Zepeda, Dylan: Paglia

In the article “Revalorizing the Trades”, Camille Paglia talks about how the middle class will be very badly affected by the plummeting unemployment rate. This is most likely true, and it is a very important fact, but what does it have to do with us, the students of Southern Arkansas University’s Honors College, and why are we being asked to read this?  It will affect us more than some people realize. If someone were to do a study on the family income of the students in the Honors program, they would probably see that many of those studied come from a middle class background. This means that if what Ms. Paglia says is true, this is our future.
            

Not everyone will fall under the same cloud of misery and misfortune that the author describes, but it is a possibility for all of us. But, we need to learn about what is happening to the world around us. I think that is one of the reasons why you have given us this article.  These are our lives and we need to be in control of them. Without being properly informed, we cannot have this control, but instead, will be used by others, who were more prepared.

            

Reading things of this nature now will afford students the opportunity to change majors to flow with the way that the economy is going. It can affect the decisions someone at our age makes. It is scary to think that the job we have our minds set on may not be there for us when we graduate. We don’t want to waste our time and someone’s money for a lost cause.

            

But, fear can be a strong motivator. It can be a driving force that moves us along. Fear can be what pushes someone to be better than their peers. The fear of being last, unsuccessful, poor, alone, or a nobody can make someone fight harder than they thought possible, to accomplish their goal, which is having a job waiting for us when we graduate, in this instance.

            

This is why I think we were shown this article; to inform us, to scare us, to help us, and to guide us. Or, maybe it was the big words. But, I know the article made me think about my future, and that seems like a very good thing.