In 1830, Frances Wright, a Scottish writer and abolitionist who, in 1825, had just become an American citizen, delivered a lecture called “An Address to Young Mechanics.” “I have made human kind my study, from youth up,” she said. “The American community I have considered with most especial attention; and I can truly say that, wherever the same are not absolutely pressed down by labor and want, I have invariably found, not only the best feelings, but the soundest sense among the operative classes of society. I am satisfied, and that by extensive observation, that, with few exceptions, the whole sterling talent of the American community lies (latent indeed, and requiring the stimulus of circumstance for its development) among that large body who draw their subsistence from the labor of their hands.” Understanding yourself in the context of manual labor can be difficult, even comical. I planned to speak about this idea at dinner with Travis, a UPS driver who lives in my neighborhood in …