I have been lucky to have benefited immensely from encouragement from others when I was growing up and years of hard work. In fact, I am a good example of what working for a better life coupled with access to education (and a little luck) can do for a person.
When I was a kid I saved my money carefully and watched my bank account balance grow. I could only contribute small amounts at a time, but I had both patience and enjoyment as I did so. I also had the motivation to earn money, which was achieved through a variety of jobs and activities. I came to appreciate the trading of time for money – something I had a lot of for something that was scarce.
University aspirations
As I moved through high school, I developed aspirations to attend university. No one in my family had gone to university but I was surrounded by encouraging teachers, all of whom had.
I was eager for a university education as I thought it could lead to a good job and earning power, which equated to a good life for me. My aspirations weren’t specific, but I believed that all would work out, and I would have the life I wanted.
My teachers reinforced this belief – they may have even planted it in my mind. What started as a vague possibility became a firm expectation that I set for myself. In spite of my sporting prowess, I would not be taking physical education. I had to find a course of study that would yield a good job and assure my future.
Steady middle-class expansion
This dream of social mobility (although I wouldn’t have labeled it as such at the time) and a great life have powered both Canadian and American societies for many years. Our folklore is replete with stories of people, both born here and immigrants, who have benefited by virtue of their education, their will, their hard work or all three. Less dramatic but more impactful has been the steady expansion of the middle class as education has bolstered the opportunity for many.
Opportunity for all
Today, some of the harshest prognostications indicate that the current group of 20-somethings will be the first in many generations to be unable to provide a better life for themselves than their parents provided. Upward mobility, it seems, is coming to a screeching halt.
While we collectively may be detached and say that we can only care for ourselves or our own close family, the reality is that we all must care about opportunity for all, in fact a better life for all, if we are to have a good life ourselves.
Our whole social and economic fabric is based on rules that have been established and fine-tuned over many years. Freedom and safety cannot be taken for granted, and we only have them when a broad base of society has an opportunity to provide well for themselves and their families.
Social mobility
Social mobility is the tangible manifestation of optimism. People who are optimistic see opportunity and move confidently forward with career and family plans. Worried and cynical people do not. Optimism can ebb and flow based on a complexity of factors. Making long-term commitments to a mortgage or planning to have a child prompt intense reflection on the outlook for the future. We have seen the impact of pessimism on slowing housing starts or of optimism in a mini baby boom. These are not elements to take for granted – real people fuel our economy and keep our society healthy.
Knowing that we are not confined to the social place into which we have been born has benefited so many aspects of our society. It is something to be cherished and afforded to those who can work hard and invest in themselves and grab for opportunity. Maybe the element of luck can help a bit, too. I personally am not comfortable quietly watching opportunity disappear for others after I have benefited from it. If I can give a hand up through job opportunities and connections, I feel good and society in general is improved.
While I may be able to help a few, what about the many who may lose the opportunity to better themselves?
