Survival against living: The ironic path of America

American college graduates have now, more than ever, been spit out into an economy that doesn't want them.  This is especially true when it comes to humanities related majors- politicians on both sides of the aisle  have made comments about how unemployable these majors are. The culture in America is quickly turning into one which fervently supports business/STEM majors and disparages those interested in humanities- because after all, humanities majors can't code or come up with the next tech craze. They don't have the means of producing the next device to make huge amounts of profit, or "advance" humans into the future. It comes down to a matter of money. Graduates are shying away from the humanities because of the lack of potential employability, and our culture is encouraging that. We, as a people, are saying that we want less philosophers and more engineers. While this is a very effective model for making profits, there needs to be a more critical eye pointed at the foundational assumptions behind this standpoint. Namely, that profits are the be-all and end-all of life. What our culture is currently belting out as we dance around the alter of business/STEM is that you aren't worth anything if you don't make large amounts of money. Our consumerist mindset is the most easily observable  consequence of this culture. A person's value is judged by their material possessions and quantity of gold in their bank lockbox. We crave the next iPhone or gadget because it's a status symbol- a symbol of consumption. Our addiction to the concept of wealth is what fosters this culture, and it's something that needs to stop. We're killing the future of humanities for the sake of profit.

This epidemic of profit obsession has a very scary implication- That life is about how well we can survive, not how well we can live. Material possessions are an example of a hording survival instinct run rampant, the exact same as an animal who consumes all food put in front of them. Physical resources are something that we need to survive, not to live. Humans aren't made different from animals by our ability to use computers and make it rain. The distinction is that we're aware of our own state of Being. As we get more entranced with our material survival, we further push aside our understanding of our Being. Profits and pragmatism prevent us from actually being human because we stop thinking. Not thinking to solve problems, not thinking to make money, not thinking to answer a question. Just thinking. Being is intrinsically tied to this ability to think for thinking's sake. While excellent for survival and making material profits, business/STEM encourages technological thought, thought that isn't just for thinking. Humanities mandate non-technological thought, the very thing that defines our Being, that makes us human. If humanities majors die out or decline severely, our station as humans dies out as well. There will be no more intrinsic value to humanity. We'll just be another animal, no different from a dog who endlessly thinks of the clever new way he's going to catch his tail the next time.