Downward Mobility

Text 1: The first piece of text that really stuck out to me was "we take a long time to figure out who we are and what we believe."

This piece of text stood out because I think society places an emphasis on what we should be doing with our life. In order to achieve the American Dream we must receive a college education in order to get a good job and make money. However, different people have different dreams. Money and power do not equal success to all people and it is unfortunate that society has put this idea in our heads. We have this need to conform, and therefore some people spend 15 years in a job that they hate just because they make a lot of money like Janine Geske (supreme court judge). To find out who we are and what we believe we must step outside of whats society tells us to do and think for ourselves.

Text 2: The second piece of text that really stood out to me was "while we exercise some freedom in this, a society will tolerate only so much dissent. In short, our identity, self-esteem, and values depend decisively on social relations and institutions."

I think that this piece of text is important because in today's society we feel the need to think, act, and look like the image society portrays on us. If a model is considered overweight then she is an outcast. Even people who live in poor neighborhoods and cannot afford to get a college degree are seen as stupid and "a bad person." We have this fear instilled in us that if we do not go to college and have a good job then our life is meaningless, but that is not the case. It is easier said than done, but people need to be comfortable in their own skin because we cannot let society dictate our sense of self. This is hard to do when you see advertisements everyday telling you what kind of car to buy or what beauty product will make you look like celebrities. It is discouraging that we live in the kind of world that makes us feel about about ourselves when really we should be encouraging one another to be the best they can be.

More blog posts in this category Common

• The Wound & the Blessing/The Economy of Communion Project Post
• The Crest- Jewel of Wisdom & Work as a Spiritual Practice Post
• "What Money Can't Buy" Blog Post
• Blog Post Ni: FTRN Booklet & Arithmetic of Passion
• Work as a Spiritual Practice (The Transformation of Work)