The Dignity of Manual Labor

I wrote a letter in my previous blog to the Orlando Sentinel regarding the issues with Europe.  In that letter I elaborated on how much I think their problem is that they no longer MAKE anything.  I wrote the letter in frustrated reaction to the French election of a Socialist to their presidency.  But another issue lies between the lines.  Western people feel they are too good to work hard, especially to work hard at manual labor.

It is a well known fact by any business owner that good help is very hard to find.  To get people to actually do manual labor is impossible.  Much of our nation's food would not be harvested if it was up to Americans.  I would wager there is a similar situation in Europe with immigrants from Eastern Europe or northern Africa and the middle east.  The white Europeans wouldn't dare dirty their hands with manual labor but they are more than happy to sit on their asses and collect money from the government.  They have no dignity.

Just over 2 years ago I left a job at a palm farm here in Florida.  I was one of 3 sales reps, while we also had about a dozen field works that tended to the palms.  They also loaded and unloaded trucks.  The Mexican men and women were the hardest working people I've ever seen.  Why?  I don't  believe it's because they are Mexican, I believe it's because they appreciated what they got in return.  Money to buy food and shelter and enough to send to family back in Mexico.  They worked hard because they appreciated the work.  They may be poor, but they support their family and they certainly maintained their dignity.

My wife is from Cuba, as I have mentioned in this blog before.  She has a friend who came from Cuba about 8 years ago.  She immigrated from Cuba with a masters degree in Education.  When she got here, of course, she couldn't just start working as a teacher because of various regulations.  So she worked as a maid for nearly 4 years.  Why would an educated woman work as a maid?  Because she had no other choice.  Now she works as a teacher full time and she certainly has maintained her dignity.

In the superb movie Cinderella Man, one of the most compelling scenes to me was when the protagonist is fighting for the "privilege" of working on a loading dock in New York City.  There were dozens of men nearly begging for a job as was typical during the Great Depression.  Though I would hate to see such a serious economic situation ever again, I must say it was almost refreshing to see people appreciate the idea of work, any work, so very much.  They were begging for a job, but they were also holding on to their dignity.  The dignity that comes from at least "trying" to support yourself.

Such a serious situation is nowhere near existent in today's Great Recession.   The unemployed must understand that there IS work to be done out there, there's plenty of work to do.  But...it's often dirtier and/or hard manual labor.  Pride must be swallowed and if they have to start picking turnips to survive then they better start picking turnips.  We all need to get out of the cart and start pushing.  Once society is set up with the vast majority of people actually producing some thing or service,  then you will see a huge improvement in all the economies of the US and Europe.

In conclusion, our American and Western European societies need to get off our collective thrones and start making things, we need to start doing things to earn money.  Citizens must provide a service to society even if it is hard manual labor.   We no longer have the luxury of letting the unemployed go on forever more because certain jobs are beneath them.  Everyone should be directed to work, no matter what the work.  Anything else is a patronizing disgrace that implies people aren't responsible for themselves and that maybe they just aren't capable.  It is robbing them of their dignity.

In My Humble Opinion.....

Chuck Marshall

CMHO Published in the Orlando Sentinel, Again !

That paper is very good for my writing ego because Lord knows having only 3 followers on my blog isn't doing it ! LOL !

This letter was perpetuated by the election of a socialist to the presidency of France.  Read all about it..... at the link and/or I pasted it here as well.

Letter to the Editor Orlando Sentinel May 10 2012


"Europe in a Quagmire"

The successful election of Socialist Francois Hollande to the French presidency, and the refusal of the Greek people to be steadfast in climbing out of debt, leads me to believe that Europe sits in a quagmire of entitlement that it might never get out of until it hits bottom.

These citizens must face the fact that they no longer produce goods or services at a reasonable price that the world wants to buy. It has nothing to do with what Paris or Athens is willing to dole out, and everything to do with what the people produce and at what price.

Taxing wealthy folks and consequently penalizing them for being smarter and working harder tamps down innovation and drives your most talented citizens overseas.

It may not be obvious today, but it will be obvious to the next generation of Greeks and French.

Charles E. "Chuck" Marshall Clermont

In My Humble Opinion,

Chuck Marshall

The Indignity that is Fidel Castro

Well, I think it's safe to say that Castro has been a burr in the butt of the US for quite some time now.  What a huge influence he has had on the behavior of our government.  Amazing in the irony that such a small man could affect such a great country.  A lot of the American public doesn't know that much about Fidel Castro.  They know he is controversial and that he is regarded as a dictator in a relatively small island country in the Carribean, 90 miles from the southern tip of Florida.  There is, however a lot of confusion in that there are some who regard him as a bit of a hero for standing up to the US for all these years.  Some in Hollywood demonstrate alot of sympathy for Fidel and even go so far as to visit him and his country.   Sean Penn is the best example..... but Barbara Walters famously groveled over him and commented "his personal magnetism is very powerful" (and so was Adolf Hitler's as I understand it).  Robert Redford, Jack Nicholson, Harry Belafonte, Kevin Costner and Steven Spielberg.... the list could go on and on.

Now there is a great controversy because the manager for the Miami Marlins, Ozzie Guillen was quoted in Time magazine as saying that he "loved Castro".   In Kansas City or Chicago this probably wouldn't have been a big deal.  In Miami, Fla.... he might as well have touched the third rail.  Since then, he has apologized and noted that what he actually meant to say was that he couldn't believe that Castro was still in power  (wow, that does sound just like "I love Castro").  Anyway, the man can say whatever he wants because this is a free country.  Unfortunately for him, it is also a capitalist country and when someone doesn't do their job right they can be easily fired.  I recently read a post on Facebook by a very good friend who stated that "this is a bunch of crap" and that Ozzie should be left alone.

