I think its because the human race hasn't really advanced as much as we'd
like to think it has. The  money we spend on our war machines alone makes
the few remaining enclaves of culture seem minescule. I read somewhere
that now the US spends less money on the arts per-capita than Zaire! When
alls said and done, who's going to wonder: what was it all for?

On Mon, 15 Jan 1996, Chris Andersen wrote:

> On Fri, 12 Jan 1996, David Harvey wrote:
>
> > I feel that I must reply because of the ire that has been raised by Patrick
> > Brennan's posting of this position for a tiny sister institution in Norfolk,
> > Virginia.  I want to make the point that my colleague was simply doing them
a
> > favor and none of your ire should be directed onto his shoulders.
> >
> > As to the monetary/professional issues which this has raised, look to the
> > federal government, as this is a , "full-time term position with the federal
> > government..."  I wonder if this one is in the register and who wrote the
> > standards for the position?
> >
> Dave:
>
> I don't think anyone was really intending to roast either Hampton Roads or
> Mr. Brennan, specifically.  Nor do I think the volley of responses has
> been the result of anger at that institution.  It hasn't been personal.
> Rather, the nature of these postings has been more the result of extreme
> frustration with the situation in general.  The particular notice in
> question was not the cause of the problem, just a symptom of it.
>
> All of us in the culture and heritage related professions have a
> fundamental belief in the value and importance to our culture and our
> society of what we do.  We are therefore increasingly frustrated by the
> diminishing esteem in which we, and the jobs we do (no matter how well we
> perform them), seem to be held by the members of the rest of society, led
> by our government officials (as manifested by rapidly vanishing funding
> and ridiculously low rates of pay). And now, more than at any other time
> in our history, our ability to protect our cultural patrimony and to
> educate our children about our past and its importance to our future, is
> falling under sustained attack.
>
> Sure, many of us are frustrated.  Do you really blame us for yelling and
> screaming about it a little?  And yes, we all knew that we had no chance
> of becoming rich when we entered this field; but is it unreasonable to
> expect to be able to make a decent living wage?
>
> Yesterday, in conversation, my brother (who is a senior executive with an
> international car manufacturer and earns well in excess of C$150K/yr -
> though he won't tell me how much in excess) expressed his opinion that a
> friend of his, a computer network manager for a large corporation, is
> "nuts to work for the pittance he's paid."  The pittance in question is
> about C$75K/yr.!  I responded by telling him that I make just over half
> that amount, and that I'm considered to be relatively well-paid in my
> field.  To which he replied, "Then you're not only nuts, you're just plain
> stupid!"  What does that say about our relative status in society???
>
>
> Chris J.-Andersen
>
> *************************************************************************
> DISCLAIMER:  The opinions expressed here are strictly those of the author
>              and not those of his employer!
> *************************************************************************
>