In the article written by Matthew Crawford there is a distinct “basic ground of belief” that is generalized to; manual labor is under appreciated, and cubical working has least drive. He believed that a “craftsman” did his job with intrinsic motivation, hence the the average worker bee in the office fulfill their duties for extrinsic motives. The manual laborer had a trade right out of high school then spent the rest of their time getting better at their trade, hence the graduating college student is taught a variety of things without really mastering one solid trade. The statement “college is a ticket to an open future” speaks volumes when comparing the the craftsman to “issue from logic of things rather than the art of persuasion.”
Crawford’s pitch was the fact that most people think that manual laborer’s are less than smart when in fact they’ve used the knowledge of “volume, pressure, and temperature at a time when theoretical scientists were tied to the theory of heat.” He then pointed out the fact that their findings weren’t so hot:) He used the example of the “Vernier scale used on machinists” used in 1631 by handymen that measures in “discrete digital approximation to four decimal places.” The skilled workers are painted to people who are under paid and over worked when in fact they have an overall life fulfilling satisfaction. Their children may have more of a pride in them when looking at their father build something rather than knowing they have a picture up of them in their cubical.
The complaint in this article is the fact that younger generations are believing the so called American dream where they attend college for 4 years with or without a major decision on what they will do for the rest of their life. They think that having some kind of desk job where they could wear a suite and tie, come home to their families and be happily ever after is what they will be satisfied with. When in fact, they are forgetting that the “Soaring Technology Revolution” needs the handy man no matter how much the new millennium upgrades the lifestyles of people with a little money. The comment made about the millionaire living next door is the “typical guy driving a pickup, with his own business in trades.” He wants the teenagers and young adults to look at the manual laborer and learn his path and skill before settling to the painted picture made by society.
The moment in which this article is written is more of a college student context. He uses language and dialect that even I as a 30 year old had to look up in a dictionary. He assumed while writing to a bunch of college students or middle class young people that he would need to be persuasive to un-paint that picture that has been put in front of them their whole life. The audience has more than likely been already influenced by their parents which may not steer them wrong. He could not sound like a lesser educated person, persuading and audience to a sought lesser lifestyle without sounding as if he is intelligent and knows what he is talking about.
La’Tiesha Graham
English 110.01 Group 3 