Student Essay: The Lackadaisical Man
The assignment given was to write a type sketch. According to our textbook (Handbook of Grammar and Composition, A Beka Book, Pensacola, Florida: 2003, page 242),
"A type sketch is the opposite of a character sketch. Instead of describing a specific individual, the type sketch paints a word picture of a general type of person. Usually the best way to bring the type sketch to life is to use humor, satire, or gentle sarcasm...Usually the title of the type sketch will reveal the opinion of the author..."G.M., a tenth-grade homeschool student, enjoys satire and used gentle sarcasm in the essay below. Has G.M. described anyone you know?
The Lackadaisical Man
The not-caring man of today’s world is becoming more and more popular. We see him every day throughout our lives. He lives completely satisfied for whatever comes to him and to other people. He is the happy-go-lucky man who really could care less about life, just living it through, ignoring the bad, and enjoying what good comes to him.
What is the lackadaisical student like? He is idle, sometimes even lazy, and lacks the interest and liveliness in some of life’s mysteries. Still, however, he lives somewhat on the positive side. If he receives a failing mark on a school paper, so what? He will get a better grade eventually. It is not the end of the world. Heck, having some money in his pocket, some friends, and a place to go—those are enough to get him through.
What is the twenty-first century lackadaisical man like? He is, for the most part, happy with his job, life, family and, if he is lucky enough, his girlfriend. Provided he has a paycheck coming in, a bottle of beer, and maybe a pack of cigarettes, he is satisfied with his life. No need to accomplish great deeds or to change the world. Those goals are what really smart or crazy people strive for. He laughs at people who try to achieve the best in life. “Just give it a break, and have some fun. Avoid the bad things, and just wait it out. Sooner or later, life will throw some lucky thing at me.” He holds an air of recklessness, still hoping for the best, however.
The happy-go-lucky personality lives within all of us, but most of us choose to try harder, rather than just letting life go by. The lackadaisical do try to make good of their lives, but they do not try as hard as most people. As long as the happy-go-lucky man holds luck, he will forever be satisfied and will see no need to try any harder than he already does.
--Submitted by G.M.
posted by Always On Watch @ 5/10/2006 06:27:00 AM
74 comments
74 Comments:
That's great. What a smart kid. With kids like him, there is hope for the future.
aow - this will somewhat tie in to my next post - if i can follow good instructions!
perhaps i'll link this if i figure out a good door to bring it in.
Debbie,
Yes, G.M. is a smart kid. Sometimes he disguises it, though. Hehehe.
Nanc,
G.M. will be pleased if you can figure out how to link this.
I'll be on the lookout for your next post.
Good job G.M., sounds like you've mined Proverbs for this one!
AoW- Thanks for sharing, enjoy seeing what is possible for the future with proper cultivation!
tmw
Isn't this true throughout the history of man?
Isn't this what separates the wheat from the chaff?
Great men aren't necessarily smarter or stronger than the average man, but they are more driven.
plucky live on a commune?
Ducky on the contrary it is the socialist Nanny state that depends on slackers.
Good essay. I would agree that it's always been this way from the beginning, but it has not always been this way in America. We were once a nation of "rugged individualists", which doesn't comport well with lack-man.
Thank goodness there are kids who think about more than just X Boxes...Kids like G.M. will be our future leaders!
Capitalism depends on slacker culture? Huh?
Oh contraire my feathered friend. The marxist/socialist state depends on sloth and slackness. Which is why democrats love to endlessly talk about the "underprivilaged", "poor", "oppressed", people without health insurance, and other not so good do-it yourselfers. Liberals NEED these lazy people to push their agenda of envy. Yes, liberals are the most envious people on earth.
Speaking of wealth--better get back to work so I can help support the welfare state...otherwise how will those folks ever eat?
Nice post AOW..ty for sharing some optimism..:-)
That's all you've got? So you dish out the "i'm richer than you" taunt! OH! Am I supposed to think I'm lower than you because of it? I congratulate you on your well put use of Capitalism to endeer yourself to richness and material wealth.
