Friends, given the rapid changes in the job market, and the ravages of A.I. (real and perceived), it's a pretty tough time to be a youngster. I mean, how can you possibly find a career path that is "safe" from obsolescence? Darned if I know. As this article suggests, there's a real danger that hopeless young people will turn to wokeness and/or socialism for succor. Some are turning to God instead. In any case, the battle for the souls of the next generation is well underway, and it behooves us to get in the fight.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/opinion/the-cursed-generation/ar-AA22qckl
Speaking of which, something very strange happened recently: a Washington D.C. jury indicted a young man for the crime (?) of attempting to kill our President! Now, why would a D.C. jury indict any leftist or Democrat for anything??? This is unheard of! Are we to believe that Republican lives matter -- even that of Donald J. Trump? I find it hard to process, personally. Perhaps the jury was confused and assumed that the intended targets of the bloodthirsty assassin were the (intrinsically noble) professional journalists at the White House Correspondents' Dinner? That would make a little more sense...
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/clyp5rr0lm6o
Finally, the DHS, under the command of Secretary Kennedy, is now trying to persuade Americans to reconsider their love affair with anti-depressants. Wow! Of course, it's a rich tapestry, because quite a few Americans are probably only on mind-altering pharmaceuticals because of the anxiety and horror that Trump, or TDS, has engendered in them. So the verdict is out on whether the Trump Administration is a net positive or negative for Zoloft sales. Stay tuned!
Dr. Waddy from Jack: A "Cursed Generation" as the article suggests?I think not. No post WWII American generation has been cursed by being born into the historically fantastic prosperous overall well being afforded by U.S. residence and citizenship.
ReplyDeleteThe article describes the disillusionment of many recent "four year" college graduates who have discovered that their degrees do not , at least immediately, guarantee them the "self fulfilling" vocational opportunities some were led to expect. It maintains that some of them are drawn to the politics of victimization, despair and even revolutionary intent by these difficulties.
Well, its often expertly opined that unemployment among young males, at least ,in some Middle East countries , reaches extremes and that that drives many of them to intense and desperate (considering the catastrophic consequences of it) radicalism. Somehow I don't think our GenZers face such desperation. For one thing they are young , they are probably going to live a perhaps an almost limitless time. Being educated , they should be open to this reality and that real possibility.
Dr. Waddy from Jack: I would say to them: " yes , the value of a Bachelors , at least in the liberal arts , has been reduced. Its the "tempus fidgets". Many of those who urged a college education (eg. parents ) on those they cared about , did so with the best of intent and experience. But it can be a vital intellectual preparation for further, more practical education , be it in grad school or in a demanding course of introduction to a perhaps redeeming profession ( eg. law , teaching, medicine and health, MBA, the military , INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY, modern farming , company training regimens . . . .). Its best for young grads, I'd suggest, to get with the program on this. Me , I turned a BA in Asian Area Studies into a professional credential by getting a Masters in what we then called library science. The young have the stamina and the time to do it if they resolve to do so (as so many of them do). If they find themselves in pedestrian and unsatisfying starting positions in a sound organization, then they might consider exercising an energetic work ethic which can often lead to advancement from initially basic duties.
ReplyDeleteToo, many employers are wary of college grads now because they rightfully fear them to have been prostituted to airy far left presumptions in the lala land American academy and think them unlikely to cooperate with the common sense , down to earth world which disproves these myths. I'd advise erstwhile undergraduate radicals: grow up!If you are looking for vocational satisfaction you won't find it in revolution. Just consider the historical record of revolutions devouring their own.
The article quotes a work entitled Mutiny: the Rise and Revolt of the College Educated Working Class, which opines that recent college grads will have to "get together" to work a solution to this problem.
No! Rather they need to resolve themselves to whatever individual enterprise, improvement and patience which will give them access to the unlimited opportunity presented by this almost incredibly dynamic U.S. economy and society. A Professor of Chinese History I had, himself a veteran of Chinese Revolution , told us "revolution can only succeed in a country which has hit rock bottom" . The U.S.is blessedly far removed from rock bottom and those who push "fundamental transformation" of it are tragically mistaken.
And here's another hint from one who is free now of the work world. Lots of people endure pain in the ass jobs. Their reward is often a LIVING for themselves and their families. I'd guess the majority of U.S. workers would have little sympathy for individuals who contemplate revolt because of a perceived lack of "fulfilling" jobs. Self fulfillment" is often found outside the work world or is the product of work : in family, avocations, enjoyment of earned decent living conditions, anticipation of retirement (which must be guaranteed by decades of work), pride in living a positive life . . . .
