Oh, you're just a security guard?

 I was thinking, about how we define ourselves by our occupations.  It occurs to me that we value (or find value in) a person by what they do.  I was thinking of the Lord, and how he was a carpenter.  And, the religious leaders said that he was just Jesus, son of Mary and Joseph the carpenter.  Who is He that we should listen to Him?  I get why evangelicals dislike the high degree seminary educated robe wearing clergy of the Anglican world too.  And, to be fair, some of them do pursue power and prestige within the Church.  The temptation must be great.  But, why do we think tradespeople are dumb?  Why do we value the opinion of a psychologist on the economy or an economist on the environment more that we do an electrician on the free market?  Have you ever thought about how we write people off?  What do you do for a living," is more of an accusation than a question.  Actually, it's an Ad Hominem attack.  I mean, if the argument is logical, engage it.

More than that, we don't just write people off; we devalue them when they aren't upper echelon.  Marry a doctor or a lawyer, we tell our children.  Who ever says they want their children to find a hard working bricklayer?  

But, Jesus was more than a carpenter.  Why can't we define ourselves as a person?  Hi, my name is William.  I like to blog and shoot and am active in politics.  I like watching baseball and playing slo-pitch.  I jog to stay healthy.  Sometimes, I grow hot peppers and garden.  I am a Christian, and Anglican.  I am a father and husband, son and brother.  I grew up on a farm and miss it.  I believe in free unrestricted liberty, personal responsibility, free markets, and small government.  I believe in equality over equity, and that everybody should have equality of opportunity.  My ethical system of belief oscillates between Kantianism and Utilitarianism, and I try to follow Jesus' teachings on morality.  I am a firm believer in Jeffersonian liberty, the Westminster Parliamentary System, and am a self defined Blue Tory.  I find all that defines who I am, what I am, much more than factory worker.  That's only how I support myself and my family.