Glory Days

The song glory day (by Bruce Springstein) recounts how certain people who were the "popular" kids in High School relive those highlights in later life.  Being good at sports, being attractive, are important characteristics at 17 but not enough unless you are trully exceptional in either category, to get you very far later in life.

Now, clearly some of the popular kids, especially if they come from the right background or have parents with money, parlay this into later life.  However the great majority of working class kids often have their best years in high school, when they can dominate nerds and everybody kowtows to them.

Well, call it the revenge of the nerds if you want, but it turns out that studying, getting into a good college, or any college at all, and applying yourself is a much better formula for success.

This is how the system is rigged, it rewards hard work and planning.

Now, let me be clear, many of these popular kids had to work hard after high school but what was missing was the planning.  They got into factories, mines, construction, etc. got married, had kids, bought a car and thought this was what they were entitled to.

Well, they weren't.  The economic forces are pushing America into a post industrial period.  Technology is eliminating many jobs, more than foreign competition really.  The skills required have to be acquired, and some of these folks did adapt and learn and generally they are doing better than the others at this point.

However, the idea that the Government owes you a good paying job is simply not the case, in fact that smacks of communism.

You see slogans about how they just want the opportunity to compete.  However they had that opportunity and didn't do well.

Now, they are looking for a handout.  They want someone in the Government who is going to recreate a world that is long gone. They found someone who promises to do that.  Of course the promise is false and can't be kept. The claims are mostly lies.

But much like when they were children waiting for Santa, they are going to keep on believeing.

They miss those Glory Days.