unFocus

I know you have never really cared about it, even though the media keeps telling you that you should (they are actually right for once). Up until this point no one has actually stated how Globalization is going to affect anything substantial. All I knew about globalization, from what I heard on the news is that political figures throw it around to support whatever economic plan they are backing on any given day. Fortunately for all of us, it has more meaning than that (few big “political” words do), it is actually quite positive for those of us who would like to see America’s children educated.

During the industrial revolution it was not necessary to have an educated citizenry. Not only was it not necessary, doing so could possibly have halted the praised progress we now cheer and take for granted. We read in our textbooks and hear from our U.S. history teachers what an awful time it was for the workers in factories, how they were abused and put in danger and severely underpaid. This is all true.

Enter unions. They helped the “little people” and protected them from the disconnected profit-seeking corporations. Woo hoo! Years later these now mega-corporations are finding that with an expanding market it is cheaper to find work elsewhere.

So what happened? Did we ask for too much? Are we spoiled Americans that should go back to being mistreated and abused for too little pay, and working in dark factories that had no qualms about taking our limbs, fingers, and even lives?

No, of course not. (Not that some modern jobs do not suck the life right out of you. Did you ever sit in a cubicle? I have.) Reverting to an unacceptable state is not an option. Let us look at this in another more ‘forward-thinking’ manner. There is another one of those dreadful political/business phrases thrown around by people who do not know what else to say. Well, ha! I am single handedly taking the English language back and restoring its meaning. No applause necessary, but please feel free to send gifts.

I am sure you are wondering what I am getting at by this point, so here it is. It is actually in the government’s best interest to start educating its citizens! Morally, maybe this was always the case, but never before was it appealing to pockets. With the forming of a global market many entry level jobs are being shipped over seas because cheaper labor can be found, and why not exploit the poor people of third world countries? The fact that some people do not have schools, running water, or hospitals, does not pull at the humanitarian heart strings of a corporation. It sees no union, no insurance requirements (none that would actually cost them anything anyway), and starving people that will gratefully work for anything they can get. This is not the case in all situations, and I exaggerate slightly to make my point (how am I doing?).

Issues such as the state of the nations referred too, instill within me a twinge of guilt from not joining the Peace Corpse when the idea came to me, and cause me to digress into rant on occasion, but more recently have inspired great hope. As big business pulls out of United States, so do the jobs that let the decision makers disregard education. It is now coming to light that factory and other (even telemarketing positions have been relocated to India) well paying skilled labor positions are no longer the backbone of our society. Where will they stick us? There aren’t any factories to cram us into anymore. This is great!

In order to keep our economy going, we (our government) may want to (must) start improving grammar up through High School education for the general population, and begin to seriously encourage post-secondary education as well. It is no longer in the best interest of those in power to keep us ignorant. Who would have thought! Up to this point I have not been able to buy education reform or globalization as posing any real benefit, but I am an avid optimist, and I think that there is a chance that our government may finally see fit to educate the country. In several years, people may actually be able to read this piece and see that I was right.

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