I was never a Chicano studies major, but at the end of the day, we need to focus on wealth building as well so that we can have our own community centers, scholarships, etc. that we control.

I think that Latino young adults in particular need to learn more about negotiating in the work place, asking for salaries that they should be earning, how to manage money and build wealth, etc. While Chicano studies is informative and historical, it fails to teach some of these basic survival skills in an increasingly competitive American economy.

Kudos on a well written and constructed arguement. It is hard to miss what your assertion is in the first line and then you go on to present your supporting analysis in a coherent, logical, rational, and linear manner. How refreshing!
My Dad used to tell me during my college years of idealism, “Deja eso para los ricos.” He knew very well that I couldn’t “afford” such idealistic notions. My Dad had a second grade education and he figured this out without a degree in Chicano Studies.

hi hp,
very well thought out. a few years ago i may have been suspicious of your argument but now i couldn’t agree with you more.

Also, I don’t doubt that some charities, somewhere, have some impact on some childrens lives…my point is not the inefficiencies of charities as a whole (though, admittedly, I think its low), my point is that one additional minority will not have that much of an impact in charities…especially compared to one additional minority in, say, engineering, or chemistry, or science in general. In other words, I am speaking about marginal gains here…arguing that on the margin, the benefit non-monetarily is still greater in the sciences.

I’m getting the feeling you are equating “service” as an ultimate choice, as if people can either choose to serve their community or work in private industry. Choice, in this regard, is not binary. Most of the Chicano activists and politicians I knew growing up were also business owners, corporate employees, government workers, etc. Most “outreach programs” don’t have the budget to support full-time staffers and seem to work on a voluntary basis. I feel like your argument is the equivalent of saying “people have to either choose to be priests or nuns, or to be athiests.” I helped a kid write an application essay to a college a few months back. He was an inner-city latino and wanted to study engineering. I was amazed that he not only saw it as a way to build a personal life, but also an opportunity to help his community by providing a valuable service.

Also, do you really think people need any inspiration to pursue private interests? Every class of person in this country is already subject to market forces and capitalist sirens. Most of us need to pay rent, many of us are attracted to the dizzying array of products. American life is built around the framework of a capitalistic market so it does not need to be reinforced. Even those who wholy commit their life to “outreach” have to make a living somehow, unless their parents subsidze their expenses.

Charity (money) alone doesn’t change anything. You need a mixture of energy, resources, and wisdom. To borrow words from Isabel Allenda, charity functions to assuage the hearts of the rich.