Back to work. One way or another.

Every morning on the outskirts of the city of Carbonia in Sardinia I see laborers clearing a vast field of shrubbery. By hand. With sickles and scythes and rakes. Loading the stuff in wheelbarrels. Creating big piles to be burned or hauled away. A sign indicates it's private property. Many of the workers are clad in green t-shirts. Which makes me wonder if they are volunteers from the Green Party or an enviornmental group. I'm making inquiries to find out what it's all about. I asked my Italian true love. And she doesn't know. Anyway, I'm curious. I know that back in Minnesota, we probably would clear a field with machinery. In a day. This clearing has been going on for weeks in Carbonia. I'm wondering if folks here are old-fashioned. Or maybe wiser than the rest of us. Giving people jobs. A way to make a living in tough economic times. In the age of automation, robots and machines have replaced manual labor. Maybe that's good. Maybe it isn't. I'll try to keep an open mind. But I know one thing, I'd try to put every unemployed worker back to work. Everywhere. One way or another. Even if it meant clearing fields by hand. --Jim Broede