (like me) are a drain on society's resources. That we are lazy, that we only survive off of the good works and charity of others. I kept my silence (because, given the circumstances, it was necessary) but I have a few things to say here, that I hope will encourage others - as they do me.

The working poor are fucking heroes. We take the work that no one else wants to do, the dish-washing, the house keeping, the janitorial work. We work in sewers. We are serving your food at restaurants AND fast food joints. We're building bridges, we're repairing roads, we're fighting wars. We go to ridiculous heights to wash windows. We run our asses off for minimum wage or slightly better. Without us - not only could society not function, but all of our high and mighty rich people would have to clean up their own shit, for it is through our labor, through our daily toil, our dedication, that this world continues to function.

I may be so poor that I have to live with my parents, but you know, there's no place else I'd rather be.

I may be mocked, insulted, looked down upon by many members of the opposite sex for still living with Mommy and Daddy, but you know what? That's okay. They don't know what they're missing - because, when you hang with me, you hang with my whole family.

My mom is the best dancer I know - and she is also the best nurse I know. She works fourteen hour shifts as a nurse - and has been doing so for more than thirty years. When people are sick, or injured, or in pain - she gives everything she has and then some to care for them. She prays with them when they ask her to, she holds their hands - she even dances with them. She does this even though she suffers with depression and anxiety issues. She's a god damn hero.

My dad works for a hospital too - he's the man behind the scenes, writing grants begging for money that is desperately needed. If not for men like him, we would have no veterans clinics, we would have no clean hospital beds. We would have no hospitals. No matter what he has to do, or how long, or how hard he has to work (often 80 hours a week or more, even in his sixties) he keeps pushing with a passionate (and compassionate) dedication that would put a religious zealot to shame. His positive perspective, optimistic nature, and friendly manner gives inspiration to people all over our small community. My dad is a god damn hero.

There are many wonderful people in my life - but these are the best damn people I know. The most generous, the most compassionate, who have stood by me even when anyone else would have walked away. No matter what they have suffered, or how many knocks they have taken - they held on, they survived, they pushed forward for a better tomorrow for their family, and ultimately, these are the kind of people that make the world better for us all.

They're working class too. Without people like them, this world would be a mistake - life would be a mistake -. It's the working class that made this Country what it is, it's the working class that gave us the world's strongest military, the world's greatest economic wealth. It's the working class that brought us medicare, Medicaid, social security, food stamps - it's the working class and the fact that we give a damn. Politicians may have written the legislation, but we were the ones who twisted their arms and held their feet to the fire until they did so.

All of us, who are willing to work for more than just ourselves, for more than just the bottom line... are god damn heroes. And if you're struggling right now, if you can't find or don't have work - then understand, we're working for you too - and doing everything we can to make things better. It's one hell of a fight we've got on our hands, but as long as we're still here, we haven't given up.

Right now things are hard - it may seem like profit has won out over everything, like money is, essentially, God. This is not so. It's those of us that suffer, struggle, and toil every day to make the world a better place... that truly run this world. NOT the 1%, but the 99%. Without us - everything - falls apart. You can't eat money. Money doesn't cook your food, or set a broken arm. It doesn't plow the roads, it doesn't teach the difference between right and wrong, it does not heal the sick. Nor can it create beautiful works of art. People do these things. People like us.

The true power on this earth, resides within the hearts and minds of the working class. The true nobility, the true "wealth". When we all come to realize this fact, there will be a reckoning for those who have put their love of profit over their love of their fellow human beings. That time is coming... and we will not be ignored. We will not be denied.

In closing... I salute you all. If you're here, still giving a damn in spite of how hard things are, if you're here, trying to make the world a better place... then you're a god damn hero too.

That's all I have to say about that.