The industrial revolution was both glorious and heinous at the same time. It is a polarizing event. We, as a developed nation, have gone through the pains of industrialization. We, as a society living in the year 2019, greatly benefit from the sacrifice and toil of those who came before us.
Without the industrial revolution, we would not be the country we are today. A country brimming with opportunity and prosperity.
“In the late 1800s, at the height of the Industrial Revolution in the United States, the average American worked 12-hour days and seven-day weeks in order to eke out a basic living. People of all ages, particularly the very poor and recent immigrants, often faced extremely unsafe working conditions, with insufficient access to fresh air, sanitary facilities and breaks.” –History.com
Labor Day was eventually formed both as a celebration of the working man/woman and a day of rest for these grossly overworked individuals.
So what does all of this have to do with living debt-free and the pursuit of financial independence?
It is merely a reminder that we live in an amazing time. We live in a time where those who choose to apply themselves, work hard, and push past the naysayers, can do and become anything. It is easy to get lost in the narrative that we are often offered; everyone is evil and everything is shit.
This is simply not true. We are not living under communism or indentured servitude of serfdom.
We are free.
Free to pursue our life with intention and purpose. Free to roam, to move about the country at will. Free to work or not work. Free to thrive and to prosper in unimaginable ways.
We do not work 12 hours a day, 7 days a week. We are in a unique position of reaping the benefits of those who came before us.
Financial independence is the crowning achievement of free people. It is the ultimate form of freedom.
It is only possible when people are free to pursue upward mobility. To be judged on their merit and their ability. Money is an honest and unbiased barometer of these traits.
“Money demands that you sell, not your weakness to men’s stupidity, but your talent to their reason;” – Ayn Rnd, Atlas Shrugged
And so on this Labor Day 2019, I am indebted to those who worked in ways and conditions almost unfathomable to us today. I am grateful to live in a country that upholds prosperity and the pursuit of happiness as an inalienable right.
I hope you and your loved ones are enjoying this Labor Day weekend!
Photo by Victor Freitas from Pexels