Achtung, Baby: Back To Work

After a long, long, strike-induced layoff, I'm back to work on a regular basis.

Thank God.

Like many people, especially Americans, I partly derive my self-esteem from work. So, it's really good to be back.... but we should remind ourselves, now and then, what is really important in life.

Americans define themselves by their jobs. Ask an American what they "do" and they will say "I'm an accountant" or "I drive a truck." Ask a European the same question, and they will say "I like to ski" or "I like to travel." Quite a difference in perception, huh?

(Which might have something to do with the near riot that broke out in France last year when the government wanted to raise the standard work week up from the traditional THIRTY hours. Those poor bastards! With only four guaranteed paid weeks off a year!)

That being said, we come to the real subject of this blog entry: a once-popular German phrase.

There are days, and we have them all, that work seems more akin to slavery than to joie de vivre. (Sorry to slip a little French in on you.) We all have our bills to pay and our dreams to finance. Nevertheless, in the depths of the work week, with no end in sight, we look at the drudgery we face and moan to ourselves that there's got to be a better way. Of course, there usually isn't.

And here's where a little German phrase will come in handy. Write it down for future reference.


"Arbeit macht fre"


...which means, roughly translated, "work makes you free" or "work brings freedom." Most good hearted, Puritan-ethic Americans will nod their heads in agreement with that concept.

Now, I bet you've seen this phrase someplace. But where? Think about it.

Keep thinking...


No? Give up?


Remember that I have a huge appreciation for irony, then Google the phrase.

Done?

Kinda puts a new perspective on things, doesn't it?

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We tend to take ourselves, and the things we do to make a living, a little too seriously. Better we remember that while work provides us with material wealth, it's not worth killing ourselves, or others, over it. Remember this lie that the Germans told; the lie that work makes freedom, and remember where you saw it.

Take pride in what you do, and how you do it, but don't let your job define you, or how you perceive the value of the guy next to you. Don't let anyone, especially your kids, persist in believing that work will set them free. Freedom is a state of mind, not a paycheck.

Now, keep that little phrase taped to your cubicle wall, water cooler, or tool box, and reread it whenever things get to be a bit much at work. See? Things could be worse.

That, or your situation at work really, really sucks.

In which case, maybe it really is time to change jobs. And/or leave the country. Fast.