Memorial Day: Honoring Sacrifice
Some lives are lost, and some lives are taken. Others are given. This weekend we pause our schedules as a nation to remember and honor the sacrifice of those who decided to commit their lives to our freedom, our future, our way of life.
These heroes, never to be forgotten, left classrooms and workplaces and loved ones to get on buses and planes. They arrived in camps to be transformed through grueling training. Millions of those soldiers then landed in unknown combat zones halfway around the world where conditions were often so horrendous they could only be described as hell on earth, realities terrifying enough that some anticipated death as a release.
Since the opening of the American Revolution, over 1 million have been mortally wounded in service to our country. More than that have survived wounds. The stories of these men and women may often go unrealized but are impossible to ignore once they are encountered. As time rolls on we lose many of these accounts to the vacuum of history. Yet new conflicts unfold, and new heroes rise up, leaders willing to stand in the gap between freedom and tyranny for you and me.
In the 21st century, phrases like Medal of Honor and Call of Duty often bring to mind hi-tech video games. The appeal of these games is the intensity of the action, the conviction that there are bad guys battling for evil, and the desire to be a hero. Gamers inherently understand these things, but screen graphics are enjoyable and pose no threat. The true stories that captivate and stir us are borne of pain and love.
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The highest tribute a soldier can receive is the Medal of Honor. Recipients of this exclusive recognition perform feats summed up this way by their nation.
“For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of life above and beyond the call of duty.”
That specific language has evolved since George Washington began awarding a Badge of Military Merit in 1782. You may have recently seen the HBO series The Pacific. I’m fascinated by the events of that dreadful theater and the sacrifices of so many. I often wonder who in our time is continuing this proud legacy of heroism. Who will be portrayed in movies about Iraq and the War on Terrorism decades from now?
Consider what these modern heroes have done and how their actions powerfully match the meaning of the Medal of Honor description. Read more »
Young America, Job Hunting, & Desperation
ARE COLLEGE DEGREES WORTHLESS?
Hey there college crowd, raise your hand if you’ve earned a bachelor’s degree. Now put your hand down if you’ve found a position in the career you were shooting for. According to an article on Bloomberg Businessweek yesterday, more and more of you still have your arm raised and may be throwing both hands up in total desperation.
What’s going on? I’m an optimist but also a realist, and truthfulness demands taking a hard look at some tough facts lest we bury our heads like the ostrich who finally looked up only to see the rest of the pack had moved on.
THE SITUATION
The youth unemployment rate is nearing a whopping 20% these days. That’s the highest number since the Department of Labor began compiling the data in 1948. I said 1948! Let’s clear up two quick points here. First, the age bracket for youth unemployment is generally considered 16-24 years old. Second, the 20% figure is unemployment which means people trying to find work yet unable to do so. The number of 16-24 year olds without jobs is way higher, somewhere over 50% in recent weeks. We haven’t seen this many young Americans without jobs since World War II.
THE CAUSE
An estimated 7 million jobs worked by young people have disappeared during the current economic downturn. Basic economics explains much of this shortage of opportunities, but there’s another factor that can’t be ignored. We have never seen this type of competition for entry-level jobs between young and older workers in America.
Older Americans are themselves facing a jobs crisis. Pensions have been devastated, securities threatened. More folks over the age of 55 are working now than before the recession as spousal incomes and home values decline. When these workers get laid off they enter the same race for work already packed with so many young job seekers.
Another challenge is increasing competition among cohorts of recent graduating classes. The current class is competing with grads from ’09, ’08, and so on.
THE OUTLOOK
Let me submit to you three major impacts we’ll likely see from this trend.
1. Tougher future.
Future job and earning prospects are hurt by this current downturn. The Bloomberg article notes that two recessions in the early 80s created wage losses for the next 15 years for those who entered that bad job market. Their initial entry positions were lowered, their wages less, their skills slower developing. We are hovering around that same unemployment level now, so the future may not be as bright for new workers as it was 5 or 10 years ago.
Put simply, the quicker you get out of the gate the better, and right now the gate is jammed for a lot of entry-level seekers.
2. Deeper Debt.
There’s no end in sight to our skyrocketing debt (personal and national) in an age of continued consumption. The average college debt is now over $23,ooo up from around $18,000 in the mid-late 90s. Incomes are down, living and education costs are up, and financial discipline disappeared somewhere back there behind that broken starting gate.
