Leisure in America
In America today, it seems that people do not understand the separation of work and leisure. Weekends present many choices regarding the potential use of leisure time. It is interesting that many Americans choose to pursue activities that ultimately require the most exertion. The intensive, demanding work environment that most people are subjected to for a dominant portion of their waking life has fueled Americans' work mentality on and off the job. The time that should be occupied by quiet restful activities are instead used to engage in vigerous recreational pursuits, and household chores. Americans also use their free time to buy material goods. Aquiring more work is vital to this consumption. In Common Culture, Witold Rybczynski and Juliet Schor both agree that Americans work more for greater consumption power, while using their limited leisure time to create more work for themselves. They both agree that great thing could be accomplish if more leisure time was available to the public.For many, free time is viewed as an opportunity to consume materialistic products for entertainment purposes, recreational endeavors and self fulfillment. Time away from work that is intended for relaxation, 'is converted in 'consumpti
Although there are many options as to how to spend leisure time most Americans neglect the most obvious one which is, "to slow down, unwind, and recover from the ordeal of labor." Americans strive to do well in recreational activities to compensate for a sense accomplishment that is not met in the work place. Recreational hobbies such as wood working and sailing are more meaningful types of work than a 9 to 5 job in a cubical. Rybc contends that the rise of technology has killed the sense of personal fulfillment that was associated with craftsmanship. Jobs that once required manual skill and intelligence have been taken over by computers and assembally lines. Therefore, Americans resort to recreational activities during leisure time to achieve personal satisfaction. Rybc claims that sports which were once used for entertainment purposes in the 1950's are now used to, "develop skill and proficiency." Great things could be achieved if Americans took better advantage of their leisure time. Most Americans fail to understand that leisure time is an opportunity to be free from the duties and obligations of work. It is a time for effortless relaxation. Rybc believes that leisure should be used as a time to do nothing but contemplation, "a chance to look inward rather than outward." Because Americans spend most of this designated time working, they neglect valuable time which could be used to meditate and cultivate new ideas. Throughout history it has been the rich leisurely classes who wrote famous literature, and invented new innovations in science. Schor believed that a decrease in working hours and increase
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Approximate Word count = 1100
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)
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