October 21, 2005

• Good morning everyone

  
  

  

  
  

  Well, the work-week is winding its way on down.  Last night was pizza night, I’ve had pizza every Thursday since I was a little kid, and nothing beats N.Y. pizza.  Even when I was in school in St. Louis, I’d go to the one decent pizza place, Racanelli’s, which served New York style pizza at its best!

  
  

  

  
  

  My oldest sister had some friends over…was a pretty good time.  She has become quite religious in the last few years, Judaism becoming more and more and important piece of her life.  I have relatives who are on varoius spectrums of orthodox Judaism

  
  

  

  
  

  Not quite black hat…although closer to that end of the specturm than me, for sure.  I’m more in it for the food, the holidays, and the summer camp experience…

  
  

  which is probably what has influenced me most in my interest in foreign countries.

  
  

  

  
  

  And speaking of the global world and I-pods…Thomas Friedman had an article about just that thing in today’s NYT (which can’t be accessed online because they just made it a “special feature” for certain articles).

  
  

  

  
  

  I’m currently reading his book, “The World is Flat.”  His main argument is that the world is entering a new phase in which virtually any job can be done in any corner of the globe.  Global economics has become one giant interchangable part, where anything from service jobs, to intellectual jobs like research and development, can be done anywhere (but will be done wherever it’s cheapest and most efficient).

  
  

  He gives some interesting examples of this.  Some are well-known, such as call-centers in India.

  
  

  

  
  

  When you have a problem w/ your computer, the person you speak to might be someone in India, who can answer all your questions, and do it w/ an American accent (they actually have accent training for these people). 

  
  

  Another example he gives does not involve jobs going oversees.  McDonald’s now has drivethroughs in places like Missouri where the person taking your order is actually in Colorado. 

  
  

  

  
  

  JetBlue reservations are done by mormon mothers in Utah, who work out of their homes.  These things save costs, and in some ways, improve efficiency.  The person taking the drive-through order has a picture of the driver and sends that picture and the order to the food-line to ensure the order is taken right.  The mormon mothers taking your flight reservation are happy and chipper because they can both stay at home to take care of the kids, and bring income into the home.

  
  

  

  
  

  Just think…20 years ago there were no cell phones, no internet, no websites, no e-bay.  Technology is just going to continue to get better and better, which can be argued to be both a good

  
  

  It helps this guy build his global terror network

  
  

  

  
  

  And it helps these people help us so we can live longer and stronger

  
  

  

  
  

  There a question I want to pose about technology, and economics.  Friedman argues that this form of capitalism, creates a lot of wealth that is distributed unevenly.  The alternative form of economy that puts clamps on parts of the economy makes everyone equally “poor.”  What do you make of his analysis?

  
  

  Another thing I’ve been thinking a lot about is foreigners and work (since that what my job involves).  The cleaning lady in my office is from Guyana, in S. America, the man who delivers my DHL is from Guinea, in W. Africa. 

  
  

  

  
  

  They have most likely come to America for freedom.  Freedom from domestic war, from domestive poverty, and the freedom to imagine and actually obtain a life (a materialistic life?) that could not be obtained in their home countries.  So, they leave their pastures behind in hope of something better in the big citty.

  
  

  

  
  

  Many Americans have never had to worry about the problems that one might face in Guyana or Guinea, but we certainly have a wide range of opinions about these foreigners.  Some are purely racist and xenophobic.  Some see them as out of place, because of their failure to fit in w/ language, dress, attitude, etc. This morning I saw an Asian man on an old bicycle and I thought he looked out of place because it looked as if he “belonged,” in a more rural, old-world setting.

  
  

  BELONGED.  Where do people belong?  What kind of work to people belong in?  My emotions in S. Africa seeing black S. Africans working in fast-food saddened me.  “They didn’t belong in this kind of lifestyle,” is what I thought.

  
  

  That’s because I saw how many of these people used to live, meaning their parents or grandparents.  In the eastern part of S. Africa, I saw how they still live today:

  
  

  

  
  

  What I saw was tradition.  What I saw was nostalgia for a simpler way of life.  And…I think it’s beginning to dawn on me…that change is inevitable.  Just as my parents, their parents, and their parents parents lived in a world far different than the one I live in, and may have resisted watching things change or frown upon the life of me and my generation, the reality is that change happened.  Change is inevitable. 

  
  

  For those Africans, working in fast food means big money.  This means the ability to one day go to college, which for many is an essential stepping stone to many jobs, higher salaries, and the opportunity to live w/out the fears the poverty breeds.  I cannot argue that this track leads to a better lifestyle, that is up to the individual to pursue and decide as quality of life judgements are subjective in every way, however, this track for many does mean not having to worry about food, doctor’s visits and medication, and also allows for people to become more politically involved.

  
  

  How sad…to have all those people from India working for $200/mo. in call centers.  Right?  For some…the work is bearable, and the ends for the means is more than worth it.  In what ways do you think this global economy is good, in what ways harmful to the general well-being of humanity? 

  
  

   

  
  

   

  
  

   

  • 12:40 pm
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