Monday, May 30, 2005
About me and my past
I was born in May of 1966. My parents were both teachers. My Paternal Grandmother (Mimi) is a Ferguson. My Paternal Grandfather's roots were in English peasantry. My maternal Grandmother's roots were German while her Husband was of Irish descent (McBride). To some, we would have been considered lower or middle middle class. To some we were just lucky. To others we are people who do not know our place, which is living paycheck to paycheck. We already had too much money and possessions for the Bonesmen who think everyone else is a Barbarian. And of course, still do.
Dad had this habit that he has had over the years of watching every news program he can. I watch TV quite a bit when I was 2 or 3. I got to see all those dead bodies piling up in a place called Vietnam.
Dad was also a union activist. He wanted a better life for us. So he helped organize an NEA for his school district. He was rewarded with 2 days in jail. Soon, he was made an administrator and since he was not covered by the contract that was finally negotiated, he was threatened with getting fired. So, with his new Library science Masters, he got a job in an Upper Middle Class school disrtict in a suburb 45 miles west of Chicago's Loop.
So, Mother went on to get a piece of sheepskin to match Dad's. She got a job like Dad's farther west in what was then a small town...not quite a suburb yet. Both were active in their NEA chapters, Dad eventually became part of the union's PAC and mother became a contract negotiator.
During the 1976 election me and my classmates had a mock election. Of course Ford won. Things like that during 5th-grade mostly reflected parental attitudes. "Why not Carter?" "because Ford is better" Why?" "'Cause my dad said so". We were not old enough to figure out that our parents wanted a piece of the American pie and to all become wealthy enough to have all that our consumeristic hearts desired.
The next year, our social studies teachers made sure we were keeping up with current events, quizzing us every Friday about what was on the news. We also had to look up a new country each week as well. Sometimes it wasn't even a country, but one time it was a province in India (Sikkim I believe it was called).
The year after that, while continuing on this current events thing (I wonder what social studies teaches do nowadays) we did Russian History. Oh My! We were taught about COMMUNISM! Yes we were. It was a know your enemy thing.
During these years, my parents also supported a canidate for the State Legislature. He later became my Political Science teacher Freshman year. Of course J.Glenn had to go done to Springfield to vote on bills and serve on the education committee, but he became a great influence in my political thinking. Of course some in my class thought I was brown-nosing him, that I really did not think like a liberal. No one did, after all. It was the 80's and everyone loved Ronnie.
But after High School, my political interest waned. I went to a community college and then went to a local private college. No one was interested in activism. Nothing. Someday, I will think on reasons why it was so.
Then I had a salvation experience. I was told that we needed to win the world and that if we had enough people in our church, then political change would happen. Just like in Rome. So, I was discouraged for many years thinking politically. I still had my bias but that was something best kept to myself.
During these years I got some very bad career advice. Even though I had a degree in Computer Science, that year it was hard to get a job. Bell Labs and IBM were laying off people. But having a job, was better than not having a job. The Lord would provide. So, for a decade I ended up in low paying jobs because continuing for more than a month in a job search was sinful. Barbara Ehrenreich lived a year's worth at low-paying jobs. I did a decade.
I finally ened up with a tech support job in Tucson. I felt like I would do good, save some money to get an apartment, and move out of my Parents' place in Sun City Vistoso. I was wrong. I had great tech skills, but my customer service was a bit off. So, when it came time to consolidate the tech support division (after the company got bought out) , they showed me to the door. I got another tech-support job, this time at EDS. The customer (bellsouth.net) was unhappy with all of us so the contract was shut down, and a company that had all of its workers in India took up the contract. It was the last good paying job I had. My job went to India. Who would want to go back to flipping burgers after this?
9/11 came and went. Still no job. I started volunteering at the local Red Cross. While watching CNN days before the war in Iraq, I saw something that changed my political life. Forever.
This is my far past. Next, I will recount what has happened since the war started.
Dad had this habit that he has had over the years of watching every news program he can. I watch TV quite a bit when I was 2 or 3. I got to see all those dead bodies piling up in a place called Vietnam.
Dad was also a union activist. He wanted a better life for us. So he helped organize an NEA for his school district. He was rewarded with 2 days in jail. Soon, he was made an administrator and since he was not covered by the contract that was finally negotiated, he was threatened with getting fired. So, with his new Library science Masters, he got a job in an Upper Middle Class school disrtict in a suburb 45 miles west of Chicago's Loop.
So, Mother went on to get a piece of sheepskin to match Dad's. She got a job like Dad's farther west in what was then a small town...not quite a suburb yet. Both were active in their NEA chapters, Dad eventually became part of the union's PAC and mother became a contract negotiator.
During the 1976 election me and my classmates had a mock election. Of course Ford won. Things like that during 5th-grade mostly reflected parental attitudes. "Why not Carter?" "because Ford is better" Why?" "'Cause my dad said so". We were not old enough to figure out that our parents wanted a piece of the American pie and to all become wealthy enough to have all that our consumeristic hearts desired.
The next year, our social studies teachers made sure we were keeping up with current events, quizzing us every Friday about what was on the news. We also had to look up a new country each week as well. Sometimes it wasn't even a country, but one time it was a province in India (Sikkim I believe it was called).
The year after that, while continuing on this current events thing (I wonder what social studies teaches do nowadays) we did Russian History. Oh My! We were taught about COMMUNISM! Yes we were. It was a know your enemy thing.
During these years, my parents also supported a canidate for the State Legislature. He later became my Political Science teacher Freshman year. Of course J.Glenn had to go done to Springfield to vote on bills and serve on the education committee, but he became a great influence in my political thinking. Of course some in my class thought I was brown-nosing him, that I really did not think like a liberal. No one did, after all. It was the 80's and everyone loved Ronnie.
But after High School, my political interest waned. I went to a community college and then went to a local private college. No one was interested in activism. Nothing. Someday, I will think on reasons why it was so.
Then I had a salvation experience. I was told that we needed to win the world and that if we had enough people in our church, then political change would happen. Just like in Rome. So, I was discouraged for many years thinking politically. I still had my bias but that was something best kept to myself.
During these years I got some very bad career advice. Even though I had a degree in Computer Science, that year it was hard to get a job. Bell Labs and IBM were laying off people. But having a job, was better than not having a job. The Lord would provide. So, for a decade I ended up in low paying jobs because continuing for more than a month in a job search was sinful. Barbara Ehrenreich lived a year's worth at low-paying jobs. I did a decade.
I finally ened up with a tech support job in Tucson. I felt like I would do good, save some money to get an apartment, and move out of my Parents' place in Sun City Vistoso. I was wrong. I had great tech skills, but my customer service was a bit off. So, when it came time to consolidate the tech support division (after the company got bought out) , they showed me to the door. I got another tech-support job, this time at EDS. The customer (bellsouth.net) was unhappy with all of us so the contract was shut down, and a company that had all of its workers in India took up the contract. It was the last good paying job I had. My job went to India. Who would want to go back to flipping burgers after this?
9/11 came and went. Still no job. I started volunteering at the local Red Cross. While watching CNN days before the war in Iraq, I saw something that changed my political life. Forever.
This is my far past. Next, I will recount what has happened since the war started.
