Elsewhere U.S.A.

As readers of this blog know, I like to read books for pleasure, but I also like to read for that "hmmmmm" moment. You know, that moment when the author says something that you haven't really thought about before. I read for that moment that Oliver Wendall Holmes described when he wrote, "Man's mind, once stretched by a new idea, never regains its original dimensions." I also read books that quantify my own perceptions.

Today I finished reading "Elsewhere U.S.A." by sociologist Dalton Conley. His subtitle is "How we got from the company man, family dinners, and the affluent society to the home office, blackberry moms and economic anxiety."

Here are just a few of the quotes that I now have to process:

"Many Americans--particularly those with children to care of--have morphed into a hyperactive people constantly shuttling between where we think we have to be and where we think we should be..Those Americans who live in this 'Elsewhere Society' are only convinced they're in the right place, doing the right thing, at the right time when they're on their way to the next destination."

"It is upper-income women who complain more about a time crunch as compared to their lower-income counterparts. That is, when you can earn more per hour, the opportunity cost of not working feels greater and the pressure is more intense...For the first time in history, the more we are paid, the more hours we work."

"..we certainly keep our kids busy...Every second is an opportunity for investment in their human and cultural capital--that is, in the cognitive and noncognitive skill sets. Our kids are not playing; rather they are learning to socialize with peers. They are not mashing clay; they are developing their manipulative dexterity in a three-dimensional medium. They are not kicking the ball around; no, they are physically challenging their fine and gross motor skills. They aren't just playing soccer, they are learning to function in rule-based systems and interact with nonparental institutional authority figures"

"...any casual observation of the children of professional parents today would suggest that they are treated like rare specimens, freaks of nature even, who rarely enjoy a minute of unsupervised by an adult...Well-paid professionals need to hire not-so-well compensated child care workers to shuttle their kids to and from soccer leagues and Mandarin lessons while they take meetings at the office or the cafe...The frequency of structured after-school activities has more than doubled over the last two decades for the average American kid...homework has been creeping down the grade ladder...All this happens despite substantial evidence that neither homework quantity nor quality in early grades predicts achievement later on, when it matters."

"Today, the highly educated, white-collar professional earns more per hour than ever before. However, instead of using that increased income to 'live the good life,' she now works more hours. Why? Because now that her billable rate is $200 per hour instead of $100, it 'costs' her more to stay home and 'do nothing.'..better to stay at work for longer hours and buy child care services in the marketplace."

Excuse me while I go chew on this for awhile.