My wife returned from a short term mission trip to an African nation recovering from a 20 year civil war. Her observations were very interesting and, I think, meaningful for most Americans. A number of years ago research connected reading problems children who either never crawled before walking or who didn't crawl for long before walking. There is a process of development that most of us must follow to get the best return. How does this connect with an African nation?
The nation in question had nearly all infrastructure destroyed during the lengthy war. As the country works its way out those many years of darkness a problem has developed. Young people want jobs but they want jobs that don't exist yet, white collar jobs that pay well. They don't want jobs that are desperately needed, blue collar, trades, agriculture, and construction jobs. These jobs require hard work, these are the jobs that were, for many years, the backbone of America. They produce people who know the meaning of hard work and that work produced pride in a job well done. It was visible, a road resurfaced, a house built, a field producing food, plumbing that works perfectly and electricity throughout the house. Dreams of a better future for children were based in an economy of blue collar jobs that brought in money so the next generation could possibly get a better education and move to a job that wasn't based in the back-breaking world of construction or agriculture.
The country in question loses too many young adults to the city where there are no jobs so they join the ever growing ranks of unemployed who demand more and more from a government that hasn't the resources to support them. It was obvious to an outsider that these young adults could find work in agriculture or construction but these are hard, hot and dangerous jobs. They prefer unemployment to working at something they don't enjoy. To change this mindset is the problem at hand. All those difficult, dirty, and dangerous jobs are the crawling that must take place before walking. It pays dividends down the road.
