Occupation Discrimination

"John Adams was a farmer, Abraham Lincoln was a small town lawyer, Plato, Socrates were teachers, Jesus was a carpenter…to equate judgment and wisdom with occupation is, at best, insulting."

I heard this quote while watching an episode of Warehouse 13 and it made me think about how we perceive the occupations of our fellow citizens.

A lesson in being humble is important. My father is a auto mechanic with a high school education, but also one of the smartest people I know. My mother is a case worker in a hospital and has been a nurse in some way, shape or form her entire career. My grandfather was a US Steel worker and my grandmother sold insurance. None of these professions are flashy or particularly important, but they are all essential to running this country.

 

We ignore service workers by talking on our cell phones while at Starbucks or McDonald's or Target. We hardly acknowledge the hard work of people who fix our cars, install our plumbing or bag our groceries. What does this trend say about us as a culture? I don't know if there is a right or wrong answer, just something I've been thinking about.