May 1 International Labor Day, like a shining beacon, illuminates the struggle of workers along the way, and also provides us with an opportunity to look back and pay tribute. However, the current online “oxen and horses” and “social animals” and other jokes and self-deprecating remarks are rampant. These voices not only dissolve the value of labor, but also cause invisible damage to the dignity of the majority of workers. In this festival of extraordinary significance, it is necessary for us to correct the name of workers, dispel the haze of “oxen and horses”, and let the glory of labor illuminate every corner.
The so-called “oxen and horses” remarks seem to be a helpless ridicule of high-intensity work and low-return treatment, but in fact it is a one-sided distortion of the meaning of labor. It ignores the key role played by workers in creating social wealth and promoting social progress. Take construction workers as an example. They sweat between steel bars and cement under the scorching sun and dust. High-rise buildings have sprung up in their hands, and the city’s skyline is constantly refreshed because of their efforts. Their hands may be covered with calluses, and their backs may no longer be straight, but it is their hard work that has built a home that is sheltered from the wind and rain for us and laid a solid material foundation for the development of the city. They are not “oxen and horses” who are driven, but the heroes of urban construction and the backbone of social development.
Look at the takeaway riders who shuttle through the streets and alleys. They race against time and run in the wind and rain just to deliver steaming hot meals to customers on time. They are familiar with every street and every community in the city, connecting merchants and consumers with speed and enthusiasm. Their existence makes our lives more convenient. Behind every on-time delivery is the hardship of their race against time and the vivid embodiment of their creation of value through labor. They are not “oxen and horses” who work hard, but the transmitters of a better life and the indispensable gears for the operation of the city.
The teacher group should also not be represented by the “oxen and horses” remarks. They work silently on the three-foot podium and light up the future of students with wisdom and love. In order to present a wonderful course to students, they carefully prepare lessons and polish them repeatedly; in order to pay attention to the growth of each student, they patiently coach and care carefully. They have cultivated generations of pillars of society and provided a steady stream of talents for the prosperity of the country. They are not bound “oxen and horses”, but engineers of the human soul and guides of social progress.
The value of labor has never been measured by simple material rewards. It is reflected in every aspect of personal growth, family happiness, and social progress. Through labor, we realize our self-worth and gain a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction; through labor, we create better living conditions for our families and fill our families with warmth and hope; through labor, we promote the development of society and make the world a better place. Those remarks that compare workers to “oxen and horses” are a blasphemy against the spirit of labor and a trampling on the dignity of workers.
On this May Day, we should cheer for every worker and give them a good name. Enterprises should assume social responsibilities, respect the rights and interests of workers, provide reasonable remuneration and a good working environment, and let workers feel respected and cared for. All sectors of society should also establish a correct concept of labor, abandon prejudice and discrimination against workers, and create a good atmosphere of respecting and advocating labor.
“Happiness exists in life, and life exists in labor.” Let us pay the highest respect to every worker on this May Day, defend the dignity of labor with practical actions, and make negative remarks such as “cows and horses” nowhere to hide under the glory of labor. Because it is the hard work of countless workers that has created the glory of our great era.