unions

Ah, Labor Day, the holiday when we honor Organized Labor. You know, unions and stuff like that. Yes, there'll be picnics and speeches detailing the enormous contribution unions make to our nation's prosperity. Political candidates will extol the virtues of the American worker and…

Wait minute. I think I've picked up the wrong script here. This is an old one — so 20th-century.

When the riots in Tunisia began I went out into the streets and shouted, “Today we are all Tunisians.”

“Right on,” a middle-aged guy with a Keith Richards face shouted back.

When the riots in Egypt started I went out into the streets and shouted, “Today we are all Egyptians.”

A little old lady in galoshes flashed me the peace sign.

When the Bahrain riots started I yelled, “We are all Bahraini,” but all I got was funny looks.

Same when I announced common cause with the demonstrations in Libya, Yemen, and Morocco: more funny looks, along with a rude gesture or two.