Have you ever stopped to wonder what it is that gets people up every day? I’d be willing to bet that if you asked any random Skyline student exactly what time they wake up each morning, the answer would be something along the lines of, “As late as possible, without missing class.”
Don’t get me wrong, by any means; the answer is the same for me as for any other. On weekends, I’m lucky if I’m able to pull myself out of bed by noon. But the fact still remains that, as a society, we are an extremely lazy group of individuals. This is a fact echoed through our actions, our attitudes, and the technology that we have been developing, especially over the last few years.
Take, for example, the state of public restrooms nowadays. All right, so not every restroom is caught up to technology as of yet, but for the most part if you enter a bathroom in any given public place you will find yourself in a considerably user friendly environment. The toilet flushes itself, the water in the sink turns on when you put your hands in front of it, there are even places that have adopted paper towel dispensers that feed paper into your moist and waiting hands.
On top of that, if you’re in a handicap accessible bathroom, it’s possible that you don’t even need to open the door for yourself because, yes, they have a button that does that for you. If this trend continues any further, I’m afraid we may find ourselves using the facilities without even having to unzip our own pants because, scary as it sounds, they might even come up with a robot that does that for you, although it is interesting to imagine the types of lawsuits that may come out of that.
Moving beyond the bathroom the state of technology itself is now a complete mockery of what used to be considered hard work. Simple tasks such as tightening a screw, or digging a ditch can now be accomplished through power tools and heavy machinery. Since when did it become a necessity in this world to brush your teeth through the power of a battery-operated toothbrush?
The original design of many of the products we use now was for usefulness. The problem with progress is that it has become less about what people need and more about what people want, and what people want is a way to relax.
So, in the end, people have decided to sacrifice the values held in such high regard by our fathers, for what I suppose you could call efficiency. It is true that a man with a shovel isn’t going to dig a ditch nearly as fast as a man operating a backhoe. But take into account the fact that the backhoe is burning a massive amount of fuel, and at the same time, the man operating it isn’t getting any sort of exercise at all. In the end, this leaves the man in no better shape than he was before and the atmosphere is a little worse off.
We have now saved time, but how have we paid for it? If this trend continues, over the course of many ditches dug over the man’s life, he adds more and more noxious fumes into the atmosphere. All the while, he deprives himself of exercise, which could, when paired with a healthy diet, very easily prolong his life expectancy and keep him in good health for the duration of his lifespan.
The facts are simple, hard work never hurt anybody. Doing things the hard way can be good exercise for the body, as well as provide a sense of satisfaction for the mind. Going the easy road and eating fast food, while more convenient and highly addicting, isn’t going to promote a healthy lifestyle for you, or those around you.
Oh, and by the way, I am in no way attempting to sound like a hypocrite with this piece. I have said before that I can be lazy at times. Noon is a rather late time to be waking up on the weekends. On that same note, working until 3 a.m. doesn’t help put a spring in your step.
Regardless of our situations, however, each of us as a member of society needs to stop working in the way of convenience, and start actually working. In this way, I believe that we can begin living healthier, longer, and happier lives. In the end and as always, I am the Accordion Cowboy, and this has been I’m Mentioning….