RAY TO DR. WADDY
ReplyDeleteHow did you know it was me commenting in your last article? Anyway, I thought I would get my one cent in before Summer trips and house projects, and guests and what not consume most of my time.
Both you and Jack have a enjoyable Summer.
Dr. Waddy from Jack: Perhaps a bit of the Dem who thinks anything is the government's business remains in RFK JR.
ReplyDeleteI know from experience that antidepressants which also treat OCD can be very helpful. Any "limitation" (how, we must ask)of the voluntary use of such remedies could have unintended negative consequences and besides, its inadvisable meddling in American private lives.
Perhaps it is best that those suffering from acute , mind negating TDS be medicinally aided for their affliction. Until Jan. 2029; when our nation will be blessedly redeemed by the Presidential retirement of its most onerous, dangerous, unmannerly, happily ignorant, reckless, prejudiced, presumptuous, incompetent and thoroughly iniquitous Chief Executive ever , let those who suffer his tenure also take heart in the temporal certainty of his departure and disempowerment then. I mean, I'm sure they are emotionally pilloried by the outrage of his imposition of himself on our country and that any THING will be better than him in office. Meanwhile , afford them the relief their tender psyches require.
Dr. Waddy from Jack: Take heart;"Judge Jeanine" as DC U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro is known to her admiring fans from her Fox commentator days, is on the job. She is no coddler and apologist of and for criminals. "Do the crime, do the time" well expresses her attitude and I'm sure its shared by the vast majority of Americans. We are sick to death (literally sometimes) of "thinkers" who advocate and often force on the harried law abiding absurd privileges to thugs and all purpose victimizers. Their "compassion" is gleefully played for all its worth by criminals, most of whom have no intention of renouncing their vocation. Everyday common sense says kick their asses from here and until tomorrow until they give their games up in despair. Law abiding? Number One!. Criminal? Number 10 to the 10th degree!
ReplyDeleteRoot causes? Sure, think about them all you want, our sage academic and policy making betters. But until you reach a miraculous revelation thereby , lay off making the public part of your spectacularly unsuccessful experiments in theoretical "criminology".
Oh and by ". . . do the time. . . . ", I mean do time with ALL of its "inconveniences" and "discomforts". Jack
ReplyDeleteDr. Waddy from Jack: One of the Prelates who attend upon the Pope said that President Trump's criticism of him was strange. Fair enough; our President does employ intemperate language at times.
ReplyDeleteBut talk about STRANGE; oh my my , the "American "far left at least in the form of its obsequious mouthpiece MSNBC, doth wax much offended by our President's "reprehensible" behavior. And oh we know how very vindictively moved those folks are when they protest offense to their tender sensibilities! "The Pope : the very defender of the ancient and oppressive monolith of Catholicism, that detested atavistic burden on human progress, the institution which tyrannically DENIES a 'right' to conveniently kill unborn babies,in the the seat of so called "Saint" John Paul who declared with bigoted certainty what it means to be Catholic and what it does not mean, the latter including most of our unimpeachable verities." That's a fair summation, I think ,of their Marxist loathing for this Holy pillar of Western civilization. Why to them the Church and the Holy Father are the very antitheses of their enlightenment, wisdom and justice!
But wait: there is one in our universe who exceeds all conceivable evil if we accede to the unchallengeable sagacity of the radical "American "rump and that is "trump" !
I do think that when the Pope exercises secular influence, as he most certainly does when he holds forth publicly on mundane matters like international relations, he does subject himself to secular criticism. I don't think it at all out of line for our President to say the Pope is too liberal , after all, President Trump attained the Presidency largely by opposing those far left captured American liberals , who BTW have directed vindictive castigation and legal hazard to him. And to say Pope Leo is soft on crime is a legitimate issue appropriate for principled discussion, since he opposes the unavoidably forceful suppression of a criminal regime , one which intends arbitrary nuclear atrocity. I do not in this say that the Pope's views are indefensible but I think our President of right expresses disagreement.
