Posted on 06/08/2019 8:31:46 AM PDT by ProgressingAmerica
Here is an interesting news item, right out of progressive ideology. I wanted to highlight this because the role of expertise has been, in my experience, one of the most misunderstood aspects of progressivism.
Millennial dads have pathetic DIY skills compared to baby boomers
In this story, the "shocking" statistics are reported:
Many millennial dads reported not owning a cordless drill (46%), a stepladder (49%), a set of screwdrivers (38%) or even a hammer (32 percent) — an item owned by 93% of boomer dads.Why the decline in DIY?
Now this article tries to chalk it up to increases in technology. Perhaps there's a percentage to which that is true, but lets get real. Tires and tire changing technology have not gone through significant technological changes at the "I gotta get out on the side of this highway and change it" level. You jack the vehicle up, you take the lugs and then the tire off. Hanging pictures hasn't changed. You drill a hole, you secure the anchor, and you hang the picture. Oil changes are still remove a bolt, let the oil drain out. Replacing a ceiling fan is nothing more than a few screws and turning off one circuit breaker. The real stand out item is this from the article:
more than half of millennials prefer to call a professional.
I understand progressive ideology, as I routinely read their works. This story wasn't a shock to me. If anything, these numbers look extraordinary low to me. I would've figured over 50% of millennial dads didn't have a hammer. It's only 32%? Give it time, the numbers will go higher as indoctrination continues. As I talked somewhat about here and even more directly here, this is all about what their professors are teaching them and specifically how it blooms into full blown progressivism.
First, it is important to establish the fact about progressives themselves. Are they collectivists? Or do they believe in individuals? They believe in collectivism. So the structure of progressivism is you have the queen bee, and everybody else are drones. The point about the drone, however, is that they have a deep training and are an expert in their one specific area.
Now, have you heard about millennials and their "gig economy"? These are not lazy people. The facts dictate that we have to look elsewhere. An easy way to understand it is this:
Your job is in the compliance department. You have no business painting a room in your house. The collective didn't teach you how to paint. So why would you need these tools: a paint brush or a stepladder?
Your job is as a recruiter or HR. You have no business with cordless drills or hammers. The collective didn't teach you about the jobs that these tools would be used for in college.
Your job is to be a dentist. Now a dentist at least would have been trained how to use drills. But that wasn't intended by the course syllabus to extend into the kind of work that cordless drills are used for as referenced in the news article. The article intended cordless drills in the context of more saving, more doing - that's the power of home depot.
There's a reason why progressives do this, above and beyond their natural state as collectivists. In the book The Promise of American Life, Herbert Croly wrote the following:
The pioneer Democrat believed that he was as competent to do the work as any member of an office-holding clique, so that when he came into power, he corrected what seemed to him to be a genuine abuse in the traditional way of distributing the American political patrimony. He could not understand that training, special ability, or long experience constituted any special claim upon a public office, or upon any other particular opportunity or salary. One democrat was as good as another, and deserved his share of the rewards of public service.
While Croly is talking specifically about the viewpoint of an expert politician, this ideology is the same across the board. The thing about the pioneers, if I were to bounce off of this article about DIY millennial dads, is that a large majority of the pioneers had stepladders. They had hammers. They had axes, and whatever else technology was in existence in those days.(obviously not cordless drills) They did everything instead of being walled off into expertise. Since the pioneer was qualified to be a farmer, he was also qualified to be a repairman, he was also qualified to be a politician. And Croly cannot stand that. No progressive can stand this, so they have to wipe it out. It's a threat. Everybody must be drones incapable of doing anything but the one thing. Yes, if the progressives had their way it would be against the rules to change a lightbulb and only expert electricians would be allowed. This reminds me of something else that must be stated and stated loudly:
This is not about "professionalism". This is about "expertise". This is key.
