If you don’t have a difference of opinion with your parents, be it - social, political or cultural, then you are not going towards progress.
Like charity, progress begins at home. You have to oppose and present alternatives to the views that they hold because you represent a new time and generation. Some call it generation gap while I simply see it as progress. You are an anti-thesis to your parents, and thus a synthesis needs to be there for a healthy family relationship - without a generation gap.
For example, my father has always been an opposer of CPM, the party, while maintaining an apolitical life. As opposed, I am a left sympathizer while maintaining an active political life.
Now coming back to the synthesis that I am proposing here: My father has always been very vocal about sleeping early and waking early, a practice which traditionally most people do. I was forced to sleep at 11 pm until middle school and once I got my own bedroom, my father had to give up his demand. I would sleep at 3/4 in the morning and still be up for school. But, I have never studied after waking up in the morning.
But the point remains that I have done a good job in my life. In fact, I prefer to work at night as opposed to the morning. I believe I can deliver better if I work at night. And, I believe here I represent a social class – ALL THE PEOPLE WHO LOVE TO WORK AT NIGHT and also deliver a better performance at night.
But the planet Earth works during the day and sleeps during the night, right?
Let me explain what actually happens. Daytime is a hegemony of the society imposed on all of us. Just like patriarchy, its a social construct too.
Let us ask ourselves, why do we work in the day?
- Because we have natural light for working.
- Because everyone works in the day.
Since everyone works, so our business also makes sense in the day. But, again why do everyone works in the day? Because, till half a century ago we didn’t have enough energy sources to light up our offices and work all night. So, the night was for resting and day for working. Dawn and dusk being leisure times.
In the early stage of capitalism, women were being exploited in the name of equality. They were given jobs just like their men comrades but would be paid less.
Similarly, we have a night workforce now, who are being exploited equally, if not more, but paid the same as day workers. Since the night workers get equal pay they are happy with it, but again, the leisure, for which we all work remains a monopoly of the day workers.
The pubs open in the evening and close at midnight, a night worker’s working time. The malls and grocery shop open in the morning, a night worker’s sleeping time.
Also, my dad’s prime concern… what about the health?
Well, my body clock loves the night and I don’t mind taking a shit or having a bath at midnight. The body can adjust just like it adjusts different time zones with a mild jet lag. The most important thing is food. Who will give me food throughout the night? 3 times to be precise.
Thus, as a representative of the nightcrawlers, I demand
- 24 hours work life with equal opportunity for leisure, safety, and eatables
- 24 hours market and transport.
- Higher pay if #1 and #2 are not ensured.
- A choice to choose to work at night even if the employer closes at night. The only problem with that is the requirement of energy, which needs to be negotiated with the value of work produced by night workers.
Nightcrawlers of the world, unite!
You have nothing to lose but your laziness!