Privileged
The myth in the United States is that if you work hard you will be successful. Success is frequently contained in a comfortable house, well running car, 2 + children, a dog and marital bliss.
It is no secret that in the United States if one is Caucasian, free of debilitating mental illness, have a brain which functions well on standard intelligence tests and have some developable talents that one has a much better chance of being successful. There are, of course, notable exceptions including such individuals as Sonia Sonia Sotomayor, Maya Angelou, Corey Brooker and Barack Obama. In any neighborhood of moderate to exceptional financial means, one can find exceptions to those who were not born to or adopted by Caucasian, mentally heathy, financially abled parents. They seemingly pulled themselves up by their own bootstraps. Yet, even for those , chance, luck or fate played a significant role.
One does not choose one’s skin color, race, intelligence quotient, innate talents, mental health or chance meetings. One may, early in life, stumble on a can-do attitude and possess the physical and intellectual means to set and achieve certain goals. One may, as is true for the Williams sisters, be borne to parents who recognize, coach and nurture amazing talent.
In my own case I was borne with a certain brain, the absence of serious mental illness and given the opportunity to have amazing mentors including my Grandmother Fannie, Uncle Harold, Aunt Pleasie, hardworking and creative parents, David, Minnie, Wanda, Captain Berthrong, Beverly , Dr. Winslade (sp?) and a host of others who encouraged/pushed me. I was in the right place at the right time to meet these individuals. These meetings, in turn, allowed me to take risks and push myself to get a certain education which led to other meetings. My first wife agreed to put off having and raising children so we could both work while I attended college and graduate school. I owe enormous debts to all of these individuals as well as many others.
It is true that I had to also work hard. As a child my siblings and I worked alongside our hard-working parents in creating a life which excluded electricity, running water or indoor bathroom facilities. In high school I worked many hours a week at a local grocery store. Once I left home as a member of the United States Navy my mother, paternal grandmother and Aunt Pleasie wrote frequent letters of encouragement. I had professors who went out of their way to guide and support me intellectually and emotionally.
Although I had to overcome certain limitations of size and unlike my older sister, had to study rather than learning coming easy to me, the fact that I was white, traditionally attractive (even if I did look to be 10 at age 30 and did not consider myself attractive) and could speak United States, middle class, Caucasian English gave me an unearned advantage. This was in addition to the brain I was gifted by God or the gods at birth. I did not have clinical depression, ADHD or other learning differences to create additional challenges.
My point is that there were an enormous number of factors which allowed me to find and take advantage of opportunities to work hard to achieve what, for me, is success. The word that I use to describe the relative ease of my having a ladder to climb and being able to climb it is privileged.
I have met many people who “work hard” and keep getting knocked down or over with physical and mental illnesses, acts of nature, other illness or a host of other factors. I am not more talented, a harder worker, brighter or more deserving than they are.
It has often been said that it takes a village to raise a child. Yet, many do not have a village or an illness keeps them separate from that village. Whether we call it Mother Nature, the act of God or the gods, fate, chance or some other name some of us are privileged.
I happen to believe that privilege demands a responsibility to put oneself in the path of others so that “chance or fate” can do its work. I believe that the success of one can and should affect the success of all . I believe that success is a spiritual goal and not a destination. I believe that we are created to be one village, one people; all equally deserving. I believe that all of us have particular talents which, given a chance, can contribute to the quality of life for all. I believe the ability, including the gift of motivation to work hard, is to be humbly treasured.
Written September 7, 2022
Jimmy F Pickett
coachpickett.org
The myth in the United States is that if you work hard you will be successful. Success is frequently contained in a comfortable house, well running car, 2 + children, a dog and marital bliss.
It is no secret that in the United States if one is Caucasian, free of debilitating mental illness, have a brain which functions well on standard intelligence tests and have some developable talents that one has a much better chance of being successful. There are, of course, notable exceptions including such individuals as Sonia Sonia Sotomayor, Maya Angelou, Corey Brooker and Barack Obama. In any neighborhood of moderate to exceptional financial means, one can find exceptions to those who were not born to or adopted by Caucasian, mentally heathy, financially abled parents. They seemingly pulled themselves up by their own bootstraps. Yet, even for those , chance, luck or fate played a significant role.
One does not choose one’s skin color, race, intelligence quotient, innate talents, mental health or chance meetings. One may, early in life, stumble on a can-do attitude and possess the physical and intellectual means to set and achieve certain goals. One may, as is true for the Williams sisters, be borne to parents who recognize, coach and nurture amazing talent.
In my own case I was borne with a certain brain, the absence of serious mental illness and given the opportunity to have amazing mentors including my Grandmother Fannie, Uncle Harold, Aunt Pleasie, hardworking and creative parents, David, Minnie, Wanda, Captain Berthrong, Beverly , Dr. Winslade (sp?) and a host of others who encouraged/pushed me. I was in the right place at the right time to meet these individuals. These meetings, in turn, allowed me to take risks and push myself to get a certain education which led to other meetings. My first wife agreed to put off having and raising children so we could both work while I attended college and graduate school. I owe enormous debts to all of these individuals as well as many others.
It is true that I had to also work hard. As a child my siblings and I worked alongside our hard-working parents in creating a life which excluded electricity, running water or indoor bathroom facilities. In high school I worked many hours a week at a local grocery store. Once I left home as a member of the United States Navy my mother, paternal grandmother and Aunt Pleasie wrote frequent letters of encouragement. I had professors who went out of their way to guide and support me intellectually and emotionally.
Although I had to overcome certain limitations of size and unlike my older sister, had to study rather than learning coming easy to me, the fact that I was white, traditionally attractive (even if I did look to be 10 at age 30 and did not consider myself attractive) and could speak United States, middle class, Caucasian English gave me an unearned advantage. This was in addition to the brain I was gifted by God or the gods at birth. I did not have clinical depression, ADHD or other learning differences to create additional challenges.
My point is that there were an enormous number of factors which allowed me to find and take advantage of opportunities to work hard to achieve what, for me, is success. The word that I use to describe the relative ease of my having a ladder to climb and being able to climb it is privileged.
I have met many people who “work hard” and keep getting knocked down or over with physical and mental illnesses, acts of nature, other illness or a host of other factors. I am not more talented, a harder worker, brighter or more deserving than they are.
It has often been said that it takes a village to raise a child. Yet, many do not have a village or an illness keeps them separate from that village. Whether we call it Mother Nature, the act of God or the gods, fate, chance or some other name some of us are privileged.
I happen to believe that privilege demands a responsibility to put oneself in the path of others so that “chance or fate” can do its work. I believe that the success of one can and should affect the success of all . I believe that success is a spiritual goal and not a destination. I believe that we are created to be one village, one people; all equally deserving. I believe that all of us have particular talents which, given a chance, can contribute to the quality of life for all. I believe the ability, including the gift of motivation to work hard, is to be humbly treasured.
Written September 7, 2022
Jimmy F Pickett
coachpickett.org
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