One of the downfalls of realizing how you are a part of the problem is to figure out how to not be a part of the problem. From the moment that I am still aware of being self-aware, it seems that I’ve been inundated with how great America is and how if you go to school, get a diploma, go to college, get a degree and you’ll get a good job. Myself, like many others, didn’t finish college for one reason or another. This is to take nothing away from those that do and go on to pursue even higher education but it seems like the over-educated are becoming a bigger part of the unemployed. On the other end of the spectrum, it is some of the unskilled workers that are losing jobs or have lost jobs. These seem to be the two types of people that can’t adapt to change as quickly as an ‘average’ worker.
How do you go from being a Ph.D. with a prominent position to an essential no one? Also, how do you go from having the same job at a factory for 20 years and try to find another job that is similar? There may not even be such a thing. A lot of people on both ends of this spectrum have been out of work for a year or two and are hopeless that they will ever be able to return to the lifestyle the worked their entire lives to get to.
I’ve been out for a few months now and this is the first time in 8 years I’ve really had to actively look for new work. I’d still like to get a steady paycheck but in the meantime, why not try to start doing some work on the side? I’ve been kind of floating through life just because I’m a fairly smart guy and am able to communicate with people well… these skills can take you a long way but not really to the top… Then again, if you look at some of the assholes that have bankrupted our country and caused millions to lose their jobs. More importantly, people have been stripped of things much more important than any job or possession. There is no price on dignity and when a man has to come home and tell his family that there might not be food in a few weeks… I can honestly say this is a feeling I never want to experience. For myself not working right now, it’s one thing but I’m only responsible for me.
A new idea for a company came to me last night and for once it’s not a hair brained idea but practical and if executed correctly, should provide me and some others a comfortable living. I promise this though… anyone who becomes my employee will get a month off of work. We cannot go on working ourselves to death but we also do need to realize that we live comfortably because your parents, their parents and etc. had to put in just a bit less effort than we do.
