An Aspiration of Freedom

• inspired by the song "Is there life out there" by Reba McEntire 

The trials and tribulations of life occupied him from a very young age.  As a youth, barely in junior high school, he took on unwarranted responsibilities.  While still in grammar school, his parents were divorced.  This left his household plagued by financial problems unthought-of before that point.  His mother fell ill while he was still in junior high school, leaving him in charge of the household responsibilities.  His sister, while still in high school, had a child herself.  These circumstances left him without the recourse of enjoying the youthful exploits pursued by his friends.

Recalling a memory from a young age, his mother opened up her checkbook.  He saw the mortgage; it was about $850 and due in less than a week.  The account balance in her checkbook was barely $25.  This was his first concept of money and it ushered him into his role as man of the house.

His duties while in high school included preparing meals for his family and looking over his young nephew.  All the time, he kept in front of him the dream of leaving home and heading off to college.  In college he would have his first opportunity to taste true freedom. 

He studied diligently and made his way through high school as an honors student.  He knew that the hard-work would be rewarded and it would liberate him from a life of poverty. 

Throughout high school he did not bother with the parties and the frivolity in which his friends reveled.  He did not go to the homecoming dance our date one of the many beautiful girls that he knew at his high school. Instead, he came home from school every day and was consumed with the chores of running the household as well as with many hours of studying.  Late in his high school years, he found work delivering newspapers in the middle of the night to keep his family fed.  It was a hard life, but the whole time he dreamt  of the rewards that would come from the hard work.

He visualized college as a chance to live life on his own terms.  He would be far away from home and he would be free to engage in the social activities that were left wanting while in high school.  He chose a college while he was still in his sophomore year in high school.  He worked hard and received a scholarship to The University of Colorado at Boulder.  The social climate and friends he would find there would offer him liberation to pursue an entire host activities which were never before available. 

After four years of high school he stood, on the cusp of graduation and surrounded by the friends that he had never gotten the chance to know as well as he had wanted.  They gathered in the suburbs of Stamford, Connecticut in a park to celebrate.  It was early Summer and the weather suited the occasion.

“I would like to say,” Jonathan began in his high school graduation speech, “that although my years here with you have been very meaningful to me, I think I can speak for all of us when I say that, upon graduation, our lives are only about to begin.  Many of you I have known since I was a young child and many of you I have just gotten to know in the succeeding years.  However, as we embark on the journey of our lives I hope the best memories of our years of high school will stay with us.”

The crowd at the high school graduation fixated on his austere manner that was beyond his years.  Some of the gathering had difficulty not letting the emotions overtake them. 

“During these four years,” he continued.  “Let us all remember all the good times and good friends that we have made and let us remember to not forget them as we continue with our lives.   I wish for you all the best in your life and I wish I could share it with every one of you.”

Upon finishing his speech, the ceremony continued.  They stood in line, and, one by one they received their diploma, cap, and gown.  The festivities were nearing an end.   Jonathan looked out into the crowd and saw tears in his mother’s eyes.  At the end the celebration, the graduating seniors threw their caps into the air in unison to mark the end of the pivotal event that was to initiate the rest of their lives. 

With his graduation, Jonathan’s dreams of independence and freedom would now begin.

Excerpts from the WIP book "The Many Faces of Los Angeles"

Abstract: The Underground Economy

The economy of the greater LosAngeles area is diverse.  It is characterized by wealth in the suburbs and the valleys, and by poverty in the inner-cities.  Gross Domestic Product(GDP), the measure of economic well-being, is much higher in the wealthier areas.  However, GDP is under-stated in the inner-cities and much of the wealth of these areas is disguised by the lack of attribution of the underground, and undocumented, economic activity.

The legitimate economy dominates the more well-off areas of the greater Los Angeles area.  Such economic activity as office work, construction, and retail work rarely goes undocumented.  Thus, the GDP of these areas more accurately describes their economic well-being.   In the inner-cities, much of the economic activity is underground, thus, understating the economic well-being of the populace in these areas.

In the inner-cities, much of the construction work, which accounts for a large portion of the economy, is not reported to government agencies.  Thus, the salaries for these professions, which average well over $50,000 a year, are not taken into account.   Furthermore, small family businesses often follow the same model whereas the incomes and salaries accredited to employers and employees go un-reported.  Therefore, much of the economic activity in the inner-city goes undocumented.  

Another measure of the economy in these areas that is understated in these areas, is the relative cost of living.   While living in the wealthier areas of the city, a hair-cut will often cost $25, while in the more depressed areas of the city the same service can be purchased for slightly upwards of $5.  This is true of many goods and services in the inner-city.  Although the average salary, already under-reported, is less in the city than it is in the suburbs, the cost of living is less in the inner-cities.  Therefore, the standard of living in these two distinct areas is more equitable under closer observation than it is from a rudimentary glance.

The two distinct manifestations of the economy in the wealthier areas as opposed to the more impoverished areas reflect two different sets of economies.  From the perspective of the casual observer, the two different manifestations of the economy represent alarming inequalities.  However, from a neo-classical economical  outlook as well as a functionalist outlook, the economies have evolved independently of one another to create the maximum level of well-being and wealth for all.

