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| Yes | 71% | 665 votes | Total: 932 votes | |
| No | 29% | 267 votes |
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Add to FavoritesI'm very sad that I had to answer yes for this question. About 10 years ago I would have said no but all that has changed. I feel America is not only lazy, but we are set up to be lazy. Everything is about convenience now. Let me make my statement clear.
1.Drive-Thrus.
Drive-Thrus were originally made to enhance the speed of customer service, and also provide some convenience, now, it's being taken for granted. I have worked in a fast food place before, and the drive-thru was a mess, while our lobby is totally empty. People would rather wait in a long drive-thru line, then go in an empty lobby because they don't want to walk.
2.Cash Pay Islands at gas pumps.
I remember back when you had to walk a few feet to the booth/store, to pay cash for your gas. Now people would rather wait in a line behind someone putting 20 dollars worth of one dollar bills into the dispenser to get gas. Those few feet are a killer!
3. Renting movies on line/Blockbusters no late fee system.
I'm sure anywhere you live, you have a local blockbuster within a 10 mile radius of your vicinity. I know I have 2 and one is within walking distance! But that is not enough for people, now they wanted delivered to the door. God forbid you make them walk to a mailbox! To top it all off, Blockbuster has a system that you can keep a movie or game as long as you want with no late fees. That's just plain giving an excuse for people to be lazy. Turn it in on time and there will be no late fees, ya bums.
4.Car Washes.
Now I can harp on this subject because I honestly wash my own car. Now a days you go to a self car wash establishment, the place is empty. People use them as last resort, if say, they are broke, or they don't want to wait in that long line of other lazy people to get their car washed. Sure they vacuum and leave a spritz of cheap air freshener, but let me evaluate the cost of the two. At a car wash, you will be looking to pay at least 15 dollars for a exterior/interior wash, plus vacuuming and a spritz of an air freshener of your choice. That price is not including a tire dressing if you want it, or a wax job. Then if you are not cheap like 65% of Americans, you will type the person at least 5 bucks. At a self serve car wash you pay about 2 dollars to soap your car up, 2 more to hose it off, and maybe a dollar to vacuum it. In front of your house (considering you have one) you pay nothing. What happened to people washing there own cars. Half the people that go to car washes are home owners. If you think thats bad they now have a service where people come and wash your car while your at work!
There are so many other examples I could give, but I would be here typing all day and I'm too lazy for that. Just kidding. But case in point, America has made America lazy. It's sad but so true.
Learn more about this author, Nkechiye O..
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No
Is the average American lazy? That's a tough one. I believe we must look at tendencies, habits, different classes, technology privileges, and I believe we must compare us to before. To conclude that Americans are lazy is way too much of a misshaped label to put on something. Let's take a look at what we need to, in order to find our answer.
First thing's first: tendencies. Do all of what we do tend to be lazy? I disagree. I know hard working Americans, in whatever class (Low to High), that work more than 50 hour weeks in whatever trade/job they are in. However, in those long 50 plus hour weeks, are they all spent with hard effort? I can't say for sure.
I also have studied, though some Americans work this long scheduled week, what of the time off? Is that spent with effort or relaxation taken too far? I think we must understand what the boundary of work and rest' compared to hard work and extreme rest' which can be confused to laziness'.
Habits are also a category we must look at. In our jobs, do we tend to take short cuts due to what we have learned from others? Do we perform half-hearted work to a job that requires full effort? How inspired are we of doing the job right? Or even at all? I think the ultimate habit (whatever the degree) is laziness, and unfortunately laziness is bred in human nature.
I believe that this study must be conducted in different classes to more accurately find the answer. When mentioning classes nothing spectacular needs to be performed, just your basic: Lower Middle Upper classes. The reason for comparing similar classes is simplicity, and the fact that you compare the effort of a doctor to a carpenter; the results don't really work out too well.
We must look at ourselves now and compare that to years, decades, and even centuries before. When we also do that, we also must take in consideration the kind of work we are able to do now that we have more technology. At that point, we must ask ourselves, "Now that we have the technology, do we rely on technology to do all the work for us?" It's another question that we must keep in mind.
Are Americans lazy? I believe that is merely an opinionated question on comparison on Today vs. Yesterday and Us vs. Them. My opinion, as the writer of this article, is thus. Sure, Americans could be more of an efficient nation and produce more things inside our nation's wall, and work closer as a nation. Keep this in mind, however; we consider ourselves in today's standards as a 1st world country, so we must be doing alright.
Learn more about this author, The Rain King.
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