I see you still haven't refuted any of my points. Also, rich leftists are also the biggest hypocrites you'll ever meet. They scream for higher taxes to fund their utopia's but cry when they have to fork out the 60-70% they demand for everybody else. (Like Michael Moore).
Ream me? I'd like to see you try.
C.S. Lewis wrote a piece called"Men Without Chests". People with no passion have little reason to work for something. Why use up energy, time and sweat when nothing matters? Is that guilt I hear?
tmw
Ducky says,
"a.c. been watching a lot of westerns. You make quite a blanket statement."
...Ducky then goes on to say,
"As long as you're comfortable you think you're free." -- Billy Bragg -- Describes the average American."
I understand that we are all human and prone to inconsistencies, but this goes a step up the ladder into hypocritical territory. Especially because it is a common theme of yours about how stupid Americans are.
Either Americans really are idiots or you are really arrogant. I will let you do some soul searching on your own to determine that answer...
Ducky says,
"a.c. been watching a lot of westerns. You make quite a blanket statement."
...Ducky then goes on to say,
"As long as you're comfortable you think you're free." -- Billy Bragg -- Describes the average American."
I understand that we are all human and prone to inconsistencies, but this goes a step up the ladder into hypocritical territory. Especially because it is a common theme of yours about how stupid Americans are.
Either Americans really are idiots or you are really arrogant. I will let you do some soul searching on your own to determine that answer...
hm...i wonder.
Inconsistencies are part of Ducky's personality. A leftist is a leftist--and arrogance and idiocy go hand in hand there.
There is NO homosexual analogy beneath the dignity of Ducky.
Lackadasical people have always been with us. Today, we might call them losers -- but in years past, they were the victims of barbarian attacks. They might have been just a mite-too lackadasical for their own good.
Everyone is looking for a stress free life . . . but I suggest that some stress is a good thing. It motivates us, for example, to become financially secure in our lives. Perhaps moderation is the key.
Great, essay AOW.
Congratulations G.M.
Very good essay!
Ducky , I'm kind of getting sick of your ignorant crap!
If you actually read anything that "you" didn't write, you would know that I'm a veteran of the US Army.
I'm not retired from the Army, I separated with an honorable discharge.
I understand that honorable is a term beyond your comprehension and that you probably think that the discharge I'm talking about is akin to the venom that drips off your snake like tongue, but I assure you that's not the case.
I left the Army before twenty years and I receive no pension and the only government handout I have ever received was two weeks of unemployment insurance while I was waiting for a job to open.
Not that its any business of yours but I have a full time job and do contract work for a variety of businesses.
Where does a carbuckle on the fundement of the proletariat, like you, get off critisining the worthy men and women who have served my country, when they draw a retirement check.
You make me sick!
Let me tell you what's hanging on my walls. I have a wedding portrait of a younger version of Warren and his wife, pictures of my son and daughter-in-law and a crucifix.
I guess that makes me richer in any measurement that matters to me!
i guess according to those standards i'm one of the richest people i know, warren - what could be better than being surrounded by what you live for and what you'd ultimately die for?
now, wth happened to longrange?
a.c. been watching a lot of westerns. You make quite a blanket statement.
I don't disagree that most people will gravitate towards a cushy life is they can get it. It's akin to rescuing a stray animal--they get used to their new stress-free life pretty quick.
But out of necessity comes invention. Out of failure comes success. Out of fear comes triumph. By definition lack-man doesn't care about any of this. He wakes up with a new brain every morning.