Oh but of all people , the " American " far left has the gall to fly to the Holy Father's defense as if they had never viciously condemned his Church. Once again they affirm their willingness to prevail "by any means necessary" and they display unparalleled hypocrisy. The great Catholic Church vastly predates the Marxism which informs the far left and it will survive to see this present infamy, this counterintuitive resurgence in America of this monstrous doctrine, extirpated!
Jack, yes -- young men driven to desperation are the cause of many of humanity's ills, but young men who are idle and bored are arguably as bad or even worse!
ReplyDeleteJack, I certainly agree that youngsters who redouble their efforts to succeed are much better situated than those who throw up their hands and join the revolutionaries... While it's true that many career fields may disappear in the medium or long term, it's also true that "good help is hard to find" in the short term, meaning any recent college grad who really knows his or her stuff, and is willing to work hard, will probably thrive.
A happy and healthy summer to you too, Ray! How did I know it was you? Any comment betraying transcendent wisdom has to be you! Well, there's also the process of elimination. Anyone commenting on this site is generally one of two people, so there's that. Ha!
Jack, I'm all for heavily sedating those afflicted with TDS. If we deny them the power of locomotion, there's a good chance that fewer of them will vote, although voting is a lot easier than it used to be, so we can't be sure. In all seriousness, RFK and the DHS haven't denied anyone access to anti-depressants. They are moving to warn those who take them of potential ill-effects. No harm in that.
I quite agree that substance is on DJT's side in his dispute with the Pope, but then again the political pronouncements of the Pontiff are, in this day and age, so ineffectual that I'm not sure what's to be gained by dignifying them with a rebuttal. Everyone knows that Popes generally like "peace". And everyone also knows that Catholics serve honorably in our military and plenty of others despite whatever chagrin this may cause His Holiness. So why not let sleeping dogs lie, I say.
Dr. Waddy from Jack: You make a lot of sense in your reply above to my opinion of our President's criticism of the Pope.It might well have been best if he didn't raise that issue but by gosh he doesn't shrink from assertive frankness .And I think that for the most part that is a great benefit to America. I hope though that the far left loses Catholic votes with its reechy counterintuitive "support" for a Holy Father and a Catholic Church for which they customarily hold and often celebrate withering contempt and derisive opposition. The Catholic faithful might wish that our President had kept his counsel on this but my guess is that they are loathe to make common cause with an amoral far left rump which has customarily castigated the Church.
ReplyDeleteDr. Waddy from Jack: I'm taking guarded encouragement from today's news that the UK election for the various Councils which order much of its local government manifested a majority outcome for the the UK Reform Party, headed by plausibly prospective PM Nigel Farage.
ReplyDeleteIt has been disturbing for me as a well wisher to the "Sceptered Isle" and a believer in Western civilization's debt to its example , to see it in the thrall of far left incompetence and bad will. It may well be for Great Britain that yet another taste of a Labour Party , but this time one which has lurched as far to the catastrophic left as that from which PM Thatcher saved it , was quite enough thank you! The far left in power anywhere is unable to refrain for long from manifesting its essential and now historically proven reckless and catastrophic iconoclasm. The Starmer government's refusal to support the justified and beneficial US attack on a radically "Islamic" Iran which could, in its fanatic stew, choose to attack ANY country, including the UK, denigrates the "special relationship" between the UK and the US which has done civilization much good through and since WWII. If Iran had nukes it would use them as it pleases ANYWHERE, glorious suicide is celebrated by that regime.
The Brits have been very ornery about their relative freedom. They beheaded their very King when he posed a threat of by then atavistic absolutism. In the late 17th century they sent another one into exile because he boded the return of a Catholicism which they did not want controlling them. I think Labour has probably made itself as unwelcome as to motivate the national electorate to bid it step down, perhaps soon. That's important, I think , because Great Britain was the exemplar of democracy and though the "Great Republic '" (Churchill) may have become its predominant and redeeming power , that US has recently been grievously degraded by Marxist invasion. Great Britain could yet again be exemplary, in driving that abomination away from its country as President Trump strives ,against ruthless opposition ,to do here.
Oh yes. Few Catholics will part ways with DJT because of a minor verbal scuffle with the Pope. Catholics are a more discerning bunch than that!
ReplyDeleteWell, this Labour government may well be Britain's last, and that's something to celebrate, but, as always, we have to be careful what we wish for, because both of the parties that have shepherded the U.K. through the last century are on the outs, which means that the "Sceptred Isle" is in uncharted waters, to say the least! The times they are a' changin', but we can't assume it will be for the better.