Just Take the Job

Funny thing: I recently read an article about citizens of Afghanistan who were upset that people from Pakistan were being hired to work. Why? Because they are cheap labor, they work hard and are willing to work any hours.

Sound familiar?

When did people in Afghanistan get too good to work cheap, hard labor jobs? When did people in America get too good to work hard labor jobs or blue collar jobs? 

I was thinking about previous generations today, as I passed a group of day laborers laying fiber optics cable for my community who couldn't speak English (I know this because we actually stopped the car on the side of the road to ask what they were doing, and they had to find the foreman to talk since we couldn't communicate). My grandparents and great-grandparents were willing to work any job necessary to put food on their tables. They started from the bottom and worked their way up. I know from their stories it was hard, hard work.

However, more recent generations seem to think they (we) are too good for hard labor jobs. It's also not just "hard labor" jobs we are too good for. We are too proud to take any job we consider "beneath" us or our education. Then, we get upset when someone with less education passes us by.  I'm guilty of this. I have yet to consider doing anything I think will "discredit" my degrees. I don't want to blame anyone for this train of thought. But, our grandparents and great-grandparents worked hard, real hard, with the hopes that their children wouldn't have to deal with the struggles they faced. I'm thankful for that, but maybe these struggles will always exist. Maybe we should just accept the fact that we will have to step down from our high podiums and struggle for a little while. Maybe we will have to work jobs we don't like to get to the one we want. Maybe we should stop waiting for the perfect job, and get out there and take whatever is available until the next best thing comes along.

And maybe we should stop complaining about others having a job, when we aren't willing to put forth effort to get the job.

It's just a thought...