Labor Day calls America back to work in service for each other and our nation

Usually when writing about Labor Day, my approach is to discuss its history that grew out of extraordinarily unjust conditions that oppressed working people and to observe the benefits that the labor movement brought to American workers generally, such as the five-day, 40-hour work week; health insurance; retirement; minimum wage. The labor movement benefited the community. This time is different because there is a pernicious blight on the land, an attack on any sense of community responsibility, such as what emerged with the labor movement. President John Kennedy's wintry inaugural address aptly framed it as, 'Ask not what your country can do for you — ask what you can do for your country.' His clarion call shifted America into the idea of community and how to serve the community. Young activists took his message to heart, some because it fit their religious ideals. The Peace Corps was born, for example, then later AmeriCorps — from the ethos of giving to your country without extracting any benefit for your bank account. Our national narrative has reversed. What you can do for your country is no longer the goal. Rather, our politics has become what can the country do for me. The corruption, graft and ego-driven priorities are in our face daily. We cannot continue to ignore this perversion of community. We spent hundreds of billions of dollars on war and then turn around and cut medical care for our elderly and poor compatriots. Imagine rather investing that money in teachers, already underpaid and some of society's most important workers. Instead, teachers have to leave their vocation. Our country terminates foreign aid to countries suffering starvation and acute medical duress. That is not building community. Nor is it complying with the religious beliefs to which most of us subscribe. It is shocking that multimillionaires and billionaires do not step forward for the common good but seek to wring every last penny they can from workers. Oil executives grow rich speculating on the oil crisis, and workers pay at the pump. Across Texas, school debt could be wiped out with a few checks. None of our billionaires or millionaires have come forward to do that. The quality of our community depends on the education of children. Or is selfishness the subtext for not educating kids? Two camps are in play. One camp is what can I get out of the country for me. The other is what can I do for my community. To be sure, thousands of wonderful volunteers give their time, trying to patch the gaps caused by the cold-hearted slashing of state and federal funds. Millionaires are not offering to do the same, preferring instead to aggrandize their wealth at workers' expense. There are some bright lights, certainly. Dolly Parton is an example that should prick our conscience. And MacKenzie Scott. We must reject the idea that individuals have the right to exploit workers for their own benefit. That does not fit into the Democratic ideal, and it does not fit into the religious values to which most Americans ascribe. Multimillionaires want to plant data centers that will exploit the natural resources of rural workers and farmers. Tax money flows to the coffers of companies like Flock — now dogged by concerns about surveillance — not for workers' well-being. Technology is good; but, as Pope Leo recently argued, it should serve workers, not replace them. Nor is money good for its own sake. Billionaires' money comes from the workers and should go back to the community. This Labor Day is a time to pause and commit ourselves to recognizing that building our community for workers is our priority, not building wealth for already fortunate individuals. Jim Harrington is a human rights attorney and retired founder of the Texas Civil Rights Project.