I don't disagree that young people (at least in the US) are told a lie like "Do what you love and the money will follow." I fell for that and tried to become research scientist, getting a far as receiving a PhD only to find that the funnel from there to a tenured research job was _extremely_ narrow. That's a giant waste of many motivated people's time. And it does need to be fixed.
But is the source of all this Richard Scarry books? I really doubt it. It's okay to give a rosy view of the world to children. Childhood is the longest and best vacation you'll ever take. But there does need to be an incrementally higher dose of "real talk" as children grow into young adults.
The only way to solve collective action problems in the real world is via coercion. That is, government.
Perhaps you have an issue with interpretation here. The pleasant story was the illusion here.
PS - I too loved the Richard Scarry books as a child and bought them for my children - and I'm not even from the US.
I think stories that describe better possibilities than what we have are useful cognitive and social tools.
Even though the children's books lack nuance. There are no problems with pollution and climate change in Scarry's world. There are no jobs that people do not like to do. Malice and greed is very limited, sickness never really frightening.
But still, the overall vision of goodness from the perspective of a child's innocence is valid and accurate. Adults at some point either just give up or mechanically hold on to dystopic beliefs because they feel it is part of their identity.
But it might just be a lack of imagination. Which is why hope and change always come from new generations, and the best elders can do is gently support them and step out of their way.
But they mostly seem to have found something that they like well enough and contributes to society. And perhaps that's an important lesson to take away. Part of living a happy, fulfilling life is finding joy in what's attainable.
I fully agree about all of this. The sad fact is that, in my country, a person with this humble and contented perspective is rolling the dice when it comes to housing, health, and autonomy, and many of them lead unnecessarily stressful and lives with no time/energy for community or creative development. That’s the part I would like to see fixed.
Exactly! It shows people being valuable to each other in small ways, having purpose, and being involved in each other's lives.
And it emphasizes the joy and texture of everyday life. The little things.
I switched careers later in life after finding that it was difficult to make money in my initially chosen field, but I don't feel "fucked for life" by it. I actually feel a lot better about doing things I like outside of work. It's much more rewarding to be creative if I'm not trying to maximize profits or otherwise commodify what I'm doing. Sure I wish I didn't have to work and could do whatever I wanted all the time, but I work generally acceptable hours at a stomach-able enough job and have time outside work for family and fun and I've made my peace with that.
- born 1919
- upper middle class life in boston
- started illustrating 1949
- started writing original works 1955
- moved to switzerland 1972
- died 1994
Almost every children's book that depicts a serious issue, such as racism, tells a complete story where the problem is solved and is no longer a problem. I believe this is a big part of why so many people think that racism (again, for example) isn't a problem anymore.
Because, they learned, from a very young age, and for many years, that such problems were solved.
There is a very strong and understandable impulse for children's books to be comforting, and to shy away from un-answered questions. This, as you point out, leads to a warped view of reality that parents then should correct.
> Well certainly there are those more responsible than others, and they will be held accountable, but again truth be told, if you're looking for the guilty, you need only look into a mirror.
> While I’ll admit that anyone can make a mistake once, to go on making the same lethal errors century after century seems to me nothing short of deliberate. […] All you had to say was "NO."
— V, V for Vendetta; monologues by Lilly and Lana Wachowski, and Alan Moore, respectively.
What's missing is all the bullshit jobs and awful management. But, even if you wanted to, you probably couldn't really convey that in a children's book... Hell, even most adult books fail to capture just how bullshit the bullshit is!
Perhaps it's because I didn't grow up wealthy, but the financial facet of both my education and eventual career was front and center for myself and my friends.
It would have been nice for the adults in my life to have told me these things, but a competent 16-19 year old is also plenty able to ascertain these things themselves.
You have a hand in shaping the world she will grow up in. If this is important to you, keep it in mind at least next Tuesday.
That aside, Busytown is set in a small town. The culture of towns vary of course, but _generally_, small town life is vastly different from urban or suburban life. There is far less social isolation. (Most) people help each other out without needing to be asked. You may disagree with your neighbor's political opinions but can still have a beer with them in the backyard. And so on.
Fight for housing reform.
Fight for every YIMBY proposal that comes up.
Demand drastic zoning reforms.
80% of the problem of affordability in the western world is housing. In the US at least, there is plenty of space left in most major cities (outside of NYC) to dramatically expand and make housing affordable again.
The unaffordability of the modern world is a self caused problem.
People want their house to rise 5% in value every year but are pissed off when restaurant prices go up 10% a year and daycares cost 30k a year.
You know what, how about my house stays flat in value for a decade while wages catch up with housing costs, and in return I get to save 15k a year on daycare and eating out costs 5k a year less and property crime goes back down to reasonable levels?
Vote for change.
I’ve been struck by how the world is depicted to my children in so many children’s books. “As you grow, you’ll be able to slot into a happy productive life, no matter what kind of work you like.”
No joke: every time I read my daughter a Richard Scarry book, I wonder when and how it will have to be broken to her that unless her interests happen to include something that pays a living wage, she’s actually fucked for life.
Think about what it would be like to grow up or to raise children in a world where the ramp to adulthood was incredibly wide and smooth and it was near-impossible to fall off a cliff into poverty, loneliness, or a life of work you hate.
Busytown isn’t a real place, but it was obviously designed to give children some sense of what the world is like or supposed to be like.