While it is true that anybody can be a professional and have a lot of expertise, and also that most experts probably strive to have professionalism in what they do. That is not the point. Here, "expert" isn't entirely about experience and qualifications, it's literally a designation. You are an expert. In the progressive collective, drones are "experts". You're a robot. You have one job. Do it well. You were only trained for one thing. Why are you complaining about congress? You weren't trained for that. You're not an expert! What do you mean the journalist did not tell the whole story? Where did you hear that? Who are you to question us? What do you know about cap and trade? Show us your credentials! Oh you don't have any? So then shut up! You won't shut up? We'll shut you up with Facebook or Net Neutrality or the Fairness Doctrine or we'll just simply call you a racist and we'll dox you. Then we'll have our experts at the SPLC write up a peer reviewed paper just to prove how racist you are. Oh and did you know that SPLC is a non profit? See...... they have absolutely no agenda because everybody knows that money is the ONLY thing that can motivate people.
That's how this machine works. There are a thousand ways that progressives have at their disposal to enforce compliance. And college degrees are the new royalty and fiefdoms and lords and vassals in the progressive collective. They purposefully leave you ignorant of pretty much everything. Well why would you know in-depth about the separation of powers?
That's why you need expert politicians. Croly writes at length about the "pioneer democrats" and the "pioneer democracy", its a very telling tale about the role of expertise(and NOT professionalism) in progressive ideology. If you know how to do 8 things as the pioneers did, you'll have 5 jobs through early and mid-life and then go to congress; then you'll come home and go back to the same or another job and perhaps one more before you get too old to work and expire. But progressives want domination and lifetime careers lording over your life. This is why the Founders didn't give us term limits. They culturally abhorred tyranny. The progressives are the embodiment of tyranny. What do you need term limits for when you have a populace in 1787 that only wants to do 2 or 4 terms and then desires to go home? They self-term-limited 200 years ago. That's not what the progressives desire though.
This is the thing about colleges and universities and yes, also trade schools. They will indeed teach you what you were intent on learning, such as if you went in for a medical degree, or welding, or software developer. But there is no stone left unturned with these progressives. They will saddle you down with the baggage of social justice no matter what point you enter the institutions formerly known as "higher learning". And there are ramifications to this indoctrination. One of the ramifications is the drone mentality and the deep emphasis on being an expert. "I'm a mid level regional manager, x is not my job." "I'm a traveling auditor. x is not my job." "I'm an electrical engineer. That is not my job." "I'm a y, but x is not my job."
Whatever x is, the progressives are doing this on purpose at the indoctrination level. If you have only been taught how to be a creative designer with a dash of social justice, you are incapable of being a citizen. You are a drone. Despotism has drones. Republics require citizens. However, they aren't teaching the republic to these kids(now dads). They aren't teaching the Declaration of Independence, young students haven't been taught the point of our divorce from Britain. They don't get taught the Federalist Papers. They aren't required to read Madison's notes. None of these things: Madison's notes, the republic, the Declaration; has any impact on your career choice of a speech language or communications role. So why are these musty old documents needed? Throw them out.
They have been thrown out.
The further away we get from America's founding principles, the worse everything gets.
Every job I've listed at any point above, BTW are great jobs. But just remember, I'm trying to emphasize progressivism here through the eyes of progressives. Read Croly's book. Don't take my word for it. You'll see.
I don't want to stand where I am standing here and try to understand progressivism. I want to go stand over there, where the progressives are standing, and understand progressives from the progressive point of view. And besides, progressives have acted this way for over a century so the facts are everywhere to be seen. But you should still read Croly's book. Knowledge is power and the progressives have purposefully hid their own history in the shadows because that empowers THEM. These books are so valuable for what they contain and for how it can be used against them. Use their own words against them. What could be more powerful?
Education institutions as only "job centers" is the death of the republic, and millennial dads not knowing how to do anything for themselves is only a small surface level indicator of this much larger problem of progressive indoctrination and poisoning of the processes of learning.
Remember. Millennials don't know how to be citizens either. They were explicitly not taught that by scheming professors. Citizens are a threat to the collective.
