LABOR DAY

"With every civil right there has to be a corresponding civil obligation." 

~ Edison Haines ~

Originally observed to "pay tribute to the contributions and achievements of American workers," for many of us, Labor Day has become a pack-every-inch-of-fun-that-you-can-into-the-last-weekend-of-summer event. The energy of Labor Day to me feels like a deep sigh- like the fun's now over and it's time to get back into the seriousness of school, and of life. Our invitation to splash and play feels truncated- terminated by popular agreement the first Monday of every September...
       It's so far from what it once was, because we have come so far. Today, for the most part, at least in America, decent working conditions, wages, and reasonable hours on the job are the norm, and we don't engage in or support child labor. We take these things utterly for granted.
     In memory of the honorable history of the fight for labor rights, let's pause amidst our summer's end barbecues and swimming adventures and be grateful to those indomitable human spirits that came before us, and made things better, and spoke up when they could, so easily, have remained silent out of fear.

I celebrate the history of the Labor movement, and feel grateful for all the ways I benefit from the strides they have made!

Link to a brief and interesting article on the history of Labor Day: 

https://www.dol.gov/general/laborday/history