The Stairwell News by Susanne Crane

Susanne Crane is an artist/educator currently working on a local restoration project in the historic district.

You’ve probably heard the old adage that goes like this; “A job worth doing, is worth doing well.”

It’s a foundational American philosophy/work ethic. This country was built on many of its citizens best efforts. Pride in craftsmanship, excellent materials, high quality engineering and innovative design are what we have been historically credited with providing. We once impressed and influenced the wide world with our talented labor force and inventiveness.

Let’s take a look at where we are now and a few words on how we got here.

If you travel or keep up with industrial technology on this planet, you will have found it disconcerting to learn just how far we’ve fallen behind in these areas. Yes, we have inventors and talented craftsmen working in our country today, but they are niche artisans, expensive and in the minority. Well-trained conscientious laborers are hard to find today, especially under the age of 65. Why is that?

We have become obsessed, as a nation, with the bottom line. Money is our nation’s highest priority. Getting things done as fast and cheaply as possible is the goal today. Getting and saving money is practically our nation’s religion. Cuts in education, health care and nutrition are all consequences of this shift in our priorities. This compromises our laborers ability to thrive, which affects their ability to do their best work. Many are undereducated for the tasks at hand.

Throughout the world today, most children attend school year-round, and in many industrialized democratic countries health care is a right. How is it we let ourselves fall so far behind? When I travel, I am continually awed by the innovations that have been normalized in other countries. We need to put pride aside and take a good, hard look at what we can do here to become competitive on the world stage once again. We need get better at sharing and collaborating.

That money that we want so badly is shifting to other parts of the world.

Suggested readings:
“The Post-American World” by Fareed Zakaria and “The World Is Flat” by Thomas Friedman