exercises in cynicism and hope (1)

Let’s forget whether or not the hordes of Ivy League graduates who went off to work on Wall Street are actually responsible for the current crisis. And let’s leave aside the question of whether it is possible to change the system from within or whether we are truly following God’s will when we work for a large corporation.

Could we instead imagine what this country (or this world) would be like had we all done something different than what was simply expected of us? What if many of us had gone off to start fair trade and worker-owned companies?* What if others of us went into government to try and establish and implement policies that would encourage wealth creation in our cities and countryside? What if more of us went full-time into teaching in underserved areas?

Maybe now that there are not as many Wall Street jobs, perhaps more of us will take the road less traveled.




* Some in fact have opted to do this with positive results. A former Penn student and some others from Harvard have started a fair trade yarn exporting company in China. And to give credit, many do work for a large corporation for a few years before pursuing something different like this.
** On a side note, for those of you who commented a while ago on my blog-- I've posted my replies. I am trying my best to respond to comments but sometimes it takes me awhile :) Thanks for taking the time to write them though! I do appreciate them.