American Idle

J. Kevin Tumlinson

I am not an inherently lazy person. I have a work ethic. I get up and get the job done. But when it's my down time, I'm down. I find that sweet spot on my couch, grab a book, turn on the TV, or just plain close my eyes. Me time. It's necessary for the old brain pan to cool off every now and then.

I think that down time is what's missing in America.

It's an amazing thing, but Americans are widely known to be the most over-weight people on the planet. Many of us down fast food for every meal. A large percentage of us have desk jobs, so we're sitting most of the day. We are so mentally fatigued that by the time we get home we're too exhausted to get the kind of exercise we need. Say what you will, but all of these little facts seem to add up to a different story than the one we've been led to believe. Americans aren't just a bunch of lazy individuals looking for instant gratification in every aspect of their lives. Many of us are just hard workers trying to squeeze in as much of the necessary stuff as possible during our busy days.

That's why fast food is such a power industry here. In homes where both the husband and the wife work exhausting schedules, who has time to come home and cook a decent meal? The simple fact of the matter is that we sometimes have to resort to the grease-soaked, re-heated, empty calorie fast food because there's just no time. Spending time in the kitchen, cooking a healthy meal, means less time with the kids. Shopping for the essential fruits, vegetables and meats means less quality time with the spouse. So, we sacrifice one for the other.

We're not lazy, just the opposite.

If we all slowed down, took a break, cooled our jets for a while, we'd all be healthier. If we took time off to go play, got out into the park with some friends and throw a ball around, we'd burn off what we eat, and we'd be more energetic. If our work day weren't so long and so stressful, we could take our time with life. We could shop for the good stuff, we could spend time playing board games with the kids, we could take the spouse out for a movie.

We've been going about this all wrong. Whatever happened to "all work and no play?" We're a bunch of dull boys and girls, these days. So it's time to take a break. It's time to take a nap, to thumb through a magazine, to read a good book.

It's time to slow down and be idle for once. It's not lazy, it's survival.

So I propose a shortened work day. Or maybe a shortened work week. Honestly, is the world going to end if I get three days off instead of two? Will time cease to exist if I spend six hours at work instead of eight? As a matter of fact, I believe that there would be fewer problems in this country. I believe people would be happier, more relaxed, more open minded. I believe that as the stress goes down, productivity would go up. I believe our economy would boom, simply because there are more happy people willing to spend money, and more happy business owners willing to give them better service.

For the good of the world, I think it's time we slowed down. After all, we've been moving at break-neck speed all these years and THAT isn't working, right? I was once told that one definition of insanity is "doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result each time."

It's time we stopped the insanity and started slowing down

J. Kevin Tumlinson is a writer and a schoolteacher living in Lake Jackson, TX. Shhhh! You're interrupting his "me" time..