May, the month we honor our farmers and laborers - ROSES AND THORNS by Alejandro R. Roces

Since 1903, we have been celebrating Labor Day every May 1st. The ironic part is that the United States itself commemorates Labor Day on the first Monday in September. To add to the irony, the May 1 celebration historically commemorates labor’s demand for an eight-hour working day in the United States. For some unknown reason, the Philippines followed the international worker’s holiday that begun in Europe in 1890.

Another historical coincidence is that we celebrate both Labor and Farmer’s Day in the month of May. Long before we commemorated Labor Day, we were already paying an annual homage to farmers on May 15, the feast of San Isidro Labrador, patron saint of farmers. Our Agricultural Revolution began when the Spaniards introduced the plow. Because San Isidro is always represented behind a plow and an ox the plow was presented as "the instrument of San Isidro" and the carabao become known as "the animal of San Isidro." This explains why in Pulilan, Bulacan, for example, the highlight of San Isidro’s feast occurs when the carabaos march in procession and kneel in front of the church.

It was Daniel Webster who said, "When tillage begins, other arts follow. The farmers, therefore, are the founders of civilization. Ralph Waldo Emerson summed it up by saying that all other activities rest on the farmer’s primitive activity."

Today, many workers’ groups will march in demonstration. We would like to repeat what Pope Leo XIII said about labor unions: "The best and most suitable means for attaining what is aimed at, that is… for helping each individual member to better his condition to the utmost in body, mind and property." But more important, it is by working that one graduates into a worker. Work is the most meaningful and purest form of prayer. Next to faith in God is faith in labor. Winston S. Churchill described workers as "soldiers with different weapons but the same courage." The most progressive transition we can make is to go from the "men with guns" to "men with tools."

The only way we can truly show our love for our country is through our work. The important thing is one’s attitude. One can hate or love his work. There is no work so lowly that it cannot be exalted. It is the garbage collector that sanitizes and keeps our environment clean.

May got its name from Maiz, goddess of growth and increase. That is what constructive work does. It is ironic that we are celebrating our first Labor Day of the third millennium with demonstrations to restore Estrada into power. Work is the best cure for unrest. Unfortunately, there are not enough jobs to go around. The biggest lesson we can learn from the current unrest is that unless we all work for the common good, there won’t be any.