Uncertainty & Hope in the 21st Century

Hey Folks, here is what I was working on this weekend instead of another blog post. An essay I submitted for a scholarship through the UW system. You can read about the scholarship here .

As the world hurtles full speed ahead into the 21st century we humans face crippling uncertainty. Potential college students think they will secure for themselves a life of gainful employment by choosing a specific track and fastidiously maintaining a high grade point average. The truth is that we are entering into a period of instability that hasn't been seen since before the first World War. Rampant globalization has led to a surge in outsourcing labor, the rise of the decentralized workplace, and the depreciation of the dollar. These complex developments have left countless citizens facing unemployment. This uncertain cultural situation brought on by such developments will necessitate an evolution in thought within the populace. No longer will a dogged approach to one’s labor niche be enough to guarantee even a modest, comfortable lifestyle. The soon-to-be-twenty-something undergraduate population faces a decision: either to dip into one's store of creativity and serve up something of genuine value or drown in a sea of banality, struggling to work as hard as possible while producing superficial, ultimately unimportant work.

A well-rounded liberal arts education may be the only defense against this type of instability. More and more students are realizing the need for a diverse education in today's world. A liberal arts path offers the chance for significant personal development not only in knowledge, but also in efficiency and novelty of thought. This naturally leads to a development of the most marketable trait for the future: adaptability. The ability to change to fit circumstances, to learn new skills quickly, will be of paramount importance in the shaky years ahead. Those who have realized this fact are commonly shunning the status quo of the 20th century, favoring instead new models of entrepreneurship harnessing the freedom, cost effectiveness, and speed afforded, for example, by the worldwide web.

The exponential surge in technological innovation, exemplified by the Internet, will continue unabated - and the ways in which this changes traditional business models have only begun to manifest. We have already seen the emergence of literal overnight success that was unthinkable only two decades ago. The web has created an environment that disposes with the need to fund expensive marketing strategies. The market of today has seen the replacement of traditional advertising, instead harnessing the power of word-of-mouth communication inherent in the blogging and social networking in which nearly every youth in America now engages. The potential for rapid growth allowed within this new explosive information age has yet to be fully understood but it is easily observed in many examples including Myspace, Youtube, and Google. As technology continues to evolve, it will be reliably proven time and again that money can be scooped up out of the river of wealth simply by focusing on creative output and effective marketing.

Traditional barriers to success like socio-economic status, race, and gender are dissolving in the absence of skilled, enthusiastic young minds. If one can manage to overcome the oppressive sense of laziness and ennui frequently burdening the youth of today, there is an entire new world of possibilities available with new innovations able to spring to life in a fraction of the time it would have taken at any other period in history. Sadly this technology has become a double-edged sword. With it has come a flood of information and perspective, but it seems to possess just as torrential an effect at leaving folks in a daze; gawking at their own inability to inspect more closely all of the various interesting things happening every day. It is now nearly impossible to keep up with a learning curve growing exponentially steeper; the more one learns, the more one finds to learn about. There must therefore be a paradigm shift in the way a liberal arts education gets utilized. As Robert Heinlein said, “specialization is for insects”. Students of the liberal arts need to resist emphasis on specialization. We must connect disparate ideas and refine our thinking so as to be able to stand out as creative free thinkers not only in today's overly crowded job market, but also in the connected world of the future.

The options available for my generation are less than fluid, but we must not forget to assiduously consider the generations to come. I want my children to receive the liberal arts education afforded to me. I want my children to grow up able to draw their own conclusions, able to get the facts and the fiction and be able to tell which is which: a son who will look me in the eyes and disagree with the conviction of someone who has considered the options, a daughter who will have access to the vast knowledge of humankind past and present, to knowledge of the true variety of experience available on this planet. A liberal arts education teaches this critical thought through stimulating minds with fresh and ancient ideas alike; ideas which build a critical, fruitful mind that capitalizes on every situation and recognizes failure as the opportunity it provides and not the momentary consequences it delivers. A liberal arts education acts as a springboard into the pool of the human spirit, a foundation upon which the fertile soil of young minds may grow and nourish any number of careers, hobbies, and passions. Ironically, a liberal arts education prepares us precisely for the uncertain future we face by stimulating knowledge in a diverse array of fields; because every thought, every idea absorbed may one day factor into a paramount decision.