If going cordless, a 20V system generally has more power / lasts longer.
That said, I much prefer a corded drill for most stuff, but if all you’re doing is hanging a picture is right quick, or tightening the bannister rails, or something simple, a cordless is much quicker and easier. Portable, doesn’t need an outlet within six feet or an extension cord. Good to have!
Compare 1972 and 2016
How under 30 voted
Tks
I have an excellent long term memory son
Thin isn’t just millennials. I have a couple buddies who do handyman housework / mid-scale renovations, and their schedules are crazy packed, maybe two months out to schedule anything more than a couple hours of work. And a lot of their clients aren’t millennials, they’re older folks (40s or 50s) who don’t want to spend the time or effort. They’ve gotten well into their careers, and their time is more valuable to them to be with kids or spouse/friends. They don’t want to do alot of work.
But, yes, it used to be that the younger adults were the most DiY. Millennials do buch that trend and more match older generations concurrently and don’t do as much nowadays.
Yeah. Unlike the repair books of my youth (which were helpful, but far from perfect), can you watch them do it step by step. I can even bring my smartphone down to the garage and view it side by side with the real thing.
That is not the point
Of course folks get more conservative with age to a degree
The point is kids are more leftist today than ever despite your ire at boomers
No question of that and it’s been trending that way since Magnus
Plus liberalism is more leftist now
Many factors contributing to this are not kids faults
Culture simply brainwashes all but the strong
“This is yet again another hit piece on Millenials, “
Well there is a lot to write about.
“Millenials will vote for the next Deplorable candidate in large swaths in 2032.”
No, they won’t.
Right. Speaking as a millennial, I agree that there is a huge difference between my generation and the older ones. The fact that people generally get more conservative as they age does not mean that this group will be right-wing in 10 or even 20 years. It just means they will be a little less left wing.
Reality check: Millennials are now in their mid 20s to mid 30s. They aren’t teenagers anymore. Many of them are godless, love big government, hate capitalism, have no appreciation for the family unit, think dogs are their children, and, perhaps most importantly, take no responsibility for ANYTHING and think they are smarter than previous generations simply because as a whole they have more college education. They have no real work ethic, expect to enter management positions due to their “education”, and the list goes on.
Also, I’d add that the number one mistake that the millennial parents’ generation made was making excuses for all their little snowflakes. Unfortunately, some people still don’t understand that and you even see it going on in this thread. At some point, you have to accept the hand you were dealt and grow up. Many millennials are in their freaking 30s and still don’t get that. As fun as it might be to pander to them, going along with their delusion that everything in life is the fault of someone else (previous generation, THE MAN, etc.) helps no one. And again, I’m a millennial.
I helped with a lot of DIY as a kid. Never struck me as very fun. Lousy to spend a weekend. I do a little, but very little. Anything that will take more than half an hour I’d rather pay somebody. I own the stuff on their list though. OK not a cordless drill, corded, no charging, no BS.
Youtube is a great way to find out something is way more effort than I want to put into it.
Replacing items in a computer has replaced working on cars.
I just replaced a fan, memory and hard drive in the 2010 MacBook Pro. Now it runs like a dream.
The reason to get a good job is so you can pay people to do the stuff you’d rather not.
I know how to use that you know why? Looney tunes/ Merry Melodies cartoons!
My boyfriend’s sons are millennials. Smart and successful. When they were in their 30’s he figured the best gift he could give them was a well stocked toolbox to take care of those pesky home repairs. They looked at him like he had handed them a live grenade.
Go figure, he’s a contractor and they had watched him build and remodel numerous houses including a few of their family homes but to this day those tools sit untouched.
Hoover Dam, yes. Everyone needs to see that wonder, it was literally buily by pick and shovel.
Ha! Those are bad for kids these days.
Mr. GG2 has been a contractor for over 30 years. He even had the kid and his friends working for him summers in high school. None of them were worth a darn on the job.
This.
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