kibitzer wrote:
Flagpole wrote:
Free college is not a good idea for many reasons, but one of those reasons is it unintentionally diminishes those who don't go to college. We should actively value those who do not go to college. If a Democrat President or Democrat presidential candidate would actively seek to embrace the non-college educated crowd and consistently tell them how much we value what they do, that would go a long way toward fixing their disenfranchisement.
Well, shucks, here I am agreeing with FP. Will wonders never cease.
The major thesis of "The Bell Curve" (subsequently drowned out by discussions of its secondary data about racial disparities) is that Americans are increasingly being stratified/segregated by intelligence and its proxies, particularly levels of education. And one of its prescriptions was that people, especially those in the upper strata of education, needed to value the work of *everyone*.
That may be easier for those of us who have families with widely varying education attainments (from not finishing high school to doctorates), but, as the book pointed out, such families--and friendship circles--are increasingly rare, and everyone, especially the so-called elites, needs to make a *conscious* effort to look for and appreciate the contributions that are made by all.
That sounds great on a bumper sticker, but c'mon man.
You want everyone in your circle to be more or as successful as you. It's difficult for some of us, but it does keep you working toward greater goals if everyone you know is successful. Keeping up with the Jones's is not always a bad thing.
