Is the average American lazy?

Yes

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by Ashley Halligan

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The answer to such a question can easily be derived from such statistics as the American obesity and heart disease rates, higher than most other nations throughout the world (yet we thrive on the fact that we are the greatest country). At an all time high, laziness is the prime culprit for such increases. Of course we can blame the growing popularity of fast food tactics like "Fourth Meals" and portions that are magnanimous in comparison to standard meal size. But, is it fair to blame corporate marketing for the inability for (educated & free) adults to consciously make health savvy decisions? Of course we are all guilty of giving in to temptation, but the inability to control one's cravings and suffice to such marketing schemes is a direct reflection of that person's laziness: both emotional and physically. Although technology is a luxury in modern society, can it also be considered a culprit in alleviating too much from the average worker's shoulders?- to the point of removing the need to think, act, and perform as a conscious human?

Welfare is another reflection of American laziness. Of course there are recipients who are genuinely in need of assistance; but at what point does that assistance cease and a personal goal for success is established? As long as the funds keep pouring in, there's no incentive for employment; being a recipient is too easy. Sadly, this welfare cycle often becomes a culture, a pattern perse, with the children following in their examples' footsteps. They're often students of school districts that provide little opportunity and if a platform for opportunity is available, they often have no familial support or encouragement to move forward and beyond. This is, of course, a generalization; but, it's an unfortunate and common occurrence within our welfare system. More often than not, long term recipients, especially in two-headed households, remain in the system out of ease.

This brings me to immigration. We so often scrutinize the illegal immigrants and the companies that reap illegal tax benefits due to their employment; however, how many Americans are willing to perform the menial and laborious tasks that these immigrants so often engage in? Without the completion of such tasks, the country wouldn't function properly because finding white collar workers willing to downgrade their employment status as a mechanism to create equilibrium in the work force would be very rare, if not impossible. Yet, we have innumerable men and women who would rather collect welfare than engage in a blue collar, physically demanding job. Corporations should not be manipulating the tax system; too many dedicated workers in all realms of employment- both white and blue collared workers, sacrifice huge portions of their income to the tax system; however, is it fair to say immigrants are "stealing" jobs when Americans are unwilling to work? Karl Marx made a great comparison when he compared the proletariat to the Bourgeoisie, but in modern society, the proletariat (at least in physically demanding positions) is commonly not an American worker. Take the labor shortage into consideration; yes there are regions of the US that pride itself on blue collar commitment, take the mining industries for instance, but throughout the south, the labor shortage is immensely growing, and it's common knowledge that a nation cannot survive without a working class or middle class.

We are suffering from an age of political laziness as well. Most Americans take no pride in their presence within a democracy. They fail to educate themselves on the dynamic and complexities of American politics, solely for the purpose of focusing on things that require less thought- less depth. They take their voices foregranted and are often clueless about political technicalities or the construct of policy. Rather, they choose an issue that requires little or no thought (if they take stance on any issue at all)- which has no middle-ground, only black or white polar opposites of opinion. Although some menial issues are important enough to be recognized, meaningless issues deflect from major issues which many Americans are too incompetent to understand. Our politicians are forced to cater to their audience and campaign around issues which have less significance within our society (for instance: the recent ban of lap dances in Ohio and the ban of cockfighting in Louisiana). Is it not more important to be focusing on our economic devastation and our growing deficit due to unwisely allocated funds into a stagnating war? Is it not important to be focusing on our deteriorating education systems- especially within states that continually rank at or near the bottom? These things require thought; and sadly, many Americans are too lazy to think, much to the disgrace of our wise, intelligent, and politically active forefathers.

Those who feel Americans are not lazy should reanalyze the country's current issues and circumstances. Obesity is not the product of a healthy and active lifestyle, nor are the diseases and illnesses associated with obesity. Profits of cable companies, video game distributors, and Internet services are constantly rising at an astronomical continuum. Political ignorance is a direct result of laziness as all Americans have access to free or inexpensive knowledge, rather that be in a public school system, a public library, or by obtaining grants and funding to finance further education if it's personally unaffordable. All of these things highlight an epidemic of laziness, which is sadly leading us down a path of destruction- health-wise, economically, politically, and morally.

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