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Citizens of the Republic,
Welcome back – and today, I would like to talk about time. Time. That most precious and finite of commodities. Time. That fickle friend that provides us with wonderful memories, and not-so-wonderful ones.
Time. That thing we all wish we had more of – to get the grocery shopping done, finish the ironing, see the folks, learn to scuba dive, sit around in our pajamas, and eat unhealthy snacks.
But we don’t have time, do we? For the United States of America is the only modern, industrialized nation, which does not have an annual leave policy.
In sum, there is no federal law in our country, which requires employers to provide a minimum amount of paid time off to their employees. Unlike, say, pretty much the rest of the world. See, List of Minimum Annual Leave By Country, Wikipedia.
For instance, every employer in the EU is required by law to provide their employees with at least 20 days of paid leave, every year. See, Which countries get the most Paid Time Off? DailyMail, August 15, 2019. In Australia, where I grew up, 20 days. See, Mark Johanson, Life in a no-vacation nation, November 6, 2014.
Even that great bastion of western democracy, The Islamic Republic of Iran, provides their people with 53 days off per year. Well, that disappointing. See, Which countries get the most Paid Time Off? DailyMail, August 15, 2019.
Yet here we are, sitting in our very own democracy – on an issue that has broad, popular appeal – on the very opposite end of the paid leave scale, with absolutely nothing. Nil. Nada. Zip. Zero.
So, is it little wonder that we are so tired? Exhausted? Burned out? Unable to function. Fighting and bickering amongst ourselves? No. Not at all.
For, we have no time to catch our breath. We have no time to heal. We have no time to explore. We have no time to enjoy our lives.
We have no time to spend with our families – and remind ourselves, why we are working that dead-end job, at the end of the day.
So, what do we need? A rallying cry. A banner under which those of us, who are of a like-minded persuasion, can gather around, as we press forward with highlighting this issue.
What do we need? Just two weeks.
For if our sister democracies, in Europe, and Australia, can guarantee their people 20 days of paid leave per year, how it is objectively unreasonable for hard-working Americans to ask for just ten days?
We deserve a life and need the liberty to be able to pursue our own happiness.
So, if you believe, as I do, that this policy matter needs to be raised in our public discourse, please like, subscribe, ring that notification bell, share with your friends – and stay tuned, for more videos on this subject.
Feel free to tag us here on your social media accounts at hashtag, Citizen of the Republic, alongside the hashtag, just two weeks.
Finally, if you are interested in learning more about this problem, please refer to the cited materials below, the first of which has a world map which highlights this issue.
This is James David Miller, relinquishing the stage but not the field.
Be well, be safe, stay strong, and keep the faith America.
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