My Real World

I live in the 'real' world. When I was in school, everyone always talked about going out into the real world, finding a job, having a family, voting and things like that. Now that I live in this real world, there are a few things that I would like to say about it.

One thing about the real world that has always troubled me is the fact that it isn't about how nice you are, how good you are, how talented you are, or even how intelligent you are. When I was in school, I got the idea that if you were nice, good, talented and intelligent you would be automatically successful. I didn't really define success, but I was willing to believe this idea for the sake of getting through school. Now that I have finished school, have a family and vote, I have discovered that the real world is all about money. That doesn't mean that I think that everyone should drop everything and become greedy, but I am suggesting that we are kidding ourselves just a little bit if we think that the real world revolves around anything else.

The second thing that I have noticed is that those people, companies or groups who have the most money, have the most control. If as Lord Acton said, “power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely” then today's world is in a real world of hurt. There are so many people, companies and groups with money and power that one has difficulty in sorting out who is most dangerous. History sounded easier with it's tyrants and kings. At least the people knew who the oppressor was, even if they couldn't do anything about it. We not only can do nothing about it, but we don't know who the enemy really is. This makes the real world a very confusing and frustrating place.

Next on my list of things about the real world is the funny way people have of speaking condescendingly to and about students in a school when it comes to 'real'. They say something like, “Just wait until you get out into the real world and you have to make a living.” The student most likely is thinking that if anything is worse than what he has to go through in school, he isn't going to stick around for it. From my perspective, the schools are very real places, with real difficulties. When was the last time you were beaten to a pulp by a gang at your work, or assaulted in the bathroom by someone, or were made to fill requirements for five or six different bosses in the same day, all day, every day for nine months out of the year? The fact is that students find the 'real' world of school so bad that suicide rates have skyrocketed in the past few years. That sounds awfully real to me.

My earlier suggestion that money is the most important thing in the real world is by no means a cynical one. I have simply realized that this world which we call 'real' is of, by and for money. There is nothing you can do here in the real world without it. In school, we teach the kids to 'be smart', 'get good grades', 'listen to your teacher', 'go out for sports', and 'be your best'. But when they get into the 'real' world they discover that no one really cares about any of that. So what if you were the best point guard in the state. If that doesn't translate into money, it was all for nothing.

Now, I'm not saying that this is the way it should be, I'm only saying that this is the way it is. You can talk all you want about getting an education, but when it comes right down to it, it's all about how much money you are going to make when you get it. Unfortunately, that reward can go to anyone with enough guts to do whatever it takes to get the money. You don't have to be smart, or good, or talented. You just have to want the money.

But I don't believe in the 'real' world any more. In my world, it isn't all about money. Many people have tried to persuade me that money is what I should be looking for, money is what I need, money will solve my problems and money will bring happiness. I'll grant you that we do need food, clothing and shelter, but money? You can't eat it or wear it. It certainly doesn't make you happy. It is a burden when you have it, and it tempts one to be avaricious. No, money is not what it is all about. In the real world, you have to be true to money if you want to succeed. But in my real world I say with Shakespeare: “To thine own self be true, and it must follow, as the night the day, thou canst not then be false to any man.” I am still alive, I have succeeded, and I am happy in my real world.