by Kari Nichols

Created on: August 16, 2009   Last Updated: August 17, 2009

Long ago, from countries not so far away, settlers came to what we know as America. There were people of all trades: blacksmith, teacher, preacher, livestock herder, banker, storekeeper, farmer. Everyone depended upon each other to do their job, so that everything got done and they would survive in this new world.

Clearly, some of those jobs are indoors, and don't require physical labor. The preacher ministered to those in need; the teacher educated the young; the banker helped folks to make ends meet. These jobs essentially don't require you to work up a sweat, so they were considered clean enough to wear a white collar on the job and not get it dirty, hence 'white collar' jobs.

Jobs such as storekeeper required a little more physical effort, like stocking shelves, loading wagons, and sweeping up. A harnessmaker or saddler used his hands and could get a messy, though the work was detailed and tedious rather than strenuous. These jobs sure weren't 'white collar,' but they were more moderate than the life of a field hand. They could be considered 'blue collar.'

But the blacksmith, horsemaster and the farmer: now those jobs call for hard labor. You dressed for the temperatures you worked in. You were guaranteed to sweat and get dirty. Farmers and those tending livestock spent their days toiling in the sun. All that hard work and sun have an effect, one of which is baking the back of your neck to a red roast.

The expression 'redneck' actually means a hardworking individual. Someone who does things for themselves, helps those who need it, and isn't afraid of work. This country was built on the backs of many such rednecks, whose role is as essential as any other worker's.

As the generations progressed, some 'educated' (though not necessarily intelligent,) folks came to look down on the farmer and laborer, assigning them a lowly status of a lesser human being. Their 'better-than-you' snobbery and disdain for generating an honest sweat made for hard times for a redneck. Being just ordinary working folks, they had little time for educational opportunities, since physical labor takes time and strength, and were consequently sometimes dazzled by some fast-talker. The 'educated' folks didn't want to dirty their hands with common folk, and failed to learn from their common sense approach.

Today, America still has plenty of smooth-talking elite class that live to defraud ordinary folks out of their money. Money is the master for them, and they connive, borrow and kill to

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