The following is an article that my wife and I wrote together back a few years and inserted in a few article directories. Either way, I do hope you enjoy it and my way of thinking. Please be sure to write a comment when you have a moment. Thanks and please do enjoy!
I have noticed a trend lately that involves the insertion of a phrase before we say what it is we do to pay the bills each month. It isn't an important phrase and it really doesn't have any right, in my opinion, to be inserted in the first place, but it is just the same, now-a-days. The unimportant phrase I am referring to is the phrase 'justa'. Think back to a time when either you or another inserted the phrase before stating your title or profession, such as "I'm 'justa' stay at home mom", or "I'm 'justa' furniture mover".
This phenomenon has lead me to wonder how many years of higher education it would take for one to be fortunate enough to have a profession or title that didn't 'need' to follow the phrase 'justa'. I also wonder, while on the subject, if professional criminals have to follow the same unwritten rules, as we do. I mean do they have to say, no sir, I'm 'justa' get-away driver? What about, 'justa' jewelry thief and/or 'justa' bank robber? Or is this 'justa' not worth mentioning?
If we study the whole silly phenomenon just a bit, I think we will find that the whole phrase insertion process is a product of low self esteem and egotism. Some so-called, superior 'other' person, sometimes referred to collectively as 'them', told us that we must insert the phrase under penalty of something, because 'they' were better than us just because we only had a low level job. While studying, I did wonder if I would find that the insertion process was nothing more than a product of our own low self esteem, therefore self inflicted or justly due to another's egotism, and/or a combination of both. The more I thought about it, the more I didn't understand the whole subject! The fact that certain higher paying professions are exempt from having to insert simply re-enforces my thought of egotism. However, this isn't carved into stone and seems to be as full of special conditions as the original insertion unwritten rules.
After wrestling with all the unwritten customary insertion policies and rules of use, I was left wondering; if a cancer doctor would introduced himself as 'justa' doctor of medicine, would anyone allow him to actually operate? I have also wondered on Sunday mornings lately, if I would still be in the pew if the minister introduced himself as 'justa' minister. What about 'justa' police officer on a poorly lit side street at two in the morning? Would I allow 'justa' fireman to carry me down the ladder away from a burning building. Lastly, I've wondered how many strong healthy young men and women would follow the orders of 'justa' President!
You see, the more I unraveled the unwritten rules and conditions for the phrase insertion I realized that it was all silly rubbish and truly needed to be done away with! It was simply nothing more than a product of our own low self-esteem and maybe some 'others' egotism. How many times have we conditioned the ears of our children to such foolishness by saying I am 'justa' car salesman or 'justa' home school mom? As silly as it sounds, it is even more silly for us to use the phrase insertion in the first place. Now if someone, who thought a bit more of themselves than they should have, gave us the phrase and all the insertion rules, I say give it back! We don't need the phrase and we surely won't miss it. We can and will live very well without all the silly nonsense.
After thinking about it I truly believe that there are no 'justa' anyone's! If you replace the phrase with a more fitting, and descriptive word, such as lowly, unimportant, or ineffective, then one would be forced to stop and remove the inserted phrase all together, because we now would be entering the 'political correctness' arena and we don't even want to go in there! In the process of removing the inserted phrase 'justa', we all would become more important and needed once again, worthy of love and friendship! It's like everyone all of a sudden just received a promotion by throwing out the inserted 'justa' phrase! Now, we can once again be proud of 'a honest days work'! When did it become okay to not be proud of 'a honest day's work'? And why?
If one considers just how difficult many of the 'justa' jobs actually are and how much most of us wouldn't even do them, even if we had to, sheds a new light on the whole subject! So then. please join me and begin a non-boisterous, non-pushy campaign to one, stop inserting the 'justa' phrase before you state what you do to pay the bills. And two, stop all others, even those you find fault with or don't even appreciate, from using the inserted phrase 'justa' before they state what they do to keep their kids feed, clothed, sheltered and schooled. If we where to do so, we would hopefully begin appreciating and valuing all 'others'. For just a brief moment 'others' would feel proud of their 'honest day's work'. Maybe while 'others' were feeling respected they would actually act respectful and honest. And we could use a whole bunch more of that these days! Wow, I don't want to even sound like a 'dreamer' but we could actually start a lot of good things just by non-forcible abolishing the inserted 'justa' phrase! Well, maybe not exactly as I've said, but it would be a nice thing to make others feel respected for their 'honest day's work'! So what do you think, want to join with me or...?
