There is no need to invoke negative connotations about an honest day's work. Obviously not everyone is John Carmack or Ken Thompson. Just because most of us are a small part of a large company, that doesn't mean we are drones.
I think by describing it in the starkest possible terms, one can elucidate the situation. What people object to here is the idea of being a drone, and I'm saying "you are and it's fine".
