Quote:
Originally Posted by xelasnave
I doubt at 70 years old and using a walking frame and barely capable of looking after myself I could offer any employer much opportunity to profit from my feeble contribution to their business.
|
Unfortunately true mate, I had a stroke a few years ago at 42 so I have a new permanent physical disability, can barely walk with a stick, lost use of one arm. People actively go out of their way to avoid interacting with me. Many will speak slowly to me, ijust want to smack them in the head with my stick and scream "physical disability does not mean mental disability ********". Its very clear I won't be able to get a job anywhere else or even be considered to promotion where I currently am , a government department so thanks to OHS BS they can't just sack me but they can make my work life unbareable and alienating in the hope I just piss off altogether. I am not disabled enough to get any sort of financial assistance either by definition in legislation and the government won't support studies of emerging treatments in use overseas either. All those miracle cures etc that crop up rarely on the news never actually make it into the health care system.
Anyway the national service idea could be good in theory but in practice would be badly implemented. First we need our democracy to actually BE democratic. IE the public decide on poltician pays and benefits and whether they stay in office or are allowed a pension. Technically they are meant to be accountable to the Public and we need to implement that. Then they will start to do things properly instead of short term political gains and doing the bare minimum. Sure you can say a lot of young are just lazy scroungers, but look at the leadership example they have to follow.
Yes a lot of parents think raising kids is a matter of throwing money at the problem (problem being actually interacting with their kids, teaching them, setting good examples etc). And our schools should be teaching many life skills instead we now have so many nannying laws: not allowed to touch children, not allowed to acknowledge any religions, etc all because its so easy to sue these days (another quick win solution, setting a bad example). If a child needs a comforting hug, damn well give them a hug, if a child is observing a religious day then teach the class about that, doesnt mean you have to teach complete ALL religions, you teach about the reason a child honours something and show its not something to be shunned, let all children join in and engage with various cultures through being allowed to talk about them. It doesn't need special teachers or special classes to do this just good communication skills (also a good thing for children to learn). It can work like a show and tell thing. Treat children like adults and they quickly learn to be adults, stop hiding behind a piece of paper with the word Policy in big letters across the top. Show some common sense.
Tangents, grrr. National Service, you want to give a generation of youth access to weapons and teach them to kill? Enough Yes Prime Minister. Scouts organisations might be the better direction with things like camping trips where everyone has no choice but to learn how to cook and clean and gets them away from their damn phones and tech garbage. They need to experience life to comprehend the benefits of doing things for themselves instead of being told what to do. Real experiences not fake ones, our Secretary used to do the sleepout every year and would spout on about how he had a deep understanding of what its like for the homeless: he had a nice warm sleeping bag (taxpayer bought), his iphone and warm food had been organised to feed everyone, just one night. So yeah, sounds like my experience of homelessness. Having people spit at you and abuse you throughout the day, having no cover from the rain, having to eat out of bins, having no access to toilets, these are what really happens that these staged events give no hint of, they are organised and catered for, organised for after the streets are empty of the public and everyone goes home before the morning rush of people too. The young need to experience the reality of life for themselves, if they want to think its all easy and like a video game then fine, they wont live to old age and their children will die off too, natural selection.Work For The Dole was meant to provide job skills but in practice it provides skills nobody wants and also does not try to integrate with local businesses so the skills can be put to use in the community in front of a potential employer and the rare cases they try its only because the business is being paid to babysit the unemployed and you never hear of anyone ever getting a full time job out of it. Our government is only concerned with the "image" of doing good, but in practice it doesn't work.
I speak from experience here, not assumptions.