<tease mode on
Tom and Peggy sittin' in a tree
k-i-s-s-i-n-g...

heh heh
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Thank you, a while ago (Friday? Saturday? I was at work and had no time to reply then), for making the distinction between the liberal side of the aisle and the doctrinaire left. I appreciate it.

When you say that only an idiot would equate wages with goodness, you're probably forgetting that the vaunted Puritan Ethic, from which we get our pick-yourself-up-you-lazy-slob approach to poverty, does just that. Although it's probably true that most Americans no longer connect visible prosperity with God's favor and proof of a "Get Into Heaven Free" ticket, the attitude that people with money are better people still governs our social behavior. I believe this is a cultural echo of the Calvinists among our Founders. We are, as a nation, less than 300 years old, and as a society, less than 400; it takes a while to forget historical attitudes.

Perhaps we will grow out of this tendency to reward popularity and fashion rather than labor. I hope so. But I'm not holding my breath for it to happen during my lifetime.

I would like to see a bigger, more realistic deal made out of Labor Day in this country, to honor those who work the way we honor veterans on Memorial Day and patriots on the Fourth of July. Don't ask me what. My brain hasn't gotten that far yet.

Regards--
Mary Anne