Warren and Nanc, You have it! Wealth and stuff don't go with you when you die, but your relationships do! in that I am wealthy beyond measure, my family and my husband's have rejected us but my church has produced MANY brothers and sisters who are there for us. You can't measure that in dollars. I can call on several people, even at 2am if necessary and they can call on me! That's much better than "stuff"!
tmw
The fact is that human nature is such that most people, if given the choice, will do as little as possible and sponge off anyone who allows for sitting on one's duff. The key to getting people up and moving is motivation. What motivates? Conscience? An external factor? Or a combination of conscience and external factor? I believe that an external motivator--money, grades, parental pressure, peer pressure, family responsibilities, etc.--can lead the lackadaisical to become self-motivated, but becoming self-motivated is a process, not something just sprouting up from nowhere.
Handouts and lack of accountability are two factors which enable the lackadaisical to continue in their selfish and pleasure-oriented ways.
Warren,
Let me tell you what's hanging on my walls. I have a wedding portrait of a younger version of Warren and his wife, pictures of my son and daughter-in-law and a crucifix.
I guess that makes me richer in any measurement that matters to me!
You've found that secret to true happiness, then.
after thinking on this post, i was put in mind of an old beatles tune:
nowhere man
"He's a real nowhere Man,
Sitting in his Nowhere Land,
Making all his nowhere plans
for nobody.
Doesn't have a point of view,
Knows not where he's going to,
Isn't he a bit like you and me?
Nowhere Man, please listen,
You don't know what you're missing,
Nowhere Man, the world is at your command.
He's as blind as he can be,
Just sees what he wants to see,
Nowhere Man can you see me at all?
Nowhere Man, don't worry,
Take your time, don't hurry,
Leave it all till somebody else
lends you a hand.
(Lead Guitar)
Doesn't have a point of view,
Knows not where he's going to,
Isn't he a bit like you and me?
Nowhere Man, please listen,
You don't know what you're missing,
Nowhere Man, the world is at your command.
He's a real Nowhere Man,
Sitting in his Nowhere Land,
Making all his nowhere plans
for nobody.
Making all his nowhere plans
for nobody.
Making all his nowhere plans
for nobody."
ever get a song in your head and it won't go away? perhaps now that i've put it down it will leave my head.
what do you do with all that money, plucky? i can see you're still waiting to see the wizard about a brain.
Don't liberals hate rich people? (except when they want their campaign contributions).
Don't liberals love to raise taxes?
Don't liberals have a vision of a utopia where everybody is "equal"--as in income as well?
Give us one good reason why we shouldn't vote Republican on tax issues? Jorge Bush just gave us a $70 billion tax cut over 5 years. Dems oppose that.
Arrogance alert:
"Frankly I laugh at the fools with medical bill problems because they are too freakin' stupid to vote in a sane system."
I'm just trying help...
Well, Ducky, at least we can agree that golf courses are an ugly waste of space! *wink*
Material like this essay from a tenth grader shows that some are getting it. NEA, MSM, and journalists will not advertise how many there are, however--bad for their businesses. Wish I knew how many, and I wish there was some easy way to measure how close we are to having critical mass. Reaching that critical mass determines how much longer we have to endure Ducky's commissariats.
brooke - i'm sure you didn't mean that?
i like golf!
much better than malls...
True small letter liberals (we call them just Latte lefties) are people who are usually well off.
They are in contempt of so called "lower classes" and despise their poor taste in art fashion and just about any aspect of their “miserable” life.
They simply know their superiority although they are too cultured to show their contempt to “those unfortunate” inferiors.
By creating a welfare state they simply gain full control over these masses of “underprivileged” souls.
They see their role as leaders of these masses and so called “democratic” system actually makes them to some degree accountable to those underlings (shock horror).
They hate these systems because they enable commoners to have a say whereas they should just shut up, listen and obey.
They are a combination of arrogance, patronizing and buffoonery.
G.M. did a really good job with this piece. I love it! LOL
-A.M.
D-Bird,
All I am saying is that its one thing to think that you know more than everyone else, but another when you constantly repeat such sentiment over and over.
The arrogance alert was for your benefit, as a heads up about how you sound to other people.
I know that guy. I used to shave with him, years ago. I KILLED HIM.
