Our system of education is failing us. We all know this.
To a certain extent, sure. But some of them just have completely unrealistic expectations, that seem to come from social media sources, and/or their insistence on living within their own echo-chambers.
I have one nephew, he's now 30. He can't bother himself to wake up in the morning to get to a job, so he's usually out of work. He likes to have long, philosophical discussions about how "creatives" are tremendously under-appreciated in society, there's no place for them to earn a living. He's always been on the artsy side, was in theater and choir in high school, but he doesn't currently do anything "creative" so I have no idea what he really means or what his expectations are. He's not an artist or a writer or an actor or a singer, has never tried to be any of those things.
He waves me off when I point out that our current society has all kinds of paying outlets for "creatives." Graphic design, for example, is absolutely booming compared to where it was 20 or even 10 years ago. And then of course there are the standard jobs for artsy folks, those I mentioned above, like actors/writers/artists.
But what I really think he honestly believes, is that he should be compensated for
thinking. For philosophizing. That society should place such high value on his thoughts that he is paid for thinking them and talking about them.
But even THEN, there ARE potential outlets where he might be traded something of value-- cash, lodging, food, whatever-- if he actually bothered to try and spread his "creative visions" through some consumable medium. It's possible, if he wrote a book about his ideas, that it might be published. It's possible, that if he started a Youtube channel or a podcast about his ideas, that he might get monetized. There are now more opportunities than EVER BEFORE IN HISTORY, for people to be compensated for non-traditional work. More opportunities than ever before, for the widespread distribution and potential monetization of "content" that is of value only to a select few, because it's easier to reach people now, than ever before.
And yet, he does none of those things. He seems to think that just his existence and enthusiasm for talking about his philosophies, should be enough for society to be willing to support him.
I know he's unhappy with our current society, as are his many similar friends I've encountered. I have no doubt they're among the ones expressing their unhappiness with current American society.
And it's all complete bullshit.