Meritocracy Is Dead

"Meritocracy is Dead"

Guthmann and Fagan

Certainly, America is a land of opportunity, where if you work hard, you will indefinitely prosper as a result of all your hard work. Of course, some people work harder and utilize their skills more than others, and those are the people that tend to earn more in our society. However, more and more, we are stepping away from that trend. People who work their tails off in a somewhat skilled labor job will make minimum wage, while a less skilled labor worker will make $3 an hour more in a much better environment working less than the other guy. Despite the merit of one man, another will still be paid more, simply because he was in the right place at the right time.

Being in the right place at the right time was certainly how one could describe the luck of Don from the article by Kevin Fagan titled, "Gallery Patron Once Begged At Its Door." Don received $187,000 on inheritance from the liquidation of his mother's estate whom he hadn't seen or talked to in 38 years. A crack addict, a drunk, and a felon, it took Don's mother's lawyer over a year to finally find Don to deliver his inheritance. After celebrating and getting wasted, Don kindly gives $10,000 back to the art gallery he begged in front of, and immediately begins cleaning himself up, but at the same time, blowing money on gold, Rolexes and other things. Things that to him are essentially free.

Meanwhile, somewhere else in Don's hometown of San Francisco, Edward Jackson is busting his butt, tap dancing just trying to make a living. His tap dancing is its own unique style, a little bit of classical, a little bit of modern day dance, and some interpretation. Rather than having a new trailer like Don, or even a modest apartment, Edward lives in a heap. He has nothing more than a place to hang his head and a few photos.

So, why is Don living it up while Edward is struggling? Because that's quite simply the way it is. Many people who work so hard earn so little, while the opposite still remains true. Those who break that barrier for the better become the success stories of America that go to show what one can accomplish here, while those who break it for worse simply become the unsung bums of the streets. Here we get to see someone who's struggling to break that barrier, and one who's