I've got a type sketch -
"The Leftist"
Kicked out of his parents' house prematurely at the age of 38, the leftist wants all to know that if not for global warming, Mayor Ray Nagin of New Orleans would have had the pre-planned hurricane shelter areas stocked with food and medicine.
Not satisfied with the fact that some people are perfectly unaware that he's a moron, the leftist opens his mouth to declare that it's in your economic interest for your boss to be taxed out of business to pay for unemployment programs and turds in museums.
There were lots of lackadaisical men just before 9-11. Simply, they were interested in making money, and live in comfortable houses.
This is a good essay, but not a surprise. A 10th grader can understand everything maturely.
G.M. is enrolling college in a few years? I hope this student will develop his keen awareness on social issues there.
Missing Link,
I see that you've written a type sketch. But you forgot to give it a proper title. All essays submitted to me must have a title. Hehehe.
Mr. Beamish,
I give you an A+! You've achieved just the right balance between facts and satire.
George Mason,
The NEA, the local teachers' union, and the msm have very little impact on homeschoolers. For homeschoolers, education is not the brainwashing promoted by progressive education.
And the numbers of homeschooled students are growing!
Shah,
Thank you for taking time to stop by.
This is a good essay, but not a surprise. A 10th grader can understand everything maturely.
Teachers can promote mature thinking by giving particular types of assignments. In fact, composing essays IS critical thinking, which is often held up as the ideal for higher learning. Unfortuately, across the United States, essay-writing is the weakest of the areas evaluated by various tests. Now that an essay section has been added to the New SAT, perhaps schools will place more emphasis on that particular skill. But, instead, I see the trend of schools' not working on that skill and handing off the teaching of it to various SAT-prep courses offered by Kaplan, Princeton Review, etc.
A.M.,
Remember that I asked G.M. the following question: "How much of your essay is autobiographical?" I think G.M. stonewalled on that one.
F.B. Jones,
Self-examination results in the "death" of the lackadaisical man. But it takes a brave person to submit oneself to that kind of scrutiny, then proceed to reforming. Too many won't even look in the mirror.
Nanc,
"Nowhere Man" is perfect! What an excellent tie-in!
Conservative Kat,
Did you see any part of yourself in the essay? Just curious.
Beatles loving hippy freak.
just kidding, Great song!
The more wedded an idiot is to thier idiocy the more arrogant they become. That too is a form of lackadaisical thinking(?).
Ducky, as for the homosexual reference, check out post #13 above. As for us, we are living on social security paid for by my late husband and myself! We take nothing from the government and live frugelly. I drive an 11 yr. old vehicle, I live in a paid for house bought by my parents in 1957. I pay property taxes and I homeschool, so I am not a burden on society. Where did your money come from? hard working parents or grandparents? Or are you in a field that pays well and you have been frugal, invested well, never paid for a family(except for your nieces)? If you did it on your own, congratulations, if you inherited it you are "mooching" off of your parents. Get it straight.
tmw
F.B. Jones,
Beatles loving hippy freak
Hehehe. Eliot's poem The Hollow Men also applies, but as far as I recall, the class hadn't read that particular poem at the time G.M. wrote this essay.
I was not a part of the counterculture movement and not much of a fan of the Beatles, either.
Two factors turned me off to the counterculture movement:
1. A boyfriend who couldn't give up the bong and stood me up one too many times to get high with his buddies. I wouldn't go along with them.
2. The hippies on campus collected money for the Charles Manson defense fund.
AOW,
I respectfully request a lower grade. Not being leftist myself, it's rather difficult for me to come up with ideas that immediately provoke the reaction in others that I'm a moron, so I borrowed a little bit from one of Ducky's posts above.
AOW,
I don't mind hippies so much. I'm a long-haired freak myself. I just can't stand people who willingly display the fact that they're easily outsmarted by fenceposts. Hence, my contempt for leftists.
Mr. Beamish,
Long hair does not a hippie make.
You're entitled to the A+ I gave you because you organized your little essay in a coherent manner.
