Dying to Work

I am thankful to my parents for instilling a strong work ethic in me. I enjoy the challenges and the opportunities work brings. But why do we all work so hard? With all the hoopla going on about immigration in the U.S., I can't help but pause to think about the folks who are really putting everything they have on the line just for the opportunity to put in a hard day's labor and make a living wage.

And honestly, I don't really get the issue. It's pure economics - supply and demand. Most illegal immigrants are willing to do the kinds of work that most Americans - no matter their circumstances - find beneath them. This isn't news, of course, but this human condition intrigues. What are people willing to give up to work? In this case, it is potentially their families and the way of life they have known for 10, 15, 20 years. Just for the opportunity to come over here and try to work, to do more than survive, many give their lives.

For the people around me, though, US citizens and mostly other DINKS, survival isn't the issue. They give up their health, their marriages, and their children to toil in supposedly rewarding jobs that wring every bit of energy, passion and pleasure from them. Work regularly brings many of my co-workers to tears. In these instances, it's not about putting food on the table. It's not about basic needs. It's for achievement or recognition. For the big bonus, the big house, the sports car, the beautiful spouse and the kick-ass wine collection.

It's common in this country for people to look down on the "illegals" who are taking American's jobs and America's future. But in reality they want nothing more than the chance to live the kind of life they dream of, to work for it. To risk it all for the opportunity to some day give away their happiness for nothing more than a corner office and an impressive title. Maybe they shouldn't be fighting so hard.