Thoughts

[pezar]

I wasn't trying to minimize the kid's pain. High school SUCKS, it really does, and it's part of the plan. I'll have to dig up the link, but I read a blog post that says that the point of public schooling is essentially eugenic in nature, to weed out the "feebleminded" so as to create the ideal environment for the "genetically superior" to brewed "superior" babies.

The thing is, it doesn't work very well. Ever notice how the most successful kids in HS are not so successful in life? The valedictorian of my HS class studied international economics at a great university, only to end up selling internet ads in San Francisco. That was in 2004-she's likely living under a bridge now. The jocks never go to reunions so as to keep secret how they failed at life. Other "super students" end up stuck in middle management, always a bridesmaid never a bride. You see, for the top students, school teaches you how to work for the elite, not how to be one of them. This is also by design, obviously-corporatism rules by smashing competition, look at Microsoft.

When Chris said that "careers are a 20th century invention", I believe he was groping towards an understanding of school and career as a breeding ground for the elites' yes men. He didn't want to be a yes man, obviously. The problem is, most states force school attendance until the age of at least 16, and a few mandate it till age 18. At your 16th birthday you may have the option to "test out" of HS and become emancipated from your parents. I was willing to wait until I graduated HS at about 18 years and 7 months old, then I took off. I just want the kid to go about it legally, and to be aware of the perils. That doesn't mean don't do it, just go into it with eyes open. I think Chris didn't fully realize what it meant to live in the wild in Alaska, and he died as a result.

[SteveSalmon]

~SS

[pezar]

I never said that school wasn't useful, just that it has a hidden agenda few guess at. You really need to read this article that I'm gonna go get right now. It says that school, in addition to training people in the necessary skills of the industrial world, also is a sorting mechanism to sort elites from commoners. Here it is:

http://www.lewrockwell.com/gatto/gatto-uhae-2.html

Read this all the way through (yes, it's long), and then get back to me. The idea is to pick out the middle managers from the rest of the kids, and educate them. Everybody else is shuttled into being a factory droid. I know for a FACT that there were two academic tracks at my high school, "academic" and "regular". The "regular" kids were sometimes called "throwaways", because the classes they took were just to keep them busy. The school made a small attempt to keep the two groups apart, such as different lunch periods, to preserve some semblance of peace. But in reality it was open season on them. They were mercilessly abused by the "academics", and were forbidden to mix with the "academics". If you look in my yearbook you see that the only kids given the time of day were the academic track kids. I was in the academic track, and I realized that I knew all of the kids in the yearbook "social pages", and there weren't any I DIDN'T know. This was at a wealthy high school in California.

Also, Chris didn't want to go to college, remember? Billie had to convince him that he had to go. He thought it was a waste of time and money. And as soon as he finished, he was off and running. I think that he would have gone on his adventure in 1986 if Billie hadn't convinced him to go to college. I have a cousin who is not academically inclined. Once she realized that she was on the nonacademic track at HER HS, she took and got her GED, then went to beauty school. Ironically, she's now in college-training to be a teacher.

The reality is, there are so many people with college degrees out there now that the "wow factor" is gone, It used to be that people with college degrees were automatically hired for good jobs, because there were so few of them. Now there are so many bachelor's degrees out there that they're considered a dime a dozen. The much hyped "million dollar payday" has shrunk greatly, since debt loads are so high and salaries are so low. Kids take out $200k in loans, and as a reward are given a $35k/yr job. Their debt service is so high that they struggle to stay afloat, especially if they're like the rest of their peers and living in a very expensive coastal city. My point about the valedictorian is that she got a degree in economics, but DID NOT become an economist! Instead, she ended up in sales. My guess is that even in 1997 economist jobs weren't that plentiful.

What should a kid do? Finish high school, I agree with that. I stuck it out in high school because I BADLY wanted a diploma. Then, learn a trade, repairing something or something like that. Once I decided that my college degree was useless (and this wasn't a liberal arts degree either, but a degree in management), I learned how to fix computers. In the third world country that America is rapidly becoming, there will be plenty of educated people begging on the street corners, because educated people are a dime a dozen. Having a skill people will pay money for will be better.

Want to know what it will be like? Read Fernando's accounts of life in Argentina, http://ferfal.blogspot.com/. Something like that. Argentina was once a first world country, but a half century of misrule has destroyed their economy and society, and most people commit crime to eat. Obama is making the EXACT SAME mistakes Juan Peron did! If it continues, we'll be JUST LIKE Argentina! By the time McKenna is in his 40s, America will likely be well down Argentina's path. We all need to prepare to live in a very different America than the one that exists now. Fernando's articles convinced me not to become a rubber tramp, since a banking crisis is likely imminent.

[fox]

I feel a deep connection to Chris - when I first heard of his adventures and then read the book it had a spiritual effect on me - to the point that I cannot read enough. I will be ordering the new book and DVD to understand more, there is also a documentory by Ron Lamonte I will be ordering also. I was traveling the Dakotes the same time Chris would have been out there, I was on a simalar adventure. Chris's search for understanding is mine too..I do think he found what he was looking for, maybe not all but enough to understand what he was meant to do. I'll be commenting more - as I read and search for more about Chris - I am so glad there is a place to put our thoughts. I wish I could have met Chris...

[SteveSalmon]

~SS

[lovealwayskiki]

Honestly I felt the same about school. A lot of people are so ungrateful for what they have been given. I too don't have a good relationship with my father.. & I saw this post, you're not alone. Hold on.

[awakemysoul]

So, its almost been two years to date, just wandering what you ended up doing & where you are in life.

[bassackwards]

+1

Yes, I'm curious too. And hopeful.

On re-reading the thread, I realize that I neglected to address the issues you raised regarding your family. I truly hope that has turned around for you. My parents never explicitly said they wished I'd never been born, but they showed how they felt through their actions, too often. I hope your parents have since learned to recognize the gift they have in you. If not, I hope you are focused in building on the resources you do have available, and preparing yourself wisely for adulthood. I want more for your adulthood than an escape, though. As I was saying in my post above, I wish for your future a life in which you are truly able to effectively make a difference in substantial ways that are meaningful to you.

Let us know how you are.