"They hate you if you're clever and they despise a fool"

I don't know about you, but I'm glad summer is nearly over. My least favorite time of the year is late July to late August. I find the heat insufferable. There is always that day in late August when the weather turns toward the cooler. The angle of light changes, night comes sooner, and morning later. Yes, I grasp this has to do with the earth's position relative to the sun.

During this time, I find sleeping difficult and exercise unpleasant. As a result, I grow tired and impatient. Contrary to popular wisdom, which I find not to be very wise, it is during this time I struggle most with depression. Winter is not nearly as bad, not even close.

As I've mentioned, my current spiritual reading is the journal of the Cistercian martyr Blessed Christoph LeBreton: Born From the Gaze of God. Fittingly, this week I am reading his entries from August 1994. Writing about the heat is his entry for 4 August 1994, he states: "I accept with open arms this day offered me. There is fatigue- an invasive lassitude- in the hot air." Indeed, there is.

A friend this morning brought this lovely article to my attention, which I take as a sign of hope: "In praise of autumn, the best of seasons." I replied: "Far and away my favorite time of the year. Maybe because it falls immediately after this damned heat. There's a reason hell is traditionally thought of as hot."

Hey, it's Friday, which doesn't mean much to me these days given my commitments, which keep me busy 7 days a week. I suppose for some people in this unrelenting culture, Friday still marks the end of the week and remains an evening to relax and enjoy life a little. Hey, this week it's Labor Day weekend! For a lot of people, even now, this means an additional day off work.

There is no irony whatsoever in celebrating Labor Day by taking a day-off. On Labor Day the U.S. celebrates the Labor Movement. Among the achievements of the Labor Movement in the United States is the forty-hour work-week, which means weekends off and paid holidays. Of course, we live in a time when many of these achievements are eroding: paid time-off, holidays, sick leave, etc. Fewer and fewer workers don't enjoy such benefits, let alone healthcare.

We need a new Labor Movement. A renewed Labor Movement is something that can bring a lot of things together for the common good. Just think about the discrimination black people and women experience in the workplace and generally in terms of employment.

Circling back to the heat, let's not forget the impact of hyper-capitalism on the environment.

The world lost a brilliant analyst of all this a few days ago with the death of David Graeber, who was just 59. Graeber is the author of such books as Bullshit Jobs: A Theory and Debt: The First 5,000 Years.

Our traditio for this Labor Day weekend is this live cover of John Lennon's "Working Class Hero."