Neva Goodwin:
"At some point, we need to ask, why are we using the word, "work"?
There are other good words -- "self-actualization" (well, that's not
a very euphoneous one, but it has a good meaning), "play" -- I've
tended to assume that "work" had to do with an output of some kind
that was of value, not only to the doer, but also to at least some
others in society. Etc.
"Work" is one of the most impossible words in the English language. It
covers far, far too many things, including play (e.g. as in hockey or
baseball). There are other words which fit particular situations better,
words which in some cases have already become commonplace. I don't find
"self-actualization" bad if that is what someone is doing -- perhaps the
dancer in a Feiffer cartoon. But then many women, worldwide, still do not
work. Rather, they "drudge", while their husbands and often their children
"toil", if they can find work at all. Little boys on the streets of
Calcutta don't work either, they beg or scam. Nor do little boys in Sierra
Leone. They carry guns around and fight. Drug dealers do not work either.
They "push", while prostitutes from the same neighbourhood "hook".
My point is that the words are probably already there. Perhaps we should
get honest with ourselves and use them.
Ed Weick