Overall credit card debt in the United States increased around 18% in 2009 with some states seeing a rise as much as 30%! The plastic cards are double-edged swords indeed. Plenty of those charges go towards living expenses, but you know many of the purchases are for non-essential items. Too often being broke and out of work is no longer an excuse to deprive ourselves of what we just gotta have. After all, we deserve it right? Read more »
Susan G. Komen Foundation Controversy
I was recently taken back when someone placed an order of KFC food before me. No, I wasn’t staring at the ridiculous new Double Down, a ghastly collection of dead pig and yellow slop resting between two pieces of boneless so-called chicken. Let’s spare that for now as I’m sure Jim Gaffigan is somewhere feverishly writing one-liners for a future standup act.
The surprise that got me thinking during mashed potatoes and gravy came from the pink lid on the familiar KFC bucket o’chicken. The company is now tied to the Susan G. Komen For The Cure, the ubiquitous cancer-fighting organization most recognizable by “pinking” everything from the equipment of professional athletes to the gushing waters of the fountain in Pittsburgh’s Point State Park.
The first thing that struck me–other than the irony of KFC promoting an organization most certainly supportive of healthy dietary choices–was how huge this pinking movement has become. Who was Susan G. Komen anyway?
I wasn’t surprised to learn that Ms. Komen had suffered and been taken (in 1980) by the very cancer her namesake organization combats. Her sister, Nancy Brinker, promised to do everything she could to end breast cancer forever.
Fight Cancer & Offend Chickens
According to their website, they’ve invested nearly $1.5 billion in cancer research since 1982. That’s a whole lotta pink ribbons, but what would you expect from “the largest grassroots network of breast cancer survivors and activists.”
I was, however, a bit surprised by how much controversy has surrounded the Komen foundation in recent years. Of course there’s no way an organization with so many hands and money involved could ever escape conflict, especially one driven by passionate activists. The interesting thing is the amount of heat burning against these passionate pinkos from every direction. In short, they’ve managed to anger folks on all sides of the political spectrum.
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The very idea of partnering with KFC, which you’ll remember stands for Kentucky Fried Chicken, offended many folks right off the bat. The Washington Post produced the clearest and most useful piece on this debate. In short, the protestors argue about the wisdom of the Komen foundation locking arms with an organization known for producing less than healthy food which, by the way, usually begins with some kind of intense chicken slaughter. See how quickly you can unite medical professionals with the animal rights crowd?
Sure, KFC tosses in fifty cents for the cure with every pink bucket sold, but couldn’t the Komen group find a more sensible alternative? Personally, nothing in this debate really affects me, but as far as business decisions go we might have to qualify this one as not so bright.
While the doctors pitching in on the debate are as close to an apolitical group as we’ll find, the rest of the controversy surrounding Komen For The Cure revolves around front line issues of contention in the neverending culture wars.
Besides mechanized (or any kind of) animal slaughter, some lefties are up in arms over the fact that Komen For The Cure uses Hadassah Lieberman as a paid spokesman. If you don’t recognize the first name, you probably know the last is the same as one Senator Joseph Lieberman, the one time vice presidential candidate for the Democratic party. As most Dems will tell you, Lieberman might be the antichrist, so what would you expect from his wife right? Her sins are many, but she actually speaks on behalf of other companies like Pfizer which oppose healthcare reform. Gasp! Read more »
Vivien Leigh & Gone With The Wind
Tough week as the old computer crashed and burned. Be back on track soon, but here’s a little something to chew on in the meantime.
On May 3, 1937, the novel Gone With The Wind by Margaret Mitchell won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction. I really don’t care about the award, but why not exploit a chance to show Vivien Leigh as Scarlett O’Hara in the role for which she won an Oscar as best actress. Again, these awards couldn’t be more meaningless, but it gives the kids something to shoot for.
Anyway, here’s Ms. Leigh doing her best imitation of a modern politician with their head in the sand about the reality of our world.
Life. Culture. Education.
Life as Pop Culture Professor Clay Morgan
In The Matrix, Morpheus tells Neo he can take the blue pill and go on believing whatever he wants to believe. Or he can take the red pill to stay in Wonderland and find out how deep the rabbit hole goes.
This is a red pill type site that provides information in an entertaining way. It’s about clear thinking and good writing. It’s about finding meaning amidst the absurd. It’s about humor and truth.
I’m a writer / speaker who teaches history and political courses at a couple of local colleges. Where is local, you say? Well, that would be Wonderland of course.
On topics ranging from pop culture to the meaning of life, my brain’s always poppin’. Take the red pill and unplug.
