On 10/22/07, Brian <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > > Not in environments where job options are limited. The more > > educated of my Filipino family members have all done less > > well economically than their older brothers and sisters > > who instead started small rural businesses. You may say this > > is "job option" but the fact in many places in the world > > the only "job option" is start your own shoe shine business > > and take it from there. > > > > Education != Opportunity. > > > > The point of view that you are espousing is quite dependent > > upon a particular kind of job market that is far from universal. > > > > BobLQ > > > > > > > I'll politely suggest that more credit be given to an individuals > effort. I heard Tom Lasorda state something like Success = Preparation > plus Opportunity. That more or less sums it up for me. Re your mining > reply, I had minimum wage jobs as a teen and in college; for the miner, > he/she has to decide if the risk is worth it or not. When you see > someone with something you want that you don't have, do you dislike them > for having it, or do you think about legitimate ways to obtain it? > > Brian
What I and Andrew (I believe, though I certainly do not need to speak for him) are saying is that there are many environments where an individualś effort counts for very little. You may not believe this. So I will state a few simple examples. Do you really believe that a child growing up in the streets of Tijuana only thirty miles from here has (on average) the same opportunities you have had? Do you think that the millions of people who died in WWII, as an example, did so because they just did not put out enough effort? I would suggest that they found themselves in a hostile environment over which they had no control. The environment, in this case, the job market, is hugely important. There are plenty of job markets on this planet that offer very little in the way of advancement. An environment that rewards individual effort is a wonderful thing but it is far from pervasive. I would go so far as to say that from a global perspective it is actually rather uncommon. So again I assert Education != Opportunity. Opportunity based on education depends upon a job economy that values education. It is a fact that not all economies value education. I do not dislike people who have things that I do not. That is a red herring. The fact that some have and some has a number of causes. One is effort, another is luck, both genetic and environmental. You are probably of above average intelligence. I know I am. I also know that fact was not because I tried harder. It was because of good luck in the genetic lottery. Same reason why my mom at 96 years old still has all of her teeth save one and lives alone and independently. I would suggest that you might find a small dose of history enlightening. Try reading Studs Terkel, ¨Hard Times." Try taking good look at the economic realities of many undeveloped countries. It is very hard to ¨prepare" when you are struggling every day to find enough food to eat, and often far more important, are struggling every day to feed those around you whom you care about. If you are incapable of recognizing as a fact the fact that there are others less fortunate than you are then there is probably nothing that I can do to convince you of that fact so we can just agree to disagree. Me, I recognize how very lucky I am. BobLQ PS. Don´t take this as license to be ignorant. Just don´t accept without some questions the cliches about the value of an education.
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