We live in a world where our children look upon Hollywood stars, rock stars and sports stars as their heroes.
But movie stars, rock stars and sports stars live in a fantasy world. They live in a world the average person knows nothing about. They live in a world of glitz and glamour and bright lights. They see only their world, not the world of reality, and they have played in a world of no reality for so long that they look upon themselves as having God-like powers.
Our children have been blinded by the light cast by these people, who have forgotten where they come from and have lost their roots in the real world.
I am not saying they do not work; I know they do. But their idea of work has strayed from real work and the true working man and woman.
I know it is tough on a supermodel to stand in the hot sun during glamorous photo shoots. I guess posing in the sun is hard on them.
Now step back and think a bit about our children, who see these people as their heroes. I have to say this: What the hell are they thinking?
What they should be thinking is the fact that these people do not care about them.
The people who do care about them are their parents — the people who should be the real heroes. That’s right: parents. The forgotten men and women; the working class.
The working class of this nation comprises more that just workers. These people are the backbone of our America — people who do not pose in the sun for their labor.
Parents freely give their blood, sweat and tears. Why ? Because they want their children to have more than they did in their own young lives. These people desire to give and not take.
I do not try to place the American worker on a shiny pedestal, for I know this is the desire of all working people, all over the world.
Take the time to look back on your own life. Think back to the days when you were so sick that you could not even hold your head up.
But you did one thing: You held your head up. You had pride; it did not matter how sick you were. You were still going to work.
There were several reasons for that.
First and foremost was the fact that your parents were hard workers. Your parents taught you the benefits of hard work, as opposed to being lazy. They taught you that there is no “free lunch” in life. They taught you that if you did not do it for yourself, no one else would do it for you.
Another reason was that you had bills to pay. You had children to be clothed and fed. At different times in our past, there were no programs to take care of you and your children.
Then the state and federal governments decided to step in and help those who would not help themselves. Was that a good thing? No, it was not. It crippled a lot of people. It not only made people lazy, but it put into their minds: “I don’t have to work.” It created a class of users — people who will use you as long as it doesn’t cost them anything — that being any labor that is expected of the rest of us.
Please understand me. My heart truly does go out to the retired workers, the elderly, the young, the mentally and physical impaired who cannot help themselves. Help these people at all costs. These people are entitled to help.
Those who are young and capable of working deserve nothing.
We have a problem in this nation: Far too many people have been taught how to use the system. If they had been taught to have a work ethic, they would not be on the welfare rolls.
We also have an influx of immigrants, legal and illegal, who have been schooled on how to get free everything. You can drop that at the feet of the liberal Left, and be damned the workers of America.
We are a nation of hard workers. That is the only reason we still stand as a world power. Determination comes from pride in oneself.
I wish to tell you about some of these people, the ones who will not back away from hard work or their children.
One is someone I have known more than 25 years. This is a proud woman with two children. The first is her daughter, whom the mother is putting through college. The child will graduate next year. Then she will go on to earn her master’s degree in psychology.
This woman’s son is her heart. At the young age of about 2, he was diagnosed as being autistic. Had it not been for his mother, he might have been dropped through the cracks and not have the life he has now. He is in high school. His grades are A’s and B’s. He is self-taught and can speak six languages; he is fluent in all six.
The reason these children have excelled is their mother. She starts her day at 5 a.m. and goes to 9 and 10 p.m. most days. She is a branch manager with a well-known banking firm. Her days are long and hard, for the most part. Not only does she take care of her own children, but she also takes care of her elderly mother. It does not stop there. She has a sister with medical issues.
Now add in all of the domestic things that she has to take care of. Most people already would have walked away from these burdens. But not this woman; she thrives with this nonstop life.
This woman was taught by her mother and taught well. I take pride in knowing her. I just wish more people had her drive. It would be a better world.
Now to the other side of the spectrum. I know a woman you cannot help; it does not matter what you try to do for her. I found this woman three different jobs. It did not matter. She always had excuses why she could not make it to work.
There are some people whom you could never help, and she is one of them.
America’s working men and women, take pride in what you are. You might be burdened with your lot in life, but you have pride in yourself.
Robert Lee is a concerned citizen and U.S. Marine veteran who owns and operates Rockingham Guns and Ammo. His column appears here each Saturday.