Rolling Tides

Today, secretary of Defense, Robert Gates released his recommendations for Pentagon spending in the coming years. In a nutshell, he is suggesting smarter spending for the Department of Defense. When I first started this job, I was a great proponent of drastically cutting defense spending, and I still am, I think. But it never really hit home what that would actually mean. This plan reviews that value of ALL of the programs that the Department of Defense is currently funding. Not all the war machine. Here in Owego, for example, we are looking at losing our presidential helicopter program, and our shot at a super-sized search and rescue program. What that means, essentially, is that we could conceivably see a job cut here in the double digits before the end of the year.

So I am being confronted with something that I have only experienced peripherally up to this point, and it is giving me a whole other level of respect for what a few people very close to me must have gone through. While my job still seems like it is going to remain pretty safe, there are things in motion that are going to seriously call into question the security of jobs like mine. I was lucky enough to walk out of college and into a nice, cushy job. I can afford the lifestyle that I want, and I still have some money left to save. While I knew at the time that I was lucky to have this job, I don't think I ever really thought about the fundamentals of what I gained. I walked off of a college campus, and into a job where I have everything I need to get by. I have pretty good health care, I have vacation time, I can take sick time if I need it, and even have the chance to enjoy my job...

So many people that I care about have had to take "for now" jobs, and, while I really did sympathize, I'm pretty sure that I never understood what that would mean. You spend 4 years, and waaaay too much money getting an education in something that you are good at, and hopefully something you have some kind of passion for, and suddenly you are basically being told that that is not enough. Now you have to give up dreams, pick something you hate, or resign yourself to a lifetime of professional uncertainty?? That is BULLSHIT! There is a need for every talent out there, and it is ludicrous to me that people have to chose not to do the things that they are best at, that make them happy. I know that this is a world that is regulated by supply and demand, but it really seems unfair that some people should have a cakewalk just because they happen to be good at something that people perceive as somehow more valuable. I would love to say to chase after your dreams, but at the same time, I realistically cannot see a way to fight something like this. Is this really what it comes to in adulthood? Settling for something you don't care about, or being really fucking lucky to care about something that happens to be in the current treasure chest?