Hands On Work Has Value

Our recent tropical storm has got me thinking about people who know how to actually do things. I have always appreciated  the plumber or the electrician and the carpenter who can make, fix or rebuild stuff for the rest of us who cannot do that. We have had a long period of time where these jobs have been shunted aside for tech jobs, lawyers, doctors, teachers etc. We devalue these skills until we desperately need someone to take care of us. I do put doctors in both camps since I am in awe of someone who knows how to fix a person. I really would like to be able to do that.

The 911 bombing in the US brought firefighters and what they do to the forefront almost to the exclusion of the other helpers like police and EMT personnel. I watched all the footage during that time and have continued to have a great deal of respect for what the firefighters can and are willing to do.

As a little girl the fire siren used to terrify me. Now I stop and think "good someone is getting help."

After the war in Afghanistan started to take our young men and women we show a much greater respect for our soldiers. I am not an advocate for war but I feel reassured living close to a military base where there are people  trained to assist in natural disasters. People who know how to do things that need to be done to keep us all safe.

We had a gunman on the loose in Moncton last month and our RCMP officers responded. Three of them were killed trying to apprehend this man. Going to work every day expecting that you may be giving your life to protect others is far from what most of us even think about.

Now we are in the clean up stages of the tropical storm. One that was worse than any we have had before but certainly not of the magnitude felt in the Southern US or further south. I started to think about who the people are that we have to rely on during a weather event such as this one. We certainly rely on our firefighters, our police and our military if they are called upon.

But I soon realized that we needed our linesmen and our tree cutters. Two groups of people who do stuff that most of the rest of us cannot do.

I believe that we can have advances in technology that are important to our lives but unless we have people who know how to actually do stuff this technology is not much help. It is time we acknowledge the expertise and bravery that is required to do all of these jobs.