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Comment by brightball | Hacker News Reader

I think it’s a bit of a leap to go from people identifying themselves by their profession to not valuing human life as a country.

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The cynicism is uncalled for.

The culture of places are not so well defined in America. It is a new nation of immigrants. Europeans may have lived in the same towns for hundreds or thousands of years. American is less than 250 years old.

Americans identify as individuals. An individual is identified by personal accomplishments or work. Alternatively, a group identity might define a person by location or family name. The root question "who are you?" is asked depending on what approach you take. Identity is a subjective social construct; neither approach is more right than the other.

I posted above but recently moved back to Southern Lousiana. While I cannot trace back thousands of years I can trace back to my great-grandfather who was a shrimp boat captain in the same region I live now; I could back further if my grandmother would stay focus on the task at hand. Furthermore, Cajun culture has maintained their traditions which I believe is the most important aspect of maintaining a group identity, sharing those values.

Not much of a leap though. We sell a much bigger majority of our waking hours to live. With less economic security, people constantly have to move away from friends, family and community to stay employed. End result, we end up constantly working and alienated from each other. When you consider that “human life” can and SHOULD mean so much more than “having a pulse”, I don't think the parent comment was inaccurate at all.

The same can be said about everyone feeling the need to go to college, at the best schools they can get into, at any price tag paid for by loans to try to get the most successful job offered in a city somewhere.

Most of us would be able to get perfectly good jobs in our own home towns, earning a modest living near where we grew up via the trades, real estate, teaching, selling insurance, etc.

We chose to pursue more because the opportunities are there and we want them. That's because of how much we value ourselves and the extraordinary opportunities that we have in our lives. It has nothing to do with how we value others.

I'm very successful and I'm thankful for the opportunities that have put me where I am. I enjoy my work and I'm thankful for that. I also had a stretch where I worked really hard and alienated myself.

But that is a problem that I also chose to fix.

I made an effort to get to know my neighbors, to invite them to lunch, to join a local church, to get involved in a local rotary club, to meet local small business owners. There's a surprisingly large amount of people who are more than happy to grab a bite for lunch and as you get to know people better, you invite them to other things when you discover you share interests. Making friends in a new area takes a little bit of work, but it's more than worth the time.

Ask someone who doesn't have a job how they feel about that statement. [Clarification: I have a job but like a lot of people have had times when I was without one].

I've gone through periods of unemployment and will still answer with my profession, with the caveat that I'm looking for work. Just because you aren't currently working doesn't mean what you "do" has changed. People are usually looking for your background or ambitions, not necessarily occupation.

Agreed. Though, I don't think it's incorrect. For that, merely see our poor, our community programs, etc.

I'm shocked we have Medicare to be honest. Though, it's been highly debated for quite some time, so we only barely have it, and many would prefer we didn't have it. (at least, until they themselves get old...)

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