“Summertime, and the living is easy, fish are jumping, and”… wait a minute, what the hell is this?

A summer camp for kids – but with a disturbing corporate twist. Some outlets of Chick-fil-A, the fast food chicken chain, are promoting a summer camp where children as young as 5 can learn “how to be a Chick-fil-A worker.”

Isn’t this fun? The corporation says that while the chickadees won’t actually be doing the work of regular employees, they will learn how to “take orders, deliver orders, make drinks, and be a hostess.”

Of course, the little campers don’t get paid – indeed their families must pay to let the company give them an early dose of the good ol’ American work ethic and a “behind-the-scenes look” inside the hierarchal corporate order. You can’t start ‘em too young on these life lessons! The kiddos do get compensated, sort of, with their very own Chick-fil-A nametag and t-shirt.

Okay, this is not the Dickensian dystopia of 19th century England – but is that our modern standard? There is nothing wrong with young kids working… but 5-year-olds? And – as was the case in the pre-teen tasks I had in my father’s small business and on my Aunt Eula’s farm – the objective ought not be indoctrination into the corporate culture of low-wage franchises. Rather, I was learning to help the family and how to contribute to the larger community. My reward was not merely a token stipend, but a recognition that I belonged – that I had a role and was valued as part of that community.  People didn’t need a corporate name tag to know who I was.

This is Jim Hightower saying… There’s so much more that an $11 billion nationwide giant like Chick-fil-A could do for the communities that provide its profits. Can’t they think of anything less selfish than promoting a fast-food future for children.

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