TMW,
The more wedded an idiot is to thier idiocy the more arrogant they become.
That's a good one!
You made an excellent point with comment too: If you did it on your own, congratulations, if you inherited it you are "mooching" off of your parents.
Accepting inherited wealth is tacit acceptance of capitalism.
In that case AoW, I'm a capitalist by living off my husbands soc. sec. in my parents house! Works for me! "snicker" At least I'm honest about it!
tmw
AOW;
You said: "George Mason,
The NEA, the local teachers' union, and the msm have very little impact on homeschoolers. For homeschoolers, education is not the brainwashing promoted by progressive education.
And the numbers of homeschooled students are growing!"
Now THAT is making my day!
Those of us involved in homeschooling know better than to buy leftist propaganda.
The "themes" of homeschooling differ as different families have different reasons for taking the brave step. But I don't know of any homeschooling parents who have use for John Dewey.
AOW,
I'm still not sure I deserve an A+ for type sketching leftists. I mean, they're fairly easy marks to demonstrate stupidity on display. All you gotta do is quote 'em.
Mr. Beamish,
It's okay to get an easy "A" once in a while. Even I (adherent to the motto "No assignment too large, no grade too small") occasionally give an easy assignment.
My composition class thought the type-sketch assignment one of my easiest ones.
AOW,
Well, A's were always kinda easy for me in the public education system.
For extra credit, can I rewrite?
Beamish,
Sure, you can do a rewrite. And know that I'll compare it to your first submitted copy.
Woo hoo!
"The Leftist"
Kicked out of his parents' house prematurely at the age of 38, the leftist wants all to know that if not for global warming, Mayor Ray Nagin of New Orleans would have had the pre-planned hurricane shelter areas stocked with food and medicine.
Not satisfied with the fact that some people are perfectly unaware that he's a moron, the leftist opens his mouth to declare that it's in your economic interest for your boss to be taxed out of business to pay for unemployment programs and turds in museums.
The leftist has many paper fliers to tell you about the alleged evils of cutting down trees, which he passes out at public gatherings where he wears a Che Guevara T-shirt silk-screened in a seedy San Francisco sweat shop and screams about unfair wages.
Leftists personify a complete lack of a sense of irony, with hilariously pathetic results.
Mr. Beamish,
I should post your essay! Would you mind?
Wait a minute, AOW, define "easiest assignment." Nothing you give out is easy!!!! Just a little less stressful than other assignments. LOL
-A.M.
AOW,
Sure you can post it, but make sure G.M.'s type sketch keeps top billing.
Ducky- Then you earned it on your own, congratulations. Did you go to college and if you did, were your parents paying for it or did you work or use student loans? If the latter 2, was that to suppliment what your parents did pay for. Or were you extremely blessed with outstanding grades and win scholarships? My point being, did your parents have any part in your later success?
tmw
Duck,
Maybe it's just riding around with the top down. get my drift?
Yes, I get your drift. And I have never said that riding around in a convertible is the best in life. But I do regard cruising with the top down as a sort of reward for working hard and for fulfilling various duties which life brings along.
You might not believe it--and probably don't care, either--but my husband and I live a very Spartan existence. The Mustang is one of our few hat-tips to materialism, and we've more that earned the privilege of enjoying our Mustang.
You must have had a bad weekend. Or maybe your medication needs adjusting. You ARE "in a mood," Duck.
Beamish,
Okay. I'll post your essay when I get the chance.
A.M.,
Creative writing (next year) will be less stressful, but we're still going to do a timed essay once a month.
AoW- I have come to the conclusion that there is another type of lackadaisical person. The intellectually lazy one, I submit the leftists of our acquantance as examples of , "Don't confuse mr with the facts, I've made up my mind!" school of thought(?) To be passionately against something without looking around at reality, or trying to bend reality into a preconceived pattern. Reality isn't so forgiving, but they persist! Amazing!
tmw
TMW,
I have come to the conclusion that there is another type of lackadaisical person. The intellectually lazy one...
