The Graduate Army
Sorry for the long lag between posting, been a crazy time in the World of Bobes.
I was thinking today, I know that gets me in trouble often, but as a graduate student it is kinda my job. Anyway I was thinking about a banner I saw hanging on a garage in my neighborhood last night. The banner read "Welcome Home Michael- U.S.M.C." It got me to thinking, why don't people celebrate the graduate student like they celebrate a son/daughter/ sibling in the military?
I'm not saying that service for one's country should not be celebrated, but that we should expand our appreciation of the people who enrich this country as well as protect it.
Let me expand on the similarities between military service and grad school. Graduate students and military recruits are not that different in age. Both groups are in the early to mid 20s range when recruited. Both commit to long terms of service, 2-9 years of their life. Both groups undergo significant training to allow them to effectively do their job. Both are poorly paid and taken for granted by society at large. Both represent groups who are trying to improve their lot in life.
You may argue that a nation needs an army, a society doesn't need intelectuals, as long as there's a work force. I disagree, just as a nation needs an army, a society needs innovators, leaders and artists to enrich the life experience of the rest of society and advance the society beyond its current state.
Some may argue that service in the military is inhereantly dangerous and those who serve put their lives on the line everyday. While this is true, graduate students do the same, whether it is engineering supercoliders, handeling novel chemotherapeutics, braving the jungles of Africa or using materials so toxic that OSHA doesn't want to create an MSDS for it, graduate students risk life, limb and their future well-being for the pursuit of knowledge.
So why are graduate students looked down upon? Do we not contribute to the society by defending our intellectual freedoms ? Are we not sacraficing some of the best years of our lives toward to the service and advancement of society?
So what's my point? Don't overlook the intelectuals in society, while they may not get to trot around with a gun and grenades, they still deserve our respect for their contributions to society. So hug your local grad student when you get a chance.