09-07-01

A shitty-long day at work. Lots of stress. And I will have to work over the weekend. I whine a lot about work. I should be a good American and take my lumps. Working hard means you are a good productive member of society. It's the American way.

In the September 1, 2001 Chicago Tribune there was a front-page article "In U.S., workers toil even longer." It read "A UN agency provided some discouraging news Friday to Americans who believe they are overworked, find that American workers have increased their substantial lead over Japan and all other industrial nations in the number of hours worked each year. The report, issued by the International Labor Organization, found that Americans added nearly a full week to their work year during the 1990s, climbing to 1,978 hours on average, up 36 hours - almost a full workweek - from 1990. That means Americans who are employed are putting in nearly 49 ½ weeks a year on the job. Americans work 100 hours or 2 ½ weeks, more per year than Japanese workers, 250 hours (or about 6 weeks) more per hear than British workers and 500 hours (12 ½ weeks) more per year than German workers, the report said. The Japanese were long at the top of the heap for the number of hours worked, but in the mid-1990s the United States surpassed Japan, and since then the United States has pulled further ahead."

Yes, it's a legacy from our Protestant-American culture that work is good, but mainly it's the corporate culture and the power that corporations wield over our jobs that make this so. Also, the fact that political conservatives have skillfully managed to make socialism a dirty word. Evil. Anyone who works at a corporate job knows that you often have to work those extra hours to just get the job done. Or else, you get fired. You always hear the news commentators blathering about productivity as if it's a good thing. People are brainwashed to believe productivity is good. That's bullshit. That just means that companies pay people less, they work more hours, and they do more work. What a load of crap. These companies should hire more people and let them all do less work. That way, you can entirely get rid of unemployment. France officially reduced the workweek to 35 hours. Europeans freak out when I tell them I only get 10 days of vacation a year.

But it all comes back to working period. I don't want to do it. I guess, even though I endorse Socialism because it seems far more humane than Capitalism, my own attitude positions me somewhere else - Democratic Anarchist? Half-Assed Dreamer-ist? Selfish Life Squeezer? Life goes by really goddamn quick. Blink and it's gone. I want to spend those precious few hours of life doing things I love like creating art or counting clouds or singing naked in the shower. Yet, I can't bring myself to be a careless slacker, either. Sometimes, I really wish I could. But I have been sucked in and suckered. Money is seductive. I work damn hard at the jobs I get, desiring approval from my bosses and co-workers. I'm hurt when I feel unappreciated. And really, it's a load of horseshit. Fight the power. Fight the power.

I hung out at the Zineguide release party at Quimby's tonight in Wicker Park. Lots of folks read from their zines, and it was pretty cool. Ran into Keith Helt from Chicago Comics & his girlfriend - they're good peeps. Gotta recommend Al Burian's Burn Collector. Definitely one of the best. You should look for it and check it out. And...in the meantime...try not to work too hard.