To be fair, I also know some intellectually lazy conservatives and Christians.
Duck,
Just a quick point of clarification...
All muslims are set to occupy America and install sharia.
All speakers at the Symposium did not believe that shari'a law would ever be established in the United States, and the speakers so stated; even Robert Spencer, whom you despise, expressed his take on the topic, and that take was that shari'a law would never be established here. But in Europe? That's a different matter, but I'd say the time frame might well be close to 100 years from now. Caveat: demographics, considering the reproduction rates.
Of course, CAIR has stated the desire to establish shari'a law here and has been quite public about it. CAIR is losing much of its past influence, largely because of the failed lawsuit against Anti-CAIR. And if CAIR's financial records are throroughly investigated, I predict that the organization will be shut down.
So do I, AoW! Too many, I was talking to our former pastor who now teaches around the world and he told me that maybe 1 or 2 "get it" when he speaks at churches in the US. He was in Thailand 2 weeks ago and 12 pastors accepted the L**D. Makes you wonder sometimes!
tmw
Ducky,
Please explain where I go wrong...
Well, first you set out to become a leftist.
Then, when your ability to think became atrophied from lack of activity, you started saying shit like:
1. All muslims are set to occupy America and install sharia.
No one holds this position, except perhaps Michael "Savage" after a few too many times of violating the FCC regulations against broadcasting while inebriated.
2. Laissez-faire capitalism has been a success and must be established in America.
No one believes this either.
3. Overwhelming military force is still a useful concept and has actually protected someone in the last 50 years.
Who but a leftist idiot wouldn't believe this?
So, intelligent conversation isn't possible with a leftist, because such a thing requires at least 2 intelligent people. If we're to believe 2 of 3 of Ducky's reasons for hating the right are just some goofy shit he made up and the third is a fundamental rejection of reality, what are we left with?
Ducky = stupid. QED.
Ducky, please. Lay off the leftism. It's robbing you of wonderful opportunities to impress cucumbers with your intellect.
Ducky,.. Billy Bragg is a whinginging leftist windbag, and his fans just love to nod their heads to his Neo-Socialist drivel about "equality" and the the wicked modern-day "facists"that are anyone who disagrees with his viewpoint.
Meanwhile he lives in a lovely place in Essex, bought with all the cash he has earned from his belly-aching songs about historical British conflicts and their supposed proto-socialist heroes.
"Guardian"-newspaper reading do-gooders, sipping on their caffe-lattes, whining about the wicked USA oppressing the poor people of the world. Rich enough to boycott shopping at down-market "Asda" (owned by Wal-Mart) and carping that they wouldn't stoop to buy vegetables that weren't organic.
Britain has become enveloped in this kind of hand-wringing MUSH, spread by lecturers and writers who have made their money telling the Brits to abase themselves because of their Colonialist past.
Failed Marxists just about all of them, forever trying to resurrect a Soviet dreamscape, still believing that it was somehow better than what they were brought up with.
I have seen them close up at anti-American demonstrations, as long ago as the late Sixties, such as the "Light-Up-An-Embassy" demo in Grosvenor Square, London.
Their hate filled chants against America are echoed today by their books and the rants of those other American haters,..the great islamic "Ummah."
Americans forget the pain and grief it took to win their freedom and the wealth required to buy "private collections" of art-works and paintings.
Ducky, should America stumble as you may like to see, you may find those paintings bring a few hours of warmth when you use them as kindling, when you feel the cold.
Strange how the rich buy the works of painters, many of whom near starved and scratched a living, and then hold those works as icons of their wealth and bargaining chips of Capitalism.
A rich American Leftist?
That stinks of selfdeception. Much better to be honest and Right-Wing.
I am sorry, but your liking of Billy Bragg gives the game away.
Rich Socialists living in their luxury pads surrounded by Art-works as "security" against the fluctuations of Captal?
Do us a favour, gov. Any sparechaynge?
bLd
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