I preface this week’s column with a disclaimer: My column appears in the opinion section of the newspaper. Therefore, while I do sometimes include factual information, the majority of what you read is my opinion.
I do not wish to force my opinion upon anyone else. I try to live by the rule of treating others the way I want to be treated. With this being said, if I offend you in any way shape or form, I did not intentionally do so.
My husband owns his own construction company, he is a skilled tradesman. I am a BIG fan of trade laborers and it is my opinion that everyone who enjoys modern-day plumbing, electricity, or lives in a house, ought to, as well. In the past, my husband also has worked for another skilled contractor in Cañon City. It has been his experience that there are several locations in town, where individuals look down upon trade laborers. Not only this, but oftentimes individuals driving in their cars will completely disregard road closures and get dangerously close to men and women working their trades.
Ladies and gentlemen, let me say one more time for those in the back, if you like being able to flush your toilet, you need to recognize that it is most likely a skilled trades laborer you will call when it is broken. Maybe this individual went to college and maybe he didn’t. She might be dressed in dirty and sweaty clothes at 3 p.m. because she has been working in the summer heat to finish the job so that a family can have running water for evening showers.
These individuals work hard. I can not adequately explain to you just how physically exhausting the work my husband does. However, if you know someone who works a trade, you know.
Skilled trades laborers are getting harder and harder to find. At the same time, some individuals continue to look down on these types of careers. I am here to tell you that all of the tradesmen I know make an income that makes my teaching salary, with a master’s degree, look pathetic. There is no way to sugarcoat it. So, as some zip around their hillside neighborhood in cars that were most likely bought on eight-year loans, there’s a good chance that the construction worker putting in a 10-hour day, in 100-degree heat, bought his vehicle with cash.
My point is that tradesmen are diligent, strong, courageous and invaluable. They work hard enough to know their core values and most of the time do not have time or energy to worry about what others are doing, or thinking about them.
This is where I might ruffle your feathers, it is my opinion that our country has turned away from hard work. We have reversed the meaning of responsibility with rights.
It is not my right to expect to be comfortable with everything and every situation I enter into. On the contrary, it is my responsibility to change my mindset or my situation. I do not have to step on others to do so, but I do not have to accept that I must live in a situation that is not in line with my beliefs or goals.
It is not my right to expect a handout. It is not my right to expect the minimum wage to be a liveable wage. It’s my responsibility to work hard enough to provide for my family. I do not expect to have what others around me have. If there is something that I want or need, it is something I need to earn and work toward.
It is not my right to do what I want when I want and however I want. It is my responsibility to sacrifice now, be it my time, physical exertion, or immediate gratification, to work towards the goals I have.
It is not my right to expect others to take care of my children. It is my responsibility to do what I need to put their needs, in line with our family values, first and foremost. I can not expect others to do this for me. While I would love to believe that the best interest of children is always at the heart of all individuals, it simply is not true.
We have prisons full of people who have hurt children. Therefore, I can not expect anyone else to care for my children or make decisions for them as I would. If the responsibility of taking care of my children is challenged by others, I must change my situation to fulfill my role as their guardian.
It is not my right to not disagree with others. It is my responsibility to have respect for all people and to be able to have deep and meaningful conversations, even if our views are different. However, it is also not my right to expect others to feel the same. It is instead my responsibility to guard my heart and to know there may be a better time or place to have hard conversations in the future.
The Declaration of Independence says, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”
However, from the beginning of time, we have pushed the boundaries of rights versus our responsibilities. I am hung up on the word pursuit, we were never guaranteed happiness. If there is something happening in my life that I believe is infringing upon my rights, I alone am responsible for making a change.
Maybe this change will be hard, so what? If it is worth it to me, I have to be willing to work hard, day in and day out, until I have exhausted all of my energy and efforts to make a change.
Jamie Reed is a teacher with the Cañon City School District and a contributor to the Daily Record.
