Comments on: Labor Day for Atheists! http://atheists.org/blog/2007/09/02/labor_day_for_atheists A Blog of Atheist Thought Fri, 10 Feb 2012 05:40:03 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: reedbraden http://atheists.org/blog/2007/09/02/labor_day_for_atheists/comment-page-1#comment-65670 reedbraden Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 #comment-65670 I dunno... I like Christmas. I get presents and snow and extended family. Whether or not I believe in Jesus, I can steal his holiday!<br /> <br /> Santa, Frosty, Rudolph, coloured lights, pine trees, snowmen, the days get longer. It's not so bad when you remove that whole Jesus thing. I dunno… I like Christmas. I get presents and snow and extended family. Whether or not I believe in Jesus, I can steal his holiday!

Santa, Frosty, Rudolph, coloured lights, pine trees, snowmen, the days get longer. It’s not so bad when you remove that whole Jesus thing.

]]> By: Rusty Shackleford http://atheists.org/blog/2007/09/02/labor_day_for_atheists/comment-page-1#comment-65671 Rusty Shackleford Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 #comment-65671 I like Christmas too. TIme off, time with family, presents, etc. Can't beat that! I like Christmas too. TIme off, time with family, presents, etc. Can’t beat that!

]]> By: Celebrant Prince http://atheists.org/blog/2007/09/02/labor_day_for_atheists/comment-page-1#comment-65672 Celebrant Prince Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 #comment-65672 Happy Labor Day to you too, Dave!<br /> <br /> Although I normally enjoy the three-day break by going on a camping trip, this year I'm sort of stuck at home due to injury from a vehicle accident.<br /> <br /> At the local fairgrounds only a block away from where I live "Joshua Fest" is going on. It's a Christian rock band Jesus-palooza that goes all weekend long, and sometimes I can even make out the lyrics as they blast out from the loudspeakers. Somewhat irritating, but I take it in stride as best I can.<br /> <br /> My trivial annoyances aside, it is good to reflect on what Labor Day really stands for: a celebration of the average Jill/Joe worker, and the important contributions organized labor has made to improving working conditions in this country. It is also very instructive (and saddening) to acknowledge how much organized labor has lost in terms of political power to address and correct deficiencies in the labor world: minimum wages, job safety, right to form unions without fear of being fired, global corporatization, Big Pharma, Big Oil, Big Brother; the list goes on and on.<br /> <br /> Theists and atheists alike could easily come together to make a difference in improving labor conditions, but admittedly the obstacles are gigantic. The Average Joe like me has bills to pay, and suffer we will under the yoke as long as we can scrape enough together to pay those bills. That doesn't leave much time or energy to fight for the right to unionize.<br /> <br /> Happy three-day weekend for those of you lucky enough to even get it off. Happy Labor Day to you too, Dave!

Although I normally enjoy the three-day break by going on a camping trip, this year I’m sort of stuck at home due to injury from a vehicle accident.

At the local fairgrounds only a block away from where I live “Joshua Fest” is going on. It’s a Christian rock band Jesus-palooza that goes all weekend long, and sometimes I can even make out the lyrics as they blast out from the loudspeakers. Somewhat irritating, but I take it in stride as best I can.

My trivial annoyances aside, it is good to reflect on what Labor Day really stands for: a celebration of the average Jill/Joe worker, and the important contributions organized labor has made to improving working conditions in this country. It is also very instructive (and saddening) to acknowledge how much organized labor has lost in terms of political power to address and correct deficiencies in the labor world: minimum wages, job safety, right to form unions without fear of being fired, global corporatization, Big Pharma, Big Oil, Big Brother; the list goes on and on.

Theists and atheists alike could easily come together to make a difference in improving labor conditions, but admittedly the obstacles are gigantic. The Average Joe like me has bills to pay, and suffer we will under the yoke as long as we can scrape enough together to pay those bills. That doesn’t leave much time or energy to fight for the right to unionize.

Happy three-day weekend for those of you lucky enough to even get it off.

]]> By: Celebrant Prince http://atheists.org/blog/2007/09/02/labor_day_for_atheists/comment-page-1#comment-65674 Celebrant Prince Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 #comment-65674 Oh yeah, this too: the 364 to 1 ratio of how much CEO's make compared to average wages across the country. The unfairness is maddening to comprehend.<br /> <br /> From CommonDreams:<br /> <br /> http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2007/09/01/3558/ Oh yeah, this too: the 364 to 1 ratio of how much CEO’s make compared to average wages across the country. The unfairness is maddening to comprehend.

From CommonDreams:

http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2007/09/01/3558/

]]> By: Celebrant Prince http://atheists.org/blog/2007/09/02/labor_day_for_atheists/comment-page-1#comment-65675 Celebrant Prince Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 #comment-65675 By the way, my hourly wage multiplied 364 times = $5,783.96 per hour. Nice work if you can get it, eh?<br /> <br /> I'd be a CEO, but I'm not for the same reason that I'm not an attorney or a politician -- I have a conscience. By the way, my hourly wage multiplied 364 times = $5,783.96 per hour. Nice work if you can get it, eh?

I’d be a CEO, but I’m not for the same reason that I’m not an attorney or a politician — I have a conscience.

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