Ivory Towers
Where to begin? It has been a day since a violent storm ripped through the East Coast, spanning from the pan handle of the Florida Gulf to the border of Quebec. Initiatives were put in place by local and state government to protect citizens. Education administrations took the initiative to let students return home before potential atrocity occurred. Today we are fortunate the predications did not come into fruition, in my area at least, as this super storm had the capability to wreak havoc on communities. One thing that certainly left me moved in anger yesterday was the epitome of what this country has been experiencing over the course of my 33 years of life thus far.
‘Damned if I do. Damned if I don’t’. Parents are seemingly upset their children are being stripped of their education and childhood because school administrations decided to allow students to retreat to the safety of their homes. To me it seems like backwards logic, especially if catastrophic events transpired, parents would be left wondering, “why did they not let my child out early?” The tone-deaf logic of my generation leaves me puzzled and quite honestly, it seems like a projection of poor parenting. Where education can produce nostalgia, the fondest memories for a child should always be cultivated by a parent through their actions and their words… Not an educator.
This former point is not what directly brings me here today and only briefs a small part of my thesis. We are living in a country that is willing to gamble on the lives of their servants. While those who control the ownership of the means of production, making the decision to put their workers in harms way is far too easy of a choice. Individuals that come from extreme wealth are comfortable making the decision to jeopardize the lives of others while being insulated from the consequences. As these people sit in the safety and security of their homes while calling the shots, we have to make the choice between life or rent. It is insulting to our humanity.
Are we not too far gone? Is this the future we want for ourselves and generations to come? Or have we grown too comfortable accepting a society like this? For me, it is fucking despicable and irresponsible. As the cogs keep turning, we surrender our autonomy for the passive income of others, placing ourselves in the hands of those who control not only their wealth, but ours as well. The more we go along to get along, the clearer it becomes: we accept this imbalance, even as it harms us. Instead of looking inward or questioning those who hold real power, we often choose to place blame on more visible figures, like educators, while ignoring the deeper structures and the people who truly shape our conditions.
