Worth Our While

A lot of cliches and advice have held too much power over much of the population, which is one of the reasons that people have started backing away from them. Instead of younger generations blindly trusting their elders, many have begun their own pursuits, from internet “fame” to traveling off the grid. Many older people have chastised the individuals for running away from making a functioning society, secretly hoping that many will feel guilty enough to be forced back into submission. However, one important aspect of living the way we were advised is that nothing has been worth our while, and it is interesting that few of them every considered that.

Back in the day, college was so important that it was used as a barrier to get to decent-paying jobs, and there was an active hierarchy between different schools. People went to college not just to be educated but to secure networks for jobs after graduation. Unfortunately, those who were “supposed” to be thwarted by the college degrees began graduating and forming other networks, or performing better than “traditional” student populations. Now, people spend a lot of time making fun of people with college degrees since technoligarchs have done their best to eliminate any practices that remove power from insecure billionaires.

For those who still believe in the trades, the technoligarchs have started coming after those practices as well, since blue collar work also relies on networks and social capital. I think that they have been particularly vicious about automation because they cannot fathom a world that exists without their influence. Rather than investing in environmentally sustainable practices to train tradespeople, technoligarchs have been rushing to create 3D construction sites and procuring robot technology. Soon, even those who get their hands dirty will be overrun by robots and algorithms–in theory.

Younger people are looking at all of these tracks and recognizing that traditionalism is nothing more than a shackle without the goods to back it up and stabilize. Graduating from college and never getting a job makes it worthless to compete for As and academic achievement. Getting a commercial operator’s license before getting slammed by an automated truck feels pointless. If nothing leads to stability, what is the point of impressing people who are looking to eliminate stability? The elders made almost nothing worthwhile, and it is up to younger generations to figure out what will keep people together in the long run.