The worker

The party was light and cheerful, and the eating and drinking were over. The men went out to a corner of the yard to chat and smoke. The sons had a corner of the yard where they talked excitedly. The women sat on the sofa to discuss the state of the world.
Mrs Liên talked about her son:

• He studies very well; after university he goes on to a master's. He hasn't even graduated and several companies have already made offers, with quite a good salary.
  Mrs Xuân talked about her son:
• He became an assistant director as soon as he graduated from film school, and contributed to the success of several TV series in a row. His future is very promising, ladies.
  Mrs Thảo talked about her son:
• When he came back from studying abroad he applied to a foreign company, and after a few months the Belgian director promoted him to be his assistant. He has a lot of prestige, ladies.
• And how about Mrs Duyên's son?
  Mrs Duyên smiled and said:
• My son studied at a vocational school for electrical engineering, and now he works as a worker at an electrical machinery workshop near our home. He's a good boy too.
  So everyone went on chattering and forgot about Mrs Duyên.
  When the party was over and the guests had all gone home, Thủy's parents called her out to sit and talk.
• You know, today's party was a party to look you over. Nearly all of our friends want you to marry their sons. These families have been close for a long time and know each other's children well. Since you were little, those families have had their eye on you and have hinted, near and far, at becoming in-laws with us. Since childhood you have been pretty, gentle and capable, and everyone loves you. When it came out, we learned that every family was competing for you, so we invited them to today's party to talk in a friendly way, so that you could judge for yourself, and so that later, whoever marries you, the other families should not blame us. You've heard them talk too. You've also seen the faces of their sons. Now we want to ask your opinion because it is your life.
  Thủy was silent for a moment and then said:
• Mum and Dad, in fact we all know each other because the families have been close for a long time. We all know what you're talking about. Those young men also message, email and talk to me all the time. Their parents have spoken to you, and they have spoken to me too, but I have tactfully answered without committing. If you ask who I like best, I'd say I still think highly of Tùng, Mrs Duyên's son...
  Thủy's mother was startled:
• That boy who's a worker in electrical machinery?
• Yes, what's wrong with being a worker?
• You must keep a clear head and think long term. You're about to get a master's degree and he's a worker; later it will be hard to be in harmony and happy. A husband and wife with too great a gap in education won't understand each other, dear.
• You don't know that it was only with my permission that Tùng went to vocational school. And Tùng had to have enough reasoning to persuade me to agree. Tùng is capable enough to study for a doctorate. But his thinking is very unusual. Tùng says society needs more workers than bosses. Tùng says whoever has been a worker will manage better when they become a boss. Tùng wants to experience the role of the worker to better understand their contribution, because it is the contribution of the working class that makes the higher levels of society possible. If everyone insists on being a boss, society has no solid foundation. If the country wants to develop, everyone must be skilled, and skilled right from the working class. Tùng wants to understand what limits workers have and where they need to be developed. Tùng works as a worker but brings with him a whole deep concern and great aspiration for life. The others just follow their parents' wish to find ways to climb up to high positions and high pay.
  Besides that, Tùng is profound in his conduct and very selfless at heart. Nobody earns my admiration the way Tùng does.
  Thủy's parents stared at their daughter; they understood what she meant 👨‍🔧

Society has a pyramid shape: the higher you go, the narrower it gets, and the higher society goes, the more it belongs to the few. We do not need many bosses; we need many workers. But the paradox is that people jostle to climb upward and abandon the lower levels, creating a society of some shape that is not a pyramid and not stable.

We can look at society from an ordinary angle to distinguish ranks among people. This person has a higher position than that one. That one is richer than another.
But if we look from the angle of ethics, we distinguish in another way. This person is more dedicated than that one. That one has more initiative than another. This view does not rely on position or money, but on ethics.
From this viewpoint, whoever is diligent and dedicated in their duty is a person worthy of respect. A boss who is poor at the job and lazy is inferior to a worker who is intelligent and dedicated.

Moreover, in real life, not everyone has the strength to study to a high level with complicated and hard-to-understand lessons. Some people are intelligent enough only to finish lower secondary school, and to force them on to upper secondary is torture. Some are intelligent enough only to finish general schooling, and to force them to university is torture. Society must acknowledge the existence of differences among people and create equal opportunities for everyone. And to have equality we need to look from the angle of ethics. You may not have studied to a high level, but everyone must look up to you, because you are very ethical.
Whatever position we hold, fulfilling our duty fully there, and even doing more than our duty to support our colleagues, is a person worthy of respect. As for those who push up to high positions and then lose their ethics and do not fulfil their duty, they are truly contemptible.
Happiness is when we fully carry out our responsibility, whatever position we hold.