V is for something...
Mar. 30th, 2006 12:40 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
baphnediaIn years past, and throughout human history, two common wars have often been fought in tandem. The war of war machines, and the war of information. In both, we've been fairing better - in the past. This isn't due to only to some of the facts of the situations at hand, but rather - on a third - ignored front that for us, means the difference between life, liberty and the fall of the United States of America. Before I move on, let us identify this third, and seemingly unbattled front. The industrial front. I include research as an area of industry, as well as the entertainment industry, and all other industries in which anyone could concievably be employed - because it all affects our daily lives.
In reading all the brown bubbly that's about to spew forth from my fingers, remember - that this is the view I percieve, and there are those who share some of these views, and those who don't. I'd like everyone to be clear on that point. It's a big world out there - and the United States sometimes seems to not be a part of it. When I form my opinions - they aren't against any country, form of government, or anyone in particular. However, they are things the way that I percieve it. Perception is a very powerful tool.
When I saw telemarketer and telephony customer support jobs go away, I almost thought of the US Job market culling it's herd, as it were. But, earlier this year, when I watched 14,000 programmer - yes, computer programmer jobs move from the US to India, a question begged itself. How does India have a skilled job market? More importantly, why are these jobs dissappearing so quickly?
I'll point fingers at China and India first - because one has over 1.4 billion people, and the latter has enough to go well beyond the 2 billion citizens mark. In the words of a dear friend of mine, (no pun intended), "They are rendering themselves untouchable."
Why is that? Could it be that the mere fact that alone, each country is graduating ten times the number of computer programmers than the United States, and that they will work for one fifth of the cost? Who can blame the corporate world, for moving positions to countries where the skills exist, without the labor unions bleeding them as dry as existentially possible and increase the value to their shareholders by saving millions, or even billions of dollars?
When I give a senior in high school the pretest to the ASVAB (Armed Services Vocation Aptitude Battery), one in five get a score high enough that I feel comfortable sending them to take the full test. One in four high school graduates achieve the same. This, a test that thirty years ago, you could pass before you even went to high school.
Under the broad definition of industry that I am using, I include Education under it. We have some of the best research facilities and best schools on the face of the earth, but our school systems are at least keeping pace with some developing countries. Is it the only part of the problem? No. But it is a part.
The feeling that 'we have everything' is an attitude that we hold dear to our hearts in America. It is a feeling that we cannot shake because we spend most of our time looking down upon the rest of the world - ridding countries of tyrannical dictators and their governments, assisting with disaster relief from everything from earthquakes to tidal waves, yet refusing help when we found one of our own metropolises under water, stating that 'we can take care of ourselves.' The feeling that 'we have everything' also lends itself to be, 'we worked so hard to get here, now it's time for us just to relax, and retire.'
The truth is, we don't have everything. We still pay taxes and we're not immortal (since death and taxes are the only two certainties in our lives). And what's funny, is that I can draw a LOT of parallels between US and the Sunnis, not in the manner in which we handle our business, but the predicament that we are in.
There are a few ways in which we can strive once again, instead of just maintain a status quo. We allowed some ex Saudi whackjob scare us, and we're letting an Iranian douchebag scare us with a concept known as potential. So, let's give potential right back. Let's give them a lot more than they ever asked for their whole life. For the true strength in America isn't our shrinking industrial base, or the military (albiet we're strong as hell), but it is in our ability to openly tackle any situation given us, if we understand the situation.
In this war, we don't stand to lose everything - because we don't have everything. But we do stand to lose all we have. Does this mean that we can't help developing countries continue to grow their industrial and educational dominions over us? Of course not. We can help them. Because there are a few very good ways out of this predicament, where everyone wins. I have one word for the concept behind every one of them.
Globalization.
In this, I am paraphrasing all that I heard, saw, and experienced in Los Angeles while on leave. Because I know that we can win. But I don't know if we will win, without trying. We're already losing.
On globalization - helping to manage a global market and remain the forefront of research and technology is one method. The second idea is to propel the human race towards something that will require a globalized effort. Space, the next to final frontier. The third, is to return to the number one spot in education - perhaps that is where it starts - to be once again the best innovators and students of the human condition the world has ever seen. Why? Because we say all the time that 'we're the best.' Well, it's time to stop talking the talk and start walking the walk. We can't help the rest of the world in the way we'd like to if we can't help ourselves. Right now, we're definitively helpless.
