Like it or not, power plays a major role in our lives. All too often the disabled have too little power over their own lives. Its pretty extreme to have to wait on some else just to go to the bathroom. Powerlessness spills over into all aspects of life, affecting everything from self-esteem to basic safety and security. Powerlessness equals poverty. I know we have progressed in the area of disability rights, but things are still bad, really bad. Here in the USA, the poverty rate is close to 30% for disabled people. Keep in mind this does not count people institutionalized, and the "Poverty Rate" may not be all that great a measurement for those living in substandard conditions. Many go uncounted. The picture only gets bleaker looking over seas. With the advent of the internet, things are slowly changing.
I've said before. If I had been born twenty years earlier, there is a good chance I would have been institutionalized. Little to no school, no control over life decisions, no Bulgarian Adventure, and no beer; sounds like missing out on a lot of fun to me. My parents were both teachers who knew the value of education. As a young person, I did not! I was more interested in being the class clown. This changed in the last year or two of high school when I realized I would have to use my brain to make a living. I got the grades up, went to community college and on to a four year school, and graduated. I got a good liberal arts education, and got better at critical thinking. No, it was not a top money-making degree, but it was enough to get me employable. Being able to work gave me the means to support myself living independently. I doubt I would have ever got out of the state institution had I been born twenty years before. How could that have even happened? I would know nothing beyond the walls of the "day room."Well, they may have kicked me out due to budget cuts, and I would now be royally screwed. I would have lacked the means to support myself economically, emotionally, and physically. Things do not happen in a vacuum This happens today with ex-cons, and mental patients, but that's for another blog soon. This bring me to the main point.
Yeah, there are those who still become wildly successful with no high school diploma. I personally have never met such a person, but they do exist. Even those who did not graduate high school and still built a successful life have educated themselves in some way. Here's a list. They still had to LEARN something. I've met plenty of successful people who are educated via school and college. I bet you have too. It is like much in life, this is a numbers game. Check this out. No high school diploma closes too many doors. It is even worse for the physically challenged. I cannot do physically demanding labor. Unless your are a genius, born with a horseshoe up your ass, you are not going to be on the successful dropout list. Neither am I.
I've said before. If I had been born twenty years earlier, there is a good chance I would have been institutionalized. Little to no school, no control over life decisions, no Bulgarian Adventure, and no beer; sounds like missing out on a lot of fun to me. My parents were both teachers who knew the value of education. As a young person, I did not! I was more interested in being the class clown. This changed in the last year or two of high school when I realized I would have to use my brain to make a living. I got the grades up, went to community college and on to a four year school, and graduated. I got a good liberal arts education, and got better at critical thinking. No, it was not a top money-making degree, but it was enough to get me employable. Being able to work gave me the means to support myself living independently. I doubt I would have ever got out of the state institution had I been born twenty years before. How could that have even happened? I would know nothing beyond the walls of the "day room."Well, they may have kicked me out due to budget cuts, and I would now be royally screwed. I would have lacked the means to support myself economically, emotionally, and physically. Things do not happen in a vacuum This happens today with ex-cons, and mental patients, but that's for another blog soon. This bring me to the main point.
Yeah, there are those who still become wildly successful with no high school diploma. I personally have never met such a person, but they do exist. Even those who did not graduate high school and still built a successful life have educated themselves in some way. Here's a list. They still had to LEARN something. I've met plenty of successful people who are educated via school and college. I bet you have too. It is like much in life, this is a numbers game. Check this out. No high school diploma closes too many doors. It is even worse for the physically challenged. I cannot do physically demanding labor. Unless your are a genius, born with a horseshoe up your ass, you are not going to be on the successful dropout list. Neither am I.
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