Thursday was Take our Daughters and Sons to Work day.
Funny how it’s turned from a feminist push to encourage girls to grow up and get jobs, to a sort of field trip-cum-career day for grade school kids. At least at my office. Most striking to me was that the adults that brought the kids didn’t hang around for any of the activities (and with the aging workforce in my field — government services — most of the kids were grandkids and grandnieces; there was only one “daughter”).
My own childlessness notwithstanding, I wound up spending my morning helping out. I couldn’t help it — a week before the big day, the coordinator was still trying to juggle it all by herself, and begging for help. I had to volunteer. I’m glad I did — it was enjoyable. Next year I’m going to push that we bring some extra kids … apparently including “underprivileged types” is encouraged.
It got me thinking, though. We did one activity where the kids projected 20 years into the future and imagined what their lives would be (not JUST their jobs, interestingly. With the theme this year there was a big emphasis on pushing “work-life balance” early on. I found this intriguing and slightly bothersome, for reasons I may expound on in a different post — I just find the whole work-life thing troubling.)
Everything about this exercise was based on the traditional view of work and family life … where will you live, what will your career be, what will you do during the work day, how many children will you have … I have a strong feeling, though, that 20 years from now, “work” will be very different than the framework that still hangs on now, at least I hope so. I hope to explore this theme. I hope that, 20 years from now, there will be no such thing as “work-life” — there will be only “life.” Work will no longer be selling your time and your talent and your self — wage slavery — but will be every effort, every task we do because we want to. I hope that in my lifetime I see the work week where we spend more time at play than we do at work.
All of that’s for another post … I leave you tonight with Peter Maurin:
Three Ways To Make A Living
1. Mirabeau says:
"There are only three ways
to make a living:
Stealing, begging, working."
2. Stealing is against the law of God
and against the law of men.
3. Begging is against the law of men,
but not against the law of God.
4. Working is neither against the law of God
nor against the law of men.
5. But they say
that there is no work to do.
6. There is plenty of work to do,
but no wages.
7. But people do not need
to work for wages.
8. They can offer their services
as a gift.
