Blue collar penny

Although Mr. Lincoln more than deserves to be honored in such a way as being a permanent fixture of our society, I do feel that there are a group of people that have been ignored when it comes to the appreciation of the “American Dream” and that “for which it stands”.

There is one group of people that are solely responsible for the success and prosperity of our country. The working classes, whose blood, sweat and tears are what have made this great nation what it is today. These providers often go unnoticed and rewarded by society and government.

If it were up to me, I would design the one cent coin to resemble the millions of citizens who go to work everyday (ironically to earn not much more than the coin in question) and pay their taxes which provide the whole country with the way of life that separates us from that of the rest of the world. The people, who day after day risk their lives to keep us safe, teach our children, feed our hungry or just keep food on their own family’s table.

This country was built on the backs of hard work and determination. With out the sacrifices these people make on a daily basis this country could not function. Whether it’s the construction worker building the highway you take to work every morning or the single mom working two jobs to put her kids through school, they touch our lives in every aspect only we don’t always realize it. I myself am working class, and I still don’t always acknowledge the impact that even I make, but I know I make one.

Through out the years the country has taken for granted the contributions made by its “general” population. Considering tax breaks given to millionaires or today’s obsession with celebrities and the super rich, the “real” citizens of our towns and cities go unrecognized.

With that said, my coin would consist of the civil servants, and the all around blue collar people that day in and day out pull their own weight and try to achieve not only a level of success that comes with hard work, but the pride and satisfaction of putting in a good days work. From the fire men and police officer’s who risk their lives here at home, to the military that protect us from all over. From the non-profits that try to make our country that much better, to the people who need those charities to survive. From the bottom to the top, they are all over but still no where to be found, I say we should see them and thank them for what they are, the foundation of not just our society but a way of thinking and an ethic that I am more than proud to call all American.