Speech on Dignity of Labor
Dignity of Labor means the respect of the labor class or the manual labor. Understanding the dignity of labor is very important as the people of today undermine the jobs and they relate the jobs to the status of a person. The youth of today should understand that there are no big or small jobs and these manual labor are very important part of the society as if they were not present, our lives would be chaotic. Imagine just one of your day without the vegetable and fruits sellers, carpenter, farmer, cobbler, sweeper, mason, and barber. All these people work on all days of the week so that our lives do not get disturbed as the world cannot just exist on the people who work in air-conditioned cabins.
There is a known saying “work is worship” so if you worship and respect your work, you should always respect the labor as well. But the scenario is very much different in the present time. There are various kind of work ranging from manual labor to the white collar executive of a multinational organization. But these people who are placed in these large organizations are usually high headed and they start attaching their jobs with dignity and self-esteem. It is then when he starts taking the other jobs for granted. If he travels in an airplane, he considers traveling in bus is below his dignity. Such a person cannot even pick up his own luggage and will look for someone always for such jobs as well. But is this how a person dignifies other jobs?
There are quite a number of prominent people in this world who showed respect for labors. Abraham Lincoln who even helped a woodcutter once by axing his logs giving him rest. The father of our Nation, Mahatma Gandhi also recognized the dignity of labor. He always did his own jobs such as washing clothes, cleaning and working. Both these personalities had an immense respect for manual labors.
The labor are extremely essential for the society as they are the root of all development but they hardly get the recognition. Cultivation and harvest of food grains, fruits and vegetables would not be possible without a farmer and we won’t get anything to eat if they stop working. Our houses cannot get constructed if labor were not there. Also there are some students who do these laborious tasks so that they can meet their educational as well as personal expenses.
It is very interesting to know that these days more and more countries are recognizing the value of labor. In socialist countries such as Denmark, China, Ireland, Norway etc. laborers are held in great esteem and they play a substantial role in functioning of the government as well. They have introduced wage reforms which has been a successful step as their poverty has also minimized. In countries like USA, the labor services are so expensive that rich people generally indulge in the manual tasks for their sustenance. Even in India, lot of institutions have made it a mandate for people to wash their utensils after use.
It is noteworthy that labor is not only beneficial for the society but also it saves the person from indulging in wrong habits. It gives them a sense of self satisfaction and makes them independent.
