Obama says, under his administration, our schools kids will graduate and will all get high paying jobs. Keillor said, in his book, Pontoon: a Lake Wobegon Novel, we have become a country of all chiefs and no Indians.
Reminder: This site was never intended to be "politically correct".
Sure Barack kids may even be inspired to have a will. Sorry, but having a "will" doesn't mean one who has the "will" will have the capability or DESIRE to become a chief with a high paying job.
I lunched at a local restaurant yesterday. All the staff was black. None of those I watched working are capable of being chiefs with a high paid job, Obama's new education or not.
Obama said he is going to create 2 and one half new million jobs. I hope he can find "workers" to fill these jobs. I hope they learn some skills along with computer skills, IPOD's., UPOD's or even MEPOD's. Like physically working with their hands along with their thinking minds and their will to better themselves. Or, I guess we will eventually have to do like Sweden does. Just open the borders for anyone who wants to work. We already have 3/4 of the illegal people in the U.S. working pretty hard right now.
What I heard from Obama's new education chief is the same rhetoric I've heard for the past 15 years. I am glad Arne Duncan played basketball, he should know how to compete.
Good luck, Arne.
2 comments:
Please do not get me wrong, having money - economic means are great when used with wisdom. Having money does not make a man or woman --- you can still be a great person with money or be a jerk with money --- it is one's underlying character which define the person not the money.
Alas, the media focuses on spoiled rich children of the famous or nouveau riche who squander their new found wealth on a mess of pottage.
Whatever happened to the concept for people to work hard at what interests them and having a peaceful productive life rather than chasing after the money god of supposed success? Many a person has worked long and hard hours making money to buy the good things of life (whatever that is on your personal list) only to find that things do not bring the much touted happiness one searched for in vain.
Rather, people and relationships and what you believe and then carry out in your life are what matters at the end of the day. Not everyone wants to be the king or queen of the heap --- nevertheless most people do want happiness and many times it is lost when one solely chases money.
Karrie, You are so right. My Dad's formal education stopped after the first grade. Mom was allowed to go through the third grade. They learned a strong work ethic. Getting rich was never an aim. Getting by with nine kids needed more than a college education could have taught them. None of us kids were told we were entitled to a college education and entitled to be chiefs. We were taught to work hard, learn to read, write and compute, grow up, get a job that could support a family, get married and have a family. Don't ask the government to do more than what the Constitution and the Bill of Rights guaranteed.
Self-esteem or discovering our "inner-selves" (Washington High School??)was not a topic of discussion.
Many came to this country in bondage or slavery. A struggle for their rights and some semblance of a level playing field was and is, constant. Eventually, more opportunities were offered them than were ever offered in the continents from where most of them "migrated" or came as immigrants thru Ellis Island.
Unfortunately, starting in the late 50's and early sixties, many entered an age of entitlement. (Read Magner's "The Dream and the Nightmare") Developing a personal acceptable culture and learning skills was becoming optional. Not to worry. Someone, usually the government would look after us.
Not all people have the same opportunities to try to do their best, even if they have the will. Yet, opportunities are there for those who try hard to seek them. Those who have the will and want to move further up the pecking order have those opportunities in this country. And all kind of aids to expand these opportunties. For many, it is hard to understand that nothing is guaranteed.
Happiness and satisfaction are not guaranteed either. Usually, choice of decisions are involved in the level attained in each.
But not all will be, can be or want to be "chiefs", as Kellior writes in this book. Whether they have the will or not.
Obama's is saying what people have been saying for centuries. Most opportunities are already in place. Certainly not equal for all, especially the displaced people, or what we call "illegal" immigrants. Reading the book I mentioned in a previous blog, "Illegal People" was a distrubing short history of the failure of people in our country, Mexico, and other Latin countries to work together in protecting and assisting the poor and disfranchised.
Having said all these things, not all people achieve what they would like to be, for one reason or another, often, reasons beyond their control.
Assessing and comparing the United States with the whole world, the U.S. is still the "Land of Opportunity".
Obama promises to make it better. I hope he does.
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