Journal 47: Real or Romantic?

Walt Whitman definitely is romanticizing the workers and the hard labors of the American society. No one of the working class labor is satisfied with their lives and with their work. They are constantly complaining about their job, urging the government to do more, and organizing unions to get more. No worker of physical labor is happy to leave off to work 7 am in the morning to get minimum wage that might not even be able to feed their family. Most of the time, people had to get two jobs in order to live and have a roof over their head and they are not happy with their life. With a few exceptions that people are happy with the way it is that they acknowledge that this is their life and they are willing to live this life to the fullest. However, no one does not want more. Another point is that Physical labor is tiring, exhausting, and low paying. Walt Whitman himself has never been part of physical labor and worked alongside ordinary workers so he doesn't realize the hardship of the people. He sees people sweating and chatting and thought that they must be enjoying themselves working with all their strength and stamina for minimum wage. Workers now would probably be more discontent with their lives because of the luxurious improvements made in the world that they cannot possess and the mass diversity of rich people and poor people that make them even more cynical.