Slacking and the American Work Ethic

[mzkhadir]

Doing Nothing
Aired: Tuesday, May 30, 2006 11-12PM ET

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By host Tom Ashbrook:

"Every man is, or wants to be, an idler," wrote the great Samuel Johnson in 1758. And he surely could have added every woman, too. From Johnson to Jack Kerouac to Ferris Bueller and the great age of Slackers, the appeal of lounging, loafing, goofing off, and vegging out has been huge -- always there, snoozing right behind the work ethic.

Now, with the slide into summer upon us, who would not rather go fishin', hit the beach, catch a wave -- loaf. Leave the cubicle and the deadline and the time clock and do nothing, or only what we pleased.

From dharma bums to lazy bums, and unrepentant slackers, hear the great and horizontal history of loafing.



· Tom Lutz, author of "Doing Nothing: A History of Loafers, Loungers, Slackers, and Bums in America"
· Jack Beatty, On Point news analyst, senior editor at The Atlantic Monthly

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[acemcmac]

I don't have this problem.

 

[spacejamz]

Lawrence: Well what about you now? what would you do?
Peter Gibbons: Nothing.
Lawrence: Nothing, huh?
Peter Gibbons: I'd relax, I would sit on my @ss all day, I would do nothing.
Lawrence: Well you don't need a million dollars to do nothing, man. Just take a look at my cousin, he's broke, don't do sh!t.

 

[Stuxnet]

I work with an Indian (dot not feather) that won't do ******. Short of setting him on fire, I've tried everything. Come to think of it, he's the second one we've had this problem with. There are two other injuns though that are working they're asses off.

Six of one, half dozen of the other.

 

[DainBramaged]

Does "Slacking" = "Neffing at work?"

 

[dainthomas]

Originally posted by: acemcmac
I don't have this problem.

Enjoying life is not a problem.

Sitting in a cubicle != enjoying life (for normal people)

I would have no problem blowing off work to hit the beach. You're only here for so long, and there will always be work.