I overheard two guys talking the other day. They were discussing a mutual friend's new girlfriend. It came out that she had dropped out of school after a year and had been working an office job until recently. She has not yet found a new job and has been cleaning houses in the meantime. They then proceeded to completely make fun of her.
Now, since I know both of these guys, I know that they were just joking around and had no real ill will against her - they like to poke fun of everyone they know. But it dawned on me that this is a common prejudice in this day and age. I've heard too many conversations like this one that weren't joking around. Why is it that so many of us look down our noses at someone who doesn't have a degree, cleans houses, or picks up garbage? These (and many others) are very noble professions. They're working hard, they're not mooching off the system, and they're doing a job that makes a positive difference in our world. What's so wrong with that? Is sitting in a cushy chair (which, by the way, contributes to that cushy toosh) in front of a computer 9-5 with plenty of time to gab on the phone, surf the net, peruse Facebook, and make fun of others so much better just because it pays more?
Just because a person doesn't make a lot of money doesn't mean they're of less worth. In fact, I'd even go so far as to say that many of them are even more worthy than their white collar counterparts that are looking down their noses at them. Perhaps if anyone was going to do some looking down the nose at all, it should be the other way around. Where would this world be without the teachers, housecleaners, garbage men, mechanics, animal control, handymen, etc., etc., etc.? I'd say we'd be looking at a pretty stupid, dirty, and much darker world. Our houses and other material things that we are so gratified by would look (and run) like crap. Not to mention, we wouldn't be able to do those cushy jobs that we are so proud of.
Everyone has a story. Everyone has a background and factors in their life we know nothing about. It's just too bad that more people don't keep that in mind before judging others so quickly. It'd be interesting to see what we could all learn if we just kept an open mind and listened for a change instead of constantly being so locked up in our own little narrow worlds. Perhaps our world would open up and become something greater than we could ever even imagine....
