Spiritual
This week: We Are All Unique Individuals Edited by: NaNoKit More Newsletters By This Editor
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It's all too easy to see other people as failures. But we are all unique. We all have our very own skills and talents.
This week's Spiritual Newsletter is all about the "deserving" and the "undeserving" and why we shouldn't look at people that way.
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You may have heard of this – some people strongly feel that if your life isn't a huge success, it's your own fault. Some countries even have policies centered around this, targeting those who are seen as failures. The low paid, the unemployed, people on zero hour contracts. Yet, some of the people behind this targeting proclaim to be people of faith. Where does this view come from, and how can we remedy this?
I don't really have an answer to the first part of that question. Perhaps it comes down to the notion that we should all work hard, and contribute. The problem with that is that many people do work hard. That does not mean that they will all have a high-flying career, and that even if they do, that they can't fall ill, or suddenly face life with a disability, or become redudant. Entire industries can collapse. What then?
Then, usually, people get mentally split in the “deserving” and the “undeserving”, ignoring the fact that any cuts to support, any measures implemented will target everyone. Including those seen as deserving of support.
I personally question the idea that anyone is undeserving. People might say, “What if they are lazy? What if they just sit on their bum all day watching daytime television?” In which case I ask them, “Even if that is true, why are they doing so? What had led to that?”
I think it begins at school. I was a good student. Lots of As. There were a couple of subjects I struggled with, however. One was Geography. I've actually cried studying for tests in that subject – the ones where they place a map in front of you with dots and squiggles and you have to name them. I scraped a B, which may not sound so bad, but it took a lot out of me. German was worse. Far worse. With all the effort in the world, I just about managed a D. I still have a report card with a note from my teacher that says, “It's a shame that Kit doesn't like German.” I think German didn't like me. In the end, my German teacher and I agreed that he'd give me a C so long as I didn't continue with the subject the year after, when we were permitted to choose. I didn't choose Geography, either.
This wasn't a disaster for me, but what if a student struggles with many different subjects, or subjects that are generally necessary for further study, or for a decent career? A subject like Maths, for example? That leads to many doors being automatically closed. That's not taking into consideration other circumstances – unsupportive parents, or parents traveling around for work, leading to a child having to start over and over again at new schools. Sometimes even in different countries.
Then, you have to choose at a very young age what you want to do with the rest of your life. Some kids have a good idea of that. Others don't. I was one of them – didn't have a clue. That is why I didn't go to university back then, and just rolled into the world of work.
I was fortunate – I went into admin, then secretarial work, then business management. Utterly boring jobs, but they're not generally frowned upon. Others aren't as fortunate, and they end up in jobs that people look down on.
I will never look down on any job (well, so long as it's legal). The ones people look down on need doing, too. If hospitals aren't cleaned, for example, the results can be deadly. If someone doesn't empty our bins, we'll be overrun by rats and disease. If we go into a shop, we want someone to be there who we can purchase our goods from, and who may give us advice when we need it. You want your burger and fries? Someone has to cook them.
I'll finally graduate from university next year, and I am well aware that that doesn't count for a lot these days. There are plenty of graduates working behind the tills, cleaning offices, everything but what they have studied for. That's the economic situation we find ourselves in.
And it must not be forgotten that our economic system needs a certain amount of people to be unemployed. If too many people are employed, pressure is placed on wages, which leads to inflation. That is why nations seek an equillibrium position, in which there is a flow of workers and wage pressure is measured. Keeping prices down, then, comes at a cost.
It has been predicted that the time will come – not too far in the future – when robots will be used in many different jobs, replacing human workers. The list of potential jobs suitable for this replacement is rather lengthy. Now, I don't know if this will actually happen, or how it will work out, but let's try to picture that situation, and imagine that you will be replaced by a robot. What will you do? Do you have the money to retrain? What if none of the new positions looking for human workers are positions you are suitable for?
There are many positions that I am completely unsuitable for. For example, many of my family members work in the health sector. I feel queasy if I even see a needle on a TV screen. I'd be dreadful at telephone sales, let alone door-to-door sales. I definitely don't have the brains for a career in robotics, or theoretical physics or something. Would that make me a lazy, good-for-nothing failure? Should I be punished?
Most people of faith believe that we are all made a certain way. We are all unique individuals, with different skills and talents. Some people's talents aren't in great demand, and that is unfortunate. What is in demand and what isn't changes all the time.
We are also subject to different circumstances. A family with good connections, followed by a university where good connections are readily found, are much more likely to find a good position than those without good connections, or the ability to establish such connections.
Yet, we all contribute to society in our own way. Yes, even the people thought to sit on their bum watching daytime television. They may be good and kind to their neighbours. They may be wonderful parents, raising the next generation. The money they spend on goods and services helps to keep other people in employment – it all goes around.
Nobody is useless. Nobody is a failure. All of us matter. That is why we shouldn't vote for, nor consent to ill-treatment of anyone.
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