Two News Stories

It's a small news item, really. When COVID-19 hit and shortages of medical equipment and protective gear were projected, factory workers at a company called Braskem America voluntarily decided to spend 28 days shuttered inside the factory, working 12-hour shifts to produce needed materials to fight COVID-19. 28 days away from their families. 28 days of working 12-hour shifts. They walked out of the factory with smiles on their faces, flashing the "V" for victory sign on Wednesday.

There's another small news item worthy of mention that occurred on the same day the Brakem America workers ended their 28 days of help in the fight against COVID-19. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez, whose Marxist politics make her the poster girl for the hard-left wing of the Democratic Party, gave an interview to left-leaning ViceTV's "Seat at the Table." In the interview she said:

"When we have this discussion about 'going back' or 'reopening,' I think a lot of people should just say, 'No. We're not going back to that. We're not going back to 70 hour weeks just so we could put food on the table and not even feel any semblance of security in our lives.'"

No doubt there are plenty of leftists who would nod their heads in approval, and hopefully, a few who might wince.

Adam Ford suggests that these two news articles represent two different ways of being an American:

May I suggest that the way of the Braskem America workers is the spirit that built America into the greatest and most prosperous country the world has ever known. It's also the animating force by which our parents, grandparents, great-grandparents, and beyond were able to survive and sometimes even thrive in a world far different and far harsher than our own.

The attitude of responsibility and hard work. Sleeves rolled up. Playing through the pain. Standing tall as one on whom others can lean in tough times. Whatever needs to be done — just turn me loose on it. I'll get it done; I'll figure it out. And keep your handout! I'll work for my own. And I'll outwork anyone here. I'm grateful for my job — and I'll be running this company in five years.

The other way, the AOC way, if you choose it, will lead to a life of resentment, covetousness, laziness, narcissism, anger, and misery. If the most prosperous economy in history is, to AOC, cause for nothing but a workers' boycott, then nothing will ever be good enough. No handout large enough, no government overreach far enough, no tax on others confiscatory enough ...

The more I thought about these two [news stories], the more stark the differences became. So I had to share.

Yesterday, forty-some men with smiles on their faces clocked out from a month-long shift during which they literally lived in a factory working their fingers to the bone to help their neighbor and provide for their families.

While one do-nothing politician who collects almost 200,000 taxpayer dollars per year sat in her luxury D.C. apartment — complaining.

Well said.