Why celebrate a life that we hate?

Our lives encounter minimal moments of comfort and pleasure. Most of our time is spent working for a boss that couldn't care less about our dreams, wants, or happiness. We exist to make someone else a buck, while generally being able to barely afford to keep ourselves and our families fed, clothed, and sheltered. Our minimal needs are barely met week after week, while the business owners and bosses enjoy more commodities than any of us will ever see in our entire lives.

When the drudgery and stress of work is over, we come home with barely enough time to watch television, get drunk, and try our hardest to forget what we had to endure while working. And this is if we even are able to hold down a job. Layoffs, business closings, and mass terminations have made it hard to even keep a secure job.

Those of us that work in this society celebrate any holiday we have off. We try our best to reconnect with our friends and families during these times. The Fourth of July is no exception, and we are quick to light up our grills and crack open a cold beer, while watching fireworks and having passing conversations with loved ones we barely know because we spend most of our time at our workplace.

This is the reality that the majority of us face. This is our life. A life of stress, pain, boredom, and physical, mental, and emotional suffering. And this is the country where we have it good! Imagine what it must be like in South America, Africa, or Asia!

Why do we tend to celebrate an existence that most of the time we curse? Maybe it's because we are afforded so few chances to actually enjoy life that we have to force ourselves to celebrate even when there is nothing to really be happy about.

So why is it that the vast majority of us will never really be able to enjoy life, while a small minority will continue to get richer at our expense? Do our lives really have to be like this? Is this all we have to look forward to, the same “clocked in” existence with a boss breathing down our neck most of the hours of our life? Can we see better days? Or will we continue to drudge away until our retirement days? Can anyone really afford to retire anymore anyway?

Our day to day existence is one that is controlled by others, true. However, we are the ones who ultimately have power over our lives. The trick is to get that power back. We have an undeniable right to life and happiness. It's time we fight for both. Starting tomorrow, after the holiday has ended, will we just go back to our normal lives? Or will we assert our rights, as humans? Will we work to ensure a say in our lives at work as well as back in our communities? The answer is democracy, surely. But democracy that is direct. Where everyone is on equal footing, and we all have the same power, where the lines between boss and worker, student and teacher, police officer and citizen no longer exist.

Tomorrow, when we go into work, let's all insist on being paid a living wage. Let's all ensure that our workplace is safe. Let's all tell our bosses what we really think of them. Let's keep what we produce, and give it directly to our community. If we act tomorrow, we will never have to relive yesterday.