The sweat of hard work is not to be displayed. It is much more graceful to appear favored by the gods.
-- Maxine Hong Kingston
Why? What is not graceful about hard work?
Also I think one is doing a disfavor to others who are less successful, making them think they are not 'favored by the gods', if the fact is that their hero simply works very, very hard and that's why he is so successful.
I think people deserve the truth. Life is hard enough without navigating in a sea of lies.
15 comments:
then i must be disgraceful because i've spent twenty years in an aluminum foundry where temps swell over 100 degrees 365 days a year.
i've operated jackhammers, poured molten metal (1400 degrees) grinded aluminum castings by hand, some weighing over 50 pounds on average, shoveled sand daily with blistered hands and feet.
not by choice but to survive. color that true workingclass.
Provided you take a shower after a long sweaty hard day's work so you won't stink the next day, I can't see the problem. Didn't God (or the gods) create us with sweat glands? And that was doing us a genuine favor! Otherwise, physical effort would soon kill us from overheating.
Seeing the valiant players in the soccer world cup final sweating abundantly made me even more aware of the impressive effort these top athletes were displaying for our (decadent?) enjoyment. YOU try running for two hours straight at a pace way more demanding than a marathon, and do it with insolent ease! Who likes a vain show-off anyway? Only vain cretins.
Usually, those who appear to be at the top without effort are exactly the kind of people I wholeheartedly hope never to become. Ever. Daddy's boy, born with the traditional silver spoon, and considering that "those who don't make it as good as me have to be incredibly lazy". To paraphrase good christian president George W. Bush.
Oh, BTW, I've cast a look on Answers.com. Maxine Hong Kingston was born in America from a Chinese immigrant family. Obviously, she was quite influenced by her chinese culture. A culture which doesn't ALWAYS produce deep wisdom, contrarily to what movies would have you think... Some of their social norms can be just as naive as yours or mine. :-)
"You move 16 tons, whatta ya get?
Another day older and deeper in debt,
Saint Peter, don'tcha call me cause I can't go,
I owe my soul to the Company Store."
No, I don't know who originally wrote it, but it sure is true.
Okay, we don't have company stores anymore, but things aren't that much better-- more and more people are getting deeper and deeper in debt.
Eolake has exposed the lie of the "living wage" or the raising of the minimum wage.
Sweat is not exchangeable by the money-changers for filthy lucre.
Pascal said...
Provided you take a shower after a long sweaty hard day's work so you won't stink the next day,
That's not really funny Pascal. Of course I shower after work. Are you secrectly laughing at me? I hope not because I respect what you write.
I've realized that Pascal can't resist making a funny remark. And of course humor is a brittle thing, as John Cleese said. :)
Terry,
When I composed my own comment, yours wasn't displayed yet. It's just an unfortunate coincidence that caused a misunderstanding. (Check the time : they followed each other quite closely.)
I was simply trying to express, in my own "spiritual" way, that there's nothing wrong with working hard and sweating, except that I know some people who don't know about personal hygiene. Remember, I live in the Middle-East! What's obvious in a civilized country isn't always so here.
I definitely wouldn't make fun of the hard work you describe. I see it as true working class bravery and nothing else. (Nothing more? Um... maybe it's ALSO impressive.) People doing what you describe don't make me laugh, they make me applause. Besides, I always prefer laughing WITH people, not AT them.
I too respect you. My sincere apologies for unwillingly upsetting you and your very fine efforts.
Truce, John Henry? :-)
"except that I know some people who don't know about personal hygiene. Remember, I live in the Middle-East! What's obvious in a civilized country isn't always so here."
Even here in England do I occasionally come across people who reek. Not bums either, but young men from the working population.
I too respect you. My sincere apologies for unwillingly upsetting you and your very fine efforts.
Truce, John Henry? :-)
Thank you Pascal for explaining. I appreciate this very much. We are okay. Sincerely Me :)
terry, your paragraph about your work day at the foundry was in my opinion, beautiful. I learn from such "concrete" words. I have been too "in my head." Thank you! have you ever considered writing about what goes on at that foundry, I mean, for publication? Or a short story?
I for one would like to hear more.
Terry that, Roger.
I mean, Roger that, Terry. :o)
Just confirming I've read you. So you'll know that I know that you know, you know?
This proves again that a good apology is never wasted with a good person. But the discussion about apologies is already in this blog's archives, right Eolake?
P.S.: I think Signalroom might be on to something here. Do you reckon you could make an interesting narration? You've got style.
Stakhanov style? ;-)
signalroom said...
terry, your paragraph about your work day at the foundry was in my opinion, beautiful. I learn from such "concrete" words. I have been too "in my head." Thank you! have you ever considered writing about what goes on at that foundry, I mean, for publication? Or a short story?
I for one would like to hear more.
Thank you, honestly thank you. You made my day :) You really did. I am moved. Maybe some day I might write some prose about it? I never really thought anybody would be interested until you mentioned it :) I am very humbled by your interest.
Pascal said...
Terry that, Roger.
I mean, Roger that, Terry. :o)
Just confirming I've read you. So you'll know that I know that you know, you know?
This proves again that a good apology is never wasted with a good person.
And Pascal you are a very sincere and decent human being in my humble opinion. Not only are you a kind individule but you are also a very intriguing writer I enjoy reading. Bless you.
Any time I pass a "roadworks area" on the motorway or somewhere else I wave at the workers should I happen to make eye contact with them. They never stop working, be it raining, be it the hot sun which is melting the tar in the summer, be it cold in winter, to give us motorists a comfortable smooth ride.
A BIG BIG THANK YOU to you workers, who don't need a work-out at the gym to get pearls of sweat on their foreheads - and THANK YOU, as well, to the engineers sitting in their comfortable offices, planning the road, and in need of a work-out after a long day, sometimes peppered with mobbing. I also admire your sweat pearls.
My father has been a hard-working engineer all his life. Bless him.
Worked on the field in the desert, for years.
Guess there's not much support for Maxine Hong Kingston's position, hunh?
This over-civilized age needs to make its peace with some very normal and natural things : sweating, crying, physical exercise like walking, non-chemical agriculture and food, lovemaking, breast-feeding...
We are not machines. Or gods. We're very unique animal life forms, and are forever connected to our origins, there can be no shame in that.
No more than in being born a woman, or dark-skinned, or in a poor liberty-challenged country, or in a modest household. Our nature is a proud part of us.
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