raising the bar of decline

there was a time in America when people advanced themselves and their families thru hard work , risk taking and luck . this is the standared republican / conservative line . there is alot of truth in that belief , but it avoids a significant trend .

up until 1973 America had been in growth mode for 75 years . after that the industrial revolution ran out of steam . for the next 30 years we created a growth industry in building and finance . housing tracts , office parks and retirement communities . not factory's or warehouses . all that was sent over seas . that was fine because no one wanted a mind deading assembly line job that robbed one of their humanity . everyone was going to go to college and get an education . then they could have a professional career and make a positive contribution to America . it was a good idea that has worked in a lot of different fields . particulary medicine .

there are no clean deals though . when higher education became an industry on to itself . it became packaged and sold like any other industry . university's should be proud of the jargon and system that has developed for getting as many dollars as possible out of the pockets of students their parents and the government . for creating meaningless sport scholarships . that hold out a empty promise to minority youth . On the promise that at the end of the road their son or daughter would have a career that would make them much more money than the had spent . in some cases it is true , but sadly many people can not find a job in their field .

unfortunately most college and university students are forced to take many courses that have nothing to do with what they are majoring in. just to shake them down for more tuition , books and lab fees . taking a course means sitting in a large room or lecture hall with hundreds of other students . while a professor lectures from a text book he or she has written . no questions please . the professor is very busy .

taking courses on line has become a big industry too . reselling professors lectures . students buying course work and tests off the Internet . it is a capitalist dream come true . now for the bad news . America has an over abundance of over educated people . who make their living by going from one job to the next, padding their resumes with meaningless awards an achievements while climbing their career ladder .

education , corporations and health care are full of people who waste huge amounts of time having seminars , workshops and strategy meetings that find ways to shift responsibilities for problems , instead of finding solutions . no one wants to take responsibility . this is not surprising in our " i have issues culture ."

it is a race with no end . we have people in professions they have no passion for . we have hospital patients calling 911 from the emergency ward because no one will treat them , we have whole industries that do nothing but do studies an analysis on anything but real growth . maybe it is time we got out of the race and did something as an individual that is meaningful and profitable . maybe it is time we got our humanity back .