I deeply deeply relate to this op. It may just be wild speculation, but I believe that boomers truly think that doing work is what gives you worth as a person. My father is semi retired but he literally cannot sit down and relax. He's always doing some project around the house, or just rearranging things or doing dishes, etc. On top of that, since I'm out of work right now, he takes every chance he gets to remind me that I dont have a job and how he cant fathom not having a job etc etc. I can't help but think it's just the result of many years of indoctrination in this workaholic society and they just cant see it any other way.
Maybe it's just my dad tho he's kinda OCD and German lol
Very frustrating. And when I try to broach the idea that we should have shorter work weeks or more vacation time, of course I am just the lazy millennial communist. :angry-hex:
To distract from the vast and yawning abyss, utterly devoid of objective meaning, one must keep the hands busy and do what the mind says is useful. People enjoy the feeling of being productive; to feel useful and needed and tell themselves that they're making the lives of others better and easier by existing. Work is, in this manner, productive! So this feeling of value and goodness becomes inextricably linked with the idea of work itself, and not the products thereof. It's not necessarily wrong, though, either -- after all helping people necessarily involves effort and work.
Building things, cleaning, making measurable, observable changes in their environment -- these are the kinds of things that allow people to tell themselves that there is meaning in life. They are building something; leaving something that will last into the future.
Us enlightened types? We can read and laugh and whittle away the hours with our hobbies that make us happy while we wait for the end to come. Helping people should only done optimally, rationally, and without obfuscating feelings of anxiety or a need to prove self-worth -- an outlook and ideology that very few people on this planet share.
These are products of endless self-awareness and ironic reflection cultivated through countless hours of obsession over ideas and expression. Posting is a convenient medium to create the self-image that allows us to look down on the rubes who waste their time in pointless, displeasurable toil. After all, wasting time pleasurably is by far the superior option.
My folks are going to be able to retire in a year, but for the most part they don't really do anything but go to work and do home maintenance/improvement stuff. They've literally never had a hobby. They really only watch Nascar as far as entertainment goes. Once they have free time I'm not sure they'll know what to do with it. They just don't have it in them to relax
labor should be this meaningful but alienation and ideology obviously exist. all day in a sweat shop cannot be considered meaningful or fulfilling by any sane person. my father thinks the same way, despite not having a job in 15 years he constantly does trivial housework and tells us about it every time and feels extremely proud of his 'hard work' and ensuing authority. i think both my parents are kind of sick but how cliche is that
I deeply deeply relate to this op. It may just be wild speculation, but I believe that boomers truly think that doing work is what gives you worth as a person. My father is semi retired but he literally cannot sit down and relax. He's always doing some project around the house, or just rearranging things or doing dishes, etc. On top of that, since I'm out of work right now, he takes every chance he gets to remind me that I dont have a job and how he cant fathom not having a job etc etc. I can't help but think it's just the result of many years of indoctrination in this workaholic society and they just cant see it any other way.
Maybe it's just my dad tho he's kinda OCD and German lol
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Very frustrating. And when I try to broach the idea that we should have shorter work weeks or more vacation time, of course I am just the lazy millennial communist. :angry-hex:
deleted by creator
To distract from the vast and yawning abyss, utterly devoid of objective meaning, one must keep the hands busy and do what the mind says is useful. People enjoy the feeling of being productive; to feel useful and needed and tell themselves that they're making the lives of others better and easier by existing. Work is, in this manner, productive! So this feeling of value and goodness becomes inextricably linked with the idea of work itself, and not the products thereof. It's not necessarily wrong, though, either -- after all helping people necessarily involves effort and work.
Building things, cleaning, making measurable, observable changes in their environment -- these are the kinds of things that allow people to tell themselves that there is meaning in life. They are building something; leaving something that will last into the future.
Us enlightened types? We can read and laugh and whittle away the hours with our hobbies that make us happy while we wait for the end to come. Helping people should only done optimally, rationally, and without obfuscating feelings of anxiety or a need to prove self-worth -- an outlook and ideology that very few people on this planet share.
These are products of endless self-awareness and ironic reflection cultivated through countless hours of obsession over ideas and expression. Posting is a convenient medium to create the self-image that allows us to look down on the rubes who waste their time in pointless, displeasurable toil. After all, wasting time pleasurably is by far the superior option.
My folks are going to be able to retire in a year, but for the most part they don't really do anything but go to work and do home maintenance/improvement stuff. They've literally never had a hobby. They really only watch Nascar as far as entertainment goes. Once they have free time I'm not sure they'll know what to do with it. They just don't have it in them to relax
labor should be this meaningful but alienation and ideology obviously exist. all day in a sweat shop cannot be considered meaningful or fulfilling by any sane person. my father thinks the same way, despite not having a job in 15 years he constantly does trivial housework and tells us about it every time and feels extremely proud of his 'hard work' and ensuing authority. i think both my parents are kind of sick but how cliche is that