Conflict theorists would argue that the two distinct economies are instigated by those in power attempting to maintain their elite position in society.  Thus, the extreme inequities that are perceived  to  exist are said to be attributed to the privileged in our society.  The GDP in these areas are not seen to be understated and the lower salaries and cost of living is said to be engineered to exploit the cheap labor in these areas.

Symbolic-interactionists view the economy to stem from the smaller institutions of society.  They surmise that the economy grew from social institutions such as family, church, and our educational establishments.  The fact that much of the economy is underground is symptomatic of this conception.  Moreover, those the drive the economy often lack the education to formalize their businesses often continuing the family business in the same shape and form that their father’s did.

Post-modernists would welcome the theory espoused earlier by neo-classical economists.  They would also agree with some assumptions of the symbolic-interactionist an to argue that the economy creates maximum utility for itself within the pre-established confines of functionalist confines and from root institutions such as church and familiar structure.  

The theories such as social capital and human capital theory are also welcomed from the perspective of the post-modernist.  The social capital available in the inner-cities is often represented by a large family and a small network of acquaintances.  Thus, from this small amount of social capital is often utilized to find labor and supply employment.  Human capital theory is often helpful in understanding the underground economy in Los Angeles.  The occupants of these areas often have little education, but oftentimes have a strong work-ethic.  The lack of education is offset by the capability of most to learn a trade.  Thus, the economy functions in such a way as to take advantage of the social and human capital available.   Those willing to work, work and the mechanisms of the economy take on a different form according to the skills and attributes of the members of the communities.

The underground economy that has manifested in the inner-cities is thought to be beneficial to it's citizenry by functionalists, creating the maximum possible utility to match those with the specific skills and attributes of the populace of the inner-city.  Conflict theorists insist that the economic structure that exists in these areas of the city was created for the shear exploitation of the impoverished by those in power to maintain their privileged position in society.  It is their position that these perceived inequities must be alleviated.  Symbolic-interactionists view is similar to that of the functionalists in that they believe the economy has evolved independently to create the maximum benefit to all.  Post-modernists also do not wish to place blame, rather they welcome innovative theories to better explain the functioning of the economy.  Concepts such as human capital theory and social capital theory are welcome to explain the reasons for the manifestation of an underground economy and to examine such a phenomenon. 

A Life to Be Remembered

The cryptic feel of the old house was pungent upon their first night.  Recently married, they had decided to leave the crowded city and move to the country.  In a backwoods town in the middle of Missouri they found a home for themselves.  Anthony was a writer, and although far from the city, the small town would facilitate his work.

The first night in the old brick house had an ominous, eerie feel.  Anthony went down the stairs to get a drink of water soon after retiring to bed.  The creaks and cracks while walking through the house seemed to be attuned to his senses.  He walked into the kitchen and the refrigerator switched on.  He went onto the back patio and the sounds of nature also seemed to reflect the uneasiness which permeated the old house.

His new wife, Courtney, echoed his apprehension when he returned to the room.  The large house in the country seemed to take on a soul of its own.

She spoke the words with an anxious air, “My heart is beating.  I can’t breathe.   It’s like were not alone in here.  Before you walked up the stairs I could swear I heard somebody walking in the hallway.”

“It’s probably just because we are in a new place,” Anthony responded not wanting to highlight the alarm that he also shared.

The solitude of the country was unlike the busy city.  However, instead of serving as solace, this invoked deeper angst.

They finally both managed to comfort themselves to sleep.  The emptiness of the old house and the country remained unnerving, however, as two adults they did not let their fear take hold of them.

In the middle of the night, Courtney rolled over in bed and in the faint light saw an aspiration in the room with her.  It could have been dismissed as her eyes deceiving her, or possibly light coming through the drapes in the wind.  It looked like a somewhat transparent figure of which she could not identify.  She remained calm and decided it was better not to let her imagination control her.

She walked down the stairs, not mentioning anything to her sleeping husband, poured herself a drink, and went upstairs to sleep without any further labors.  She managed to let herself find sleep despite the unnerving feelings which consumed her.

The apprehensive feel of the old house did not subside; however, with trepidation they assumed that it was simply the anxiety of living someplace new.  After a month, despite several instances which occurred that could be described as paranormal, they began to be accustomed to the strange happenings.

Upon assimilation into their new environment, they decided it was time to paint the house.  There were several pictures on the walls and drapes that needed to be removed.  Behind a Norman Rockwell print, they discovered an old, broken safe which was closed but not locked. 

The mystery to the seemingly supernatural activity which had been occurring was finally answered.  

There was an old, hand-written letter that read, “To whoever finds this note.  I wanted to let you know my five year old son, who died well-before his time, is remembered in this house.  His time had not passed and he is remembered by his presence in this house.”

The new husband and wife both looked over the note carefully.  The house had been abandoned and they had bought it from the bank.  They, through conversation with the residents of the small town, learned that the father and mother of the young child had lived there for another twenty-five years after the death of their son. 

The small boy, whose name they discovered to be Joshua, lived on with the house many years ago.  Upon hearing the story, Anthony and Courtney’s fear of the old house was transformed into comfort.  The strange happenings that occurred in the house in the years to come were accompanied with no apprehension.  Instead, comforting warmth was now all that they summoned in knowledge that a precious love had once existed in this house.