Of Vocations and Addictions
One of my favorite books is Studs Terkel's Working. His oral history of the working lives of Americans is as unique as it is compelling. The common thread that runs through each interview--written as though it's a monologue in a play--is that everyone wants to find their lives meaningful. My parents encouraged me to find a fullfilling career, and my job became an integral part of my identity. When people ask me who I am, the first thing I mention is my vocation.
When people from cities or suburbs find themselves in a small town, they often bring along a subtle career-oriented prejudice that pidgeonholes individuals and narrowly defines them by what they do to make a living. For most of us a job is a means to an end. We don't live to work; we work to live. A job is something to be endured rather than enjoyed. Our jobs make it possible for us to afford the car, the mortgage, the 1.5 kids, etc...The smaller the community, the more job satisfaction and personal fullfillment becomes an either/or proposition.
Does your identity, your self-esteem, and your status in society revolve around your job? If so, is your life richer, or more impoverished as a result? What else defines you as a person?
Today, in the UK Observer, I read an interesting article called "Constant Cravings". The journalist writes, in a style reminiscent of Terkel, of four individuals defined by various postmodern addictions: Viagra, Surgery, Text-messaging, and Online Dating.
Perhaps Studs Turkel could write a follow-up to Working focusing on what new millenium people are addicted to. Would this hypothetical publication provide as much insight into the human condition as the original?
Read the Observer Artice Constant Cravings
When people from cities or suburbs find themselves in a small town, they often bring along a subtle career-oriented prejudice that pidgeonholes individuals and narrowly defines them by what they do to make a living. For most of us a job is a means to an end. We don't live to work; we work to live. A job is something to be endured rather than enjoyed. Our jobs make it possible for us to afford the car, the mortgage, the 1.5 kids, etc...The smaller the community, the more job satisfaction and personal fullfillment becomes an either/or proposition.
Does your identity, your self-esteem, and your status in society revolve around your job? If so, is your life richer, or more impoverished as a result? What else defines you as a person?
Today, in the UK Observer, I read an interesting article called "Constant Cravings". The journalist writes, in a style reminiscent of Terkel, of four individuals defined by various postmodern addictions: Viagra, Surgery, Text-messaging, and Online Dating.
Perhaps Studs Turkel could write a follow-up to Working focusing on what new millenium people are addicted to. Would this hypothetical publication provide as much insight into the human condition as the original?
Read the Observer Artice Constant Cravings
