Blue Collar Brilliance by Mike Rose

Blue Collar Brilliance by Mike Rose

In my opinion, Blue Collar Brilliance by Mike Rose basically,tries to paint to the reader the picture that there are various levels of work in society; jobs ran by people who are highly educated in contrast to jobs ran by people who are not highly educated. Mike makes this crucial comparison to explain the fact that we should not judge other people’s intelligence based on the kind of work they do. Through his family’s experience working in the blue-collar environment, he strives to show how a person working as a manual laborer is not any different from an individual that has a significantly high level of education. In the article, Mike Rose says, “My mother Rose Mesgalio (Rosie). Shaped by her identity as a waitress in coffee shops and family restaurants” (Rose,2009). In my opinion, this is, by far, one of my most favorites quotes in Mike Rose’s article based on my experiences in the working environment.

Mike Rose, in his article, explains that individuals who hold blue-collar jobs are as intelligent as individuals who hold white-collar jobs because, in both cases, they employ hard work and multitasking to get the work done. It is acceptable that their jobs might have different standards, perhaps because of their unique ways of learning about the job. Individuals who are considered as white-collared individuals or professionals learn by reading reports or by studying, whereas people in the blue-collar environment learn their craft by undertaking tasks. Just like the white-collared people, the blue-collar workers get a grip on how to carry out their manual tasks after they have been in the working place a number of times. I feel like Mike Rose’s way of looking at this issue is very effective because it insists on the fact that we should program ourselves to avoid judging other people based on the kind of work they do but rather by how they execute their jobs. It is vital that this kind of mentality is instilled in all of us. It is essential to instill the mindset that the fact somebody has a relatively low-paying job makes him or her less intelligent in comparison to those who earn more.

In conclusion, after reading Mike Rose’s article, I feel that it is essential for everybody in the work industry, blue-collared or white collared to ask themselves, is there a difference between people who take manual jobs and those that have office jobs? The answer should be No. This is because if the so-called white-collared individuals loosed their jobs at the office and they had to take up manual jobs, will they like to be labeled unintelligent? The world today has a very queer understanding of white-collar and blue-collar jobs. We have a tendency only to make our judgments based on the superficial image rather than what is harbored inside. In my honest opinion, I firmly believe that the type of job that requires an individual to learn in the work environment is more effective than what is taught in any university or college because learning by experience makes somebody more efficient in their job.

In my opinion, Two Cheers of Nature by David Barash seeks to counter the belief that all things that come from nature are automatically good. In his article, David Barash says, “Although we don’t always like to admit it, nature isn’t very nice (Barash,2011).

I think that David Barash’s observation is not so far from the truth. Over the years, through scientific experiments and articles about nature, society has been made to believe that anything that is processed or manufactured has some side effects on the human body. Society has been made to believe that anything that comes from nature is good. Is it? As the world becomes more sensitive to the environment, we often hear horrifying stories about harmful pollutants. Still, we are not told to take caution against genetically modified organisms (GMO) products. Many companies have noticed this obsession with natural products and ingredients, and they have taken up the opportunity to sell everything that can possibly be referred to as all-natural or organic. We have made a tendency to see these products as better or healthy because, over the years, they have been made to look good in our eyes. Just like David Barash in his article, I think we should wake up and take a second look at the things that are referred to as natural and weigh whether their benefits match the praises heaped on them.

As human beings, we have the ability to interact as well as understand nature in ways that no other living things on earth can. Other living things only depend on nature to survive in whatever way they can without giving much thought about it because they do not have the cognitive ability to do so. However, as human beings, we can always find question the authenticity of the seemingly harmless nature around us.