MY MOTHER ONCE SAID TO ME "ENJOY YOUR FOUR YEARS IN COLLEGE. MOST KNOW WHAT'S WRONG WITH GOVERNMENT - BUT FEW HAVE CONSTRUCTIVE WORKABLE SOLUTIONS OR PUT THEM FORWARD IF THEY DO. AN ACCIDENT TAKES PLACE ON A FREEWAY AND THE CARS CONTINUE RIGHT BY THE ACCIDENT SITE WITH VICTIMS PINNED IN THE WRECKAGE. DO WE REALLY PARTICIPATE? PEOPLE ARE SHOT AND FALL IN THE STREETS AND FEW HALT THEIR CARS. INSTANT SUCCESS A GOOD CAR A GOOD HOME.īUT MOR E IMPORTANTLY THE WORLD GOES ON AROUND US. WE ALL NATURALLY LOOK TO OUR PLACE IN THE SUN. WE LIVE IN A TIME WHERE WE ARE ALLOWED MANY COURSES OF ACTION, AND WE ARE ON EARTH FOR BUT AN INSTANT IN AN ETERNITY OF TIME, SO OUR CHOICES ARE VERY IMPORTANT: WHICH JOB, WHAT SPOUSE, HOW MANY CHILDREN ARE BUT A PART. MANY OF YOU WILL WANT TO RAISE A FAMILY, EARN A LIVING - OR ONE OR THE OTHER OF THESE - AND BE LEFT ALONE. MANY OF YOU HAVE SPECIFIC AREAS OF INTEREST AND EXPERTISE. IF THE DEGREE REPRESENTS THE BEGINNING OF THE QUEST - AND YOU HAVE COMPLETED THAT BEGINNING - YOU WON'T BE DISAPPOINTED. IF YOU LOOK AT YOUR DEGREE AS PROVIDING THAT CRUTCH WHICH MAY HELP IN A JOB INTERVI EW, OR AT LEAST GET YOU THE INTERVIEW, - YOU WON'T BE DISAPPOINTED. IF YOU VIEW YOUR DEGREE AS THE BEGINN ING OF THE LEARNING PROCESS - YOU WON'T BE DISAPPOINTED. IF YOU FEEL THAT YOUR DEGREE GUARANTEES ANYTHING - YOU'RE GOING TO BE DISAPPOINTED.īUT, I F YOU LOOK AT YOUR DEGREE AS A STATEMENT THAT YOU HAVE DISCIPLINED YOURSELF SO THAT IF YOU NEED KNOWLEDGE YOU KNOW HOW AND WHERE TO FIND IT - YOU WON'T BE DISAPPOINTED. IF YOU LOOK AT YOUR DEGREE AND SAY, "NOW THAT I'VE GOT IT, THE WORLD OWES ME SOMETHING," - YOU'RE GOING TO BE DISAPPOINTED. IF YOU LOOK AT YOUR DEGREE AS A SINECURE, YOU'RE GOING TO BE DISAPPOINTED. IF THE CITIES FALL OF THEIR OWN WEIGHT, AND, BECAUSE OF POOR PUBLIC POLICY AND SOCIAL TRENDS THAT THEY ARE UNABLE TO REVERSE, THEN THE VALUE OF YOUR DIPLOMA WILL AS WELL. FOR THE CITY OF AMERICA IS TODAY, THE GREAT HEARTLAND OR BACKBONE OF THE COUNTRY. AND AS CITIES BEGIN TO "TILT" OR "TIP", SO GOES THE VALUE OF YOUR DIPLOMA. BUT THE CITIES REMAIN WHERE THE ACTION IS. THE MIDDLE CLASS FAMILY HAS EXITED TO SURBURBIA WHERE THAT FAMILY CAN AFFORD A BIGGER HOUSE FOR LESS MONEY, A LESS COMPLICATED LIFESTYLE, AND A "BETTER" SCHOOL ENVIRONMENT FOR THEIR CHILDREN. I WOULD LIKE TO ADDRESS THE REMAINDER OF MY REMARKS TO THOSE OF YOU THAT WILL LIVE IN THE TROUBLED URBAN CENTERS - THE CITIES OF AMERICA - FOR THIS IS MY QUEST AND THE CITIES HOLD MOST OF THE PROBLEMS THAT FACE THE UNITED STATES.