Did you ever understand the reason why our moms often told us to finish our veggies because someone else in the world is starving? It's the same reason why your programming job went over there. Because they don't have a job, but at least they're not starving so much anymore.
I'm happy to brainstorm with anyone what it might take to turn us around - because we have the technology, we have the teachers. What we don't have, are the students.
Questions?
In reading all the brown bubbly that's about to spew forth from my fingers, remember - that this is the view I percieve, and there are those who share some of these views, and those who don't. I'd like everyone to be clear on that point. It's a big world out there - and the United States sometimes seems to not be a part of it. When I form my opinions - they aren't against any country, form of government, or anyone in particular. However, they are things the way that I percieve it. Perception is a very powerful tool.
When I saw telemarketer and telephony customer support jobs go away, I almost thought of the US Job market culling it's herd, as it were. But, earlier this year, when I watched 14,000 programmer - yes, computer programmer jobs move from the US to India, a question begged itself. How does India have a skilled job market? More importantly, why are these jobs dissappearing so quickly?
I'll point fingers at China and India first - because one has over 1.4 billion people, and the latter has enough to go well beyond the 2 billion citizens mark. In the words of a dear friend of mine, (no pun intended), "They are rendering themselves untouchable."
Why is that? Could it be that the mere fact that alone, each country is graduating ten times the number of computer programmers than the United States, and that they will work for one fifth of the cost? Who can blame the corporate world, for moving positions to countries where the skills exist, without the labor unions bleeding them as dry as existentially possible and increase the value to their shareholders by saving millions, or even billions of dollars?
When I give a senior in high school the pretest to the ASVAB (Armed Services Vocation Aptitude Battery), one in five get a score high enough that I feel comfortable sending them to take the full test. One in four high school graduates achieve the same. This, a test that thirty years ago, you could pass before you even went to high school.
Under the broad definition of industry that I am using, I include Education under it. We have some of the best research facilities and best schools on the face of the earth, but our school systems are at least keeping pace with some developing countries. Is it the only part of the problem? No. But it is a part.
The feeling that 'we have everything' is an attitude that we hold dear to our hearts in America. It is a feeling that we cannot shake because we spend most of our time looking down upon the rest of the world - ridding countries of tyrannical dictators and their governments, assisting with disaster relief from everything from earthquakes to tidal waves, yet refusing help when we found one of our own metropolises under water, stating that 'we can take care of ourselves.' The feeling that 'we have everything' also lends itself to be, 'we worked so hard to get here, now it's time for us just to relax, and retire.'
The truth is, we don't have everything. We still pay taxes and we're not immortal (since death and taxes are the only two certainties in our lives). And what's funny, is that I can draw a LOT of parallels between US and the Sunnis, not in the manner in which we handle our business, but the predicament that we are in.
There are a few ways in which we can strive once again, instead of just maintain a status quo. We allowed some ex Saudi whackjob scare us, and we're letting an Iranian douchebag scare us with a concept known as potential. So, let's give potential right back. Let's give them a lot more than they ever asked for their whole life. For the true strength in America isn't our shrinking industrial base, or the military (albiet we're strong as hell), but it is in our ability to openly tackle any situation given us, if we understand the situation.
In this war, we don't stand to lose everything - because we don't have everything. But we do stand to lose all we have. Does this mean that we can't help developing countries continue to grow their industrial and educational dominions over us? Of course not. We can help them. Because there are a few very good ways out of this predicament, where everyone wins. I have one word for the concept behind every one of them.
Globalization.
In this, I am paraphrasing all that I heard, saw, and experienced in Los Angeles while on leave. Because I know that we can win. But I don't know if we will win, without trying. We're already losing.
On globalization - helping to manage a global market and remain the forefront of research and technology is one method. The second idea is to propel the human race towards something that will require a globalized effort. Space, the next to final frontier. The third, is to return to the number one spot in education - perhaps that is where it starts - to be once again the best innovators and students of the human condition the world has ever seen. Why? Because we say all the time that 'we're the best.' Well, it's time to stop talking the talk and start walking the walk. We can't help the rest of the world in the way we'd like to if we can't help ourselves. Right now, we're definitively helpless.
Did you ever understand the reason why our moms often told us to finish our veggies because someone else in the world is starving? It's the same reason why your programming job went over there. Because they don't have a job, but at least they're not starving so much anymore.
I'm happy to brainstorm with anyone what it might take to turn us around - because we have the technology, we have the teachers. What we don't have, are the students.
Questions?
