I’ve been seeing the chatter online over the #SunshineList and the complaints about there being too many teachers on it. The one thing I feel people are missing in this conversation is the way our current society is set up for people of middle to lower class to fight
each other over who deserves what I’m order to distract us from the fact that there are extremely wealthy people getting even wealthier by exploiting the hard work of others. I hear all the time that I, as a teacher, don’t deserve what I make because other people work harder
and don’t make nearly as much. There is something that bothers me about this even more than the fact that these people have no idea how hard I, as an individual, work at my job and that it is entirely unfair of them to say I don’t do enough to earn my pay.
In turn, I’ve seen a lot of teachers, and supporters of teachers, point out the government officials and others who make more than teachers. But the real problem I see here is why do we have the mentality that we need to even the playing field by dragging everyone down
instead of lifting everyone up? Why do we resent those who have slightly more, rather that those with absurd amounts of wealth? Why do we admire CEOs who make 7 figures by paying their employees minimum wage and hate on public servants who have just cracked the 6 figure mark?
As an English teacher, I can’t help but think of Orwell’s 1984 and the way the Inner Party maintains so much control over the Proles - they bury them in so much poverty they focus all of their resentment on their neighbours while worshiping Big Brother.
They hate those who they perceive as having what they deserve, instead of hating those who are responsible for their poverty. We need to stop looking those who have somewhat more as the problem and instead ask why those with less are forced to live that way.
Until we do this, we will continue in this petty cycle of resentment and hatred, which is exactly what those who are the real problem want.
And for those I know will ask, no, I am not on the Sunshine list.
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