ĬITIES LIKE NEW YORK, CHICAGO, DETROIT, SAN FRANCISCO, AND OTHERS HAVE BECOME INCREASINGLY COMMUTER ORIENTED. AND WITHER THAT PATH TAKE US - WHO KNOWS? AND SO, MY PLEA TO YOU TODAY IS TO CONSIDER LIFE'S PATH. THESE POPULATION PROJECTIONS SHOW THE CITY AS FURTHER TILTING OR TIPPING, BECAUSE ONCE AGAIN, THE WORKING MIDDLE CLASS - THE BACKBONE OF THE CITY - HAS LEFT THE CITY FOR GREENER PASTURES.Ī CITY WITHOUT ITS CHILDREN, WITHOUT ITS WORKING MIDDLE CLASS CANNOT SURVIVE. RECENT POPULATION PROJECTIONS FROM THE ASSOCIATION OF BAY AREA GOVERNMENTS PROJECT THAT THE SAN FRANCISCO IN THE 1990s WILL LOSE AN ADDITIONAL THIRTY THOUSAND RESIDENTS, GAIN NINETY THOUSAND ADDITIONAL JOBS (LARGELY COMMUTER THEREFORE), BUILD EIGHT TO NINE THOUSAND ADDITIONAL HOUSING UNITS (WHICH WILL BE SMALL AND LARGELY FOR THE ELDERLY). ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY THOUSAND OF OUR CITIZENS ARE ABOVE THE AGE OF SIXTY. ABOUT ONE OUT OF SEVEN OF EVERY SAN FRANCISCANS IS ON SOME FORM OF AID.
WE HAVE APPROXIMATELY THREE HUNDRED THOUSAND COMMUTERS A DAY.
ONLY ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY THOUSAND OF OUR PEOPLE ARE EMPLOYED. WE ARE A CITY OF APPROXIMATELY SIX HUNDRED AND SEVENTY THOUSAND PEOPLE. IS A COLLEGE DEGREE WORTH ANYTHING IN TODAY'S SOCIETY?ĬONSIDER THIS CITY FOR EXAMPLE. 17% OF OUR WELFARE RECIPIENTS HAVE COLLEGE DEGREES OR SOME COLLEGE BUT CANNOT FIND A JOB.ĬONSIDER THAT WE LIVE IN THE MOST TECHNOLOGICALLY DEVELOPED COUNTRY IN THE WORLD AND HAVE BEEN CONDITIONED THAT "HAPPINESS" MEANS THE LATEST LARGE SCREEN COLOR TELEVISION WITH REMOTE CONTROL. THE FACT THAT TODAY THE PROTOTYPE OF THE GENERAL ASSISTANCE WELFARE RECIPIENT IN THE CITY AND COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO IS WHITE IN HIS EARLY THIRTIES ABLE TO WORK, BUT UNABLE TO FIND A JOB. IS YOUR DEGREE WORTH THE PAPER IT 'S PRINTED ON? I WONDER.ĬONSIDER THAT WE LIVE IN THE MOST EDUCATIONALLY ORIENTED COUNTRY IN THE WORLD TODAY, THAT WE HAVE TREMENDOUS EXPECTATIONS OF WHAT AMERICA OWES US, AND THAT TODAY THE AVERAGE COLLEGE GRADUATE JOINS A TREADMILL FOR STATUS, A SEARCH FOR HIS OR HER PLACE IN THE SUN.ĬONSIDER THE COMPETITIONIN THE JOB MARKET. WHAT IS YOUR DEGREE WORTH IN TODAY 'S WORLD?
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