Okay, here’s a small but deeply passionate rant. It’s inspired by reading one of those recurring Facebook memes about how snobbish it is to expect people to get college degrees. And with that how it is totally fine, maybe even a wise choice to pursue a trade.
This is a complicated thing. And, absolutely, we need to acknowledge the dignity of work and the worth of every person however we find our lives.
And.
Maybe a perfect reflection for that time between Maundy Thursday and Easter. A time for reflecting on hard things…
Me. Me. I’m someone who comes from our American underclasses. That is my father was a petty criminal, and not particularly successful in that calling. So, we were by any reasonable construction within our North American cultural context, poor. Poor. I write here as someone with an intimate knowledge of what America poverty looks like. I know what it means to have a Christmas because of the local Firemen.
We were poor. We didn’t go hungry, thankfully. But, close. It was always a possibility. I completely understand the term food insecurity.
And. With that background my prospects in this life, in our culture, were at best dim. And. Me, I was past lucky. That I read and had an enormous vocabulary, and was what someone called “well-spoken” opened worlds to me. Also, of course, white, and male.
First, I landed work in bookstores. As a High School dropout it allowed me to both consider reading normative, and to think beyond the restrictions of my upbringing. That I landed work in bookstores was an amazing gift. Luck. Good karma. Name it as you will. It opened doors of continued learning, and eventually led me to college. And with that to a professional life.
With that I escaped poverty. I worked hard. But, really, it was dumb luck and the kindness of a number of people on the way. Earned, and in no way earned. But, college was the route, university was the path.
I am past wary of those whom I note are almost entirely from solidly middle class or above backgrounds who advocate passing on college and aiming at the trades. Again, I am not saying anything against these occupations in themselves. Except that they do not provide sufficient steady income over the long haul. Unless that job is with the much despised government. And which cannot be assumed. I recall when landing a job as a mailman was a ticket to the middle class.
Yes, there are those for whom college isn’t a realistic possibility. But, that doesn’t mean there is actually a good alternative. It isn’t. This is the truth. I hope this is read by someone who needs to see it. If you can’t get professional work you are probably screwed. You will forever be in danger. There are, of course, no guarantees with a professional life. It is precarious, as well. Life is precarious. But. If you don’t have a professional life, you will be part of the ever growing underclasses.
We may not like hearing this. But, it is a harsh fact.
Yes, it is complicated. There are also amazing opportunities. We can cross classes in ways not really available elsewhere, in this world certainly not historically. Me. I was able to cross not only one class line but several. That is past amazing.
But, at the same time at the bottom there are those classes. We pretend, we like to pretend they aren’t there. But they are. And all you have to do is walk down any city center today and see those who failed in the class struggle. They are not all drug addled. The include those who made a couple of missteps. Simple missteps, a bad choice or even a bad break. The reality is there. We may try to pretend otherwise. But the reality is there.
None of us have any certainty in this world. But some things are more uncertain than others. And those who suggest those who have any chance of gaining a college degree and moving into the middle classes do anything else; well, they may not know it, they probably don’t – but they are only encouraging the spiral downward for anyone who accepts their words as true.
My take away. My advice. As someone who has lived near the bottom of our American social and economic class system, and who has managed against all odds to rise, I have a word. If you can, if anyone, if at all possible, can: you should ignore such articles about the joy of the trades, or seeking anything less than a college degree and a professional life. If you have the chance to pursue those degrees and professional qualifications, do it. The alternatives are not good. Probably they will lead to financial disaster. Probably. A harsh fact. In a harsh world.
And one that needs noticing.
End of rant.
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