 I humbly disagree, and here's why.

My wife immigrated from Cuba when she was 12.  Janet and her family left with nothing but the clothes on their backs (they came by airplane, but that's another topic).  The government doesn't let you take anything with you because everything is owned by the government so how could you justify to them that you can bring along anything personal?   If you left the country, even legally,  you were called a "worm" in Spanish "gusano" and if you were unlucky enough to have people find out that you were leaving BEFORE you actually left (even though it's legal), then your family would be harassed and your home would be egged.  All in the name of  Fidel Castro.  This is a communist country folks,  the people have no rights whatsoever.  People disappear, are imprisoned, and killed for speaking out against Fidel Castro.  So, just imagine your most hated President (be it George Bush or Barack Obama) and imagine that you felt no freedom at all to mention a dislike for ANYTHING he does to ANYONE because you know you could easily be put in prison for a long time for just speaking your mind.    Now imagine that this hated leader whom you can NEVER speak out against- even under your breath (not so much as a whispered "screw Bush") and now imagine that he will be your President for as long as his old heart beats.  (and after that his brother takes over !).  There is no getting rid of him or his ilk.  That is the indignity that the Cuban people have had to endure for over 50 years now.  That's why so many people, like my wife and her family,  fled Cuba with nothing but the clothes on their backs.  They  fled to escape the humiliation of having their businesses "nationalized" and any freedom of speech or activity completely squashed.  They fled to America, so close by, but so very distant in opportunity and liberty.

So, regarding Ozzie Guillen of the Miami Marlins, I think he should be fired.  His job is to lead a team that the community can believe in and support there in South Florida.  How can they do that now, knowing this man had such ineptitude as to praise a dictator they suffered under?   All of Hollywood and the media that sink so low as to praise such a man should be ashamed of themselves for their lack of consideration.  Fidel is a dictator regardless of who he "stood up to".  Their expressions of admiration lead me to conclude they are at best naive, and at worst communist sympathizers that deserve to be sentenced to a few years on the "island paradise" that is Cuba (as Jack Nicholson called it) and let them enjoy themselves as their private property is confiscated and their livelihoods are nationalized for the "common good".  Then I want to hear what their opinion is.

In MY humble opinion,

Chuck Marshall

Rick Santorum... The Last of the Conservatives

"I could wile away the hours
Conferrin' with the flowers
Consultin' with the rain
And my head I'd be scratchin'
While my thoughts were busy hatchin'
If I only had a brain"

It has been a while since I've written on the Republican party's primary and their latest flavor of the month.  It looks like Rick Santorum is the "preferred" conservative by default... all the others self destructed with revealed indiscretions, adultery,  scandals, and above all else;  abject stupidity.  I do have to make a brief comment on Ron Paul. Ron Paul  isn't out of it but of course you can't win a nomination with 10% of your party's approval.  That's too bad, because I actually like Ron Paul., but I do understand the reluctance of the right-wing Republicans what with him wanting peace and all.  Horrible !  Even more so,  he is intelligent  which doesn't seem to be a very high priority.

So, now we have Mitt Romney (whom I have already endorsed in this blog) and Rick Santorum, the last Conservative standing.  Every time I hear Rick Santorum talking I think he sounds like someone a talk show host pulled out of an audience... "hey, you there.... come up here and let's see what you'd do to move our country forward".  I mean, he's so awkward and clumsy with his speeches.  It's like he's not even really sure what he thinks.  Then when he's firm with an opinion, it's something silly like wanting to vomit over a speech Kennedy make back in 1962, OR some remark implying contraception is bad (he does have 7 children, afterall), OR that he thinks Puerto Ricans should learn English before they become a state.  And of course, to keep all the conservatives smiling "Global Warming is a hoax".

As usual, since he's conservative the nut-case right wing Republicans feel like he is just right person to run the most powerful country in the world.  Never mind what his experience is, they only care what he "thinks".    Why should we care that he has no experience in administration?  Why should we care that he has no ideas for firming up the economy ?    In the middle of the worst recession since the Great Depression he commented that the economy is not the most important thing in this election, the most important issue is repealing Obamacare.   I can think of a few other things the President should prioritize besides a two year battle with Congress  (like our current President did).   I'm not a big fan of Obama, but Santorum compared his administration  to Germany in 1939, at the dawn of WW II !   I mean, Nazis !?  Seriously?!

He proceeds to babble on about "family values" and pays lip service to the Christian Right, but just as most Republicans before him, he will do NOTHING for them once in office.  They are the true suckers in all these presidential elections.

As is true for most extreme political thinkers, the more you hear him speak, the more it becomes obvious that his simplistic approach to a very complex country would be a disaster.   Mitt Romney ran a state, he started and ran a successful business, and he commandeered the Winter Olympics, successfully.   We need experience, we need focus on restoring the American middle class.  We need intelligence.   We need Mitt Romney.

In My Humble Opinion.....

Chuck Marshall

Separation of Church and Steak

There has been a lot of conversation about the separation of church and steak and I just wanted to say that I don't think there's a problem with steak in the church.  I have had steak at my church on several different occasions and was none the worse for it all.

Steak is good food and JC never said anything about it.  He did cast demons into the pigs which makes me hesitate to eat pork, especially since JC was Jewish and Jews don't eat pork.

For some obvious reasons I can see separating beans from the church, especially before any services.  I would support separation of church and beans.

There is a separation of church and wine that doesn't make sense to me.  Jesus turned water into wine (rather famously) but then when they serve communion we have to drink punch not wine?!  I would encourage no separation of church and wine.  Give me my wine with my cracker !

Should there be separation of church and other foods?  I would enjoy your comments.