I know I haven’t written or posted anything in the last four
weeks, but winter doldrums, along with a cold and the flu, plus travel to a
warmer clime for rejuvenation, have all influenced that outcome. However, as usual, I have been thinking and
researching a fair amount (an unfamiliar activity to many of my political adversaries!). Let me just mention, in brief, some of the
outcomes of that neuro-logical exercise.
1) There
is an epidemic in this country to which we are paying little attention, and it
has to do with children and young people, but it isn’t an alcohol or drug
problem
2) It
is influenced, and probably exacerbated, by several things, one of which is the
stupidity, wrong-headed, cowardly approach of too many legislators and other
elected leaders to the task of being truly representative of the people who are
their constituents
3) Let
me say that another way just in case there may be some of those inept
representatives reading this blog. There
are way too many legislators who have for too long accepted no personal
responsibility for what they pass into law or for that which they oppose. Personal responsibility for one’s actions under
the Constitution is part of the oath these people take as they assume office.
4) Equally
negligent, perhaps, are many constituents who are ignoring or resisting the
responsibilities of citizenship and caregiving by contributing to those
representatives and ignoring the pervasive problems facing our young
people
5) But,
far more importantly are those who seem to miss the whole point of what it means
to be part of, and integral to, the human family.
So, let us begin a journey today on a level that is simply
being ignored by those who think and act politically rather than facing the
need to think and act humanly, humanely, ethically, and relationally, as well
as rationally. As I write, I am picturing three young people (who happen to
belong to minorities). They share similar
backgrounds and experiences. They are
struggling to be accepted, cared about, recognized, and nurtured – “loved” if
you prefer. However, they share other
commonalities that make their struggle more difficult and burdensome than it is
for most of the rest of us.
These young people have gotten a difficult start in life. One of those “commonalities’ seems to be that
they have families that are “broken” or “messed-up” in some way. Fathers or mothers incarcerated, and, if not
in actual prisons or jails, they are in virtual prisons of mind and spirit,
mainly because they must live with their own burdens of life and with
experiences that were not nurturing, but cruel and at times overwhelming. Yes, we are talking about the effects of
drugs, poverty, lack of adequate education, physical and mental abuse, a lack
of the kinds of opportunities that peers from other locations and groupings have
come to take for granted.
There is a sharp contrast that exists in today’s world between
growing up with the verities of responsible parenthood, and growing up with a broken, impoverished, unrelenting neglect and
a virtual prison that restricts rather than enables; that confines rather than
nurtures; that de-values rather than enhances; that stifles self-confidence
rather than encouraging risk and energetic confidence; that leaves little time for
energy, thought and action beyond just surviving.
There are those among us who believe that such imprisonment
is the result of an individual’s (or racial group’s) irresponsibility, lack of
initiative, laziness, and plain ignorance.
Some call it an in-born characteristic or an “inferiority” while trying
to make a case for their own superiority.
That particular ideology or philosophy has never dealt on any other
level with race, poverty or child neglect.
Essentially, this white nationalism is its own form of imprisonment, for
it prevents those who hold it from ever being able to advance a culture, invest
in equal opportunity, or to enhance the lives of others.
Those who hate, belittle, denigrate, or abuse
and neglect people – especially children of any race, creed or complexion -- are
simply locked into a set of beliefs and actions that prevent discovery of new
ideas, new inventions, new medicines and new cures, as well as “new”
forward-looking and inventive people who can enable society to advance to a
higher standard of living. That “higher standard of living” includes much more than a
higher income for it means that every aspect of life can be advanced to a level
that nourishes and nurtures whole populations and societies.
Another group of people have another philosophy or set of
standards that are contradictory. The
wealthy scions of this country (and other nations) are reluctant to use their
riches beyond their own short-sighted aims.
Don’t get me wrong -- they like to invest – but mainly in those
enterprises and entities that promise them greater return to their own spheres
of influence. They are motivated, not
simply by greed, but by a fear of losing what they have gained: position,
power, recognition, comfortableness, superiority.
In their world, it is not their first priority to give over
a share – a tithe – a tax – or alms – to anyone who does not promise a return
or at least an advancement of their own status.
Investment in poor-risk stocks, bonds, companies, or people is not generally
within their thinking or behavior. [Although,
I must say, lately some companies have begun to think just a bit differently
about whether their investments are hurting society as a whole. Several large companies have acted in a way
that gives hope that there may be something more than self-investment that is
key to a society’s development. And so,
we acknowledge those businesses and individuals who have withdrawn their
monetary sponsorship of inhumane speech and actions, in media, in the broader
marketplace, and in the halls of legislatures.
Bravo!]
However, that does not excuse those who remain unperturbed
by gun violence, poverty, homelessness, or the abuse of children. They say they believe in investment to grow
the economy, but they insist, at the same time, that those challenged by the
exigencies of life must learn to take responsibility and cope with those
challenges on an individual basis. They,
for their part, would prefer not to share their wealth with irresponsible
people or enterprises (except perhaps as a ‘show-off’ of their own status). As a result of their neglect, and the neglect
and abuse by others (like political office-holders) whom they sponsor, we as a
society are being subject to the continuous loss of talent, inventiveness,
leadership – and much more. We tacitly
accept the negative outcomes that lack of investment at all levels of our
citizenry produces, preventing us from growing as a beneficent people and nation,
and as a leader in a humanitarian effort to advance others in a global family.
Let us return to our three young people. They are struggling – and so many like them
are also struggling. They struggle to
believe in themselves, to gain confidence, to maintain a decent academic point
average, and to be an accepted part of their communities. It goes deeper than that, of course. They are struggling with the deficit of a
gnawing fear that there is – just around the corner, down the block, in school,
at work – that moment when they will face another negative reversal that will
prove once again, that they have no business believing in themselves or
others. That bogeyman is not easily obliterated. It is ever-present, like the imaginary
ghosts, goblins and demons of childhood.
It is a bad dream just waiting to become reality.
Meanwhile, we have some alarming statistics that indicate
this is something of a crisis. Allow me to spell out a few:
- Suicide
is the SECOND leading cause of death for ages 10-24. (2016 CDC
WISQARS)
- Suicide
is the SECOND leading cause of death for college-age youth and
ages 12-18. (2016 CDC WISQARS)
- More
teenagers and young adults die from suicide than from cancer, heart
disease, AIDS, birth defects, stroke, pneumonia, influenza, and chronic
lung disease, COMBINED.
- Each
day in our nation, there are an average of over 3,470 attempts by young
people grades 9-12. If these percentages are additionally applied to
grades 7 & 8, the numbers would be higher.
- Four
out of Five teens who attempt suicide have given clear warning
signs (Parent Resource Program – Jason Foundation)
- Suicide rates among young people have
been increasing to such an extent that they are now the group at highest
risk in a third of all countries.
- Recent
surveys indicate that as many as one in five teens suffers from clinical
depression. This is a serious problem that calls for prompt, appropriate
treatment. Depression can take several forms, including bipolar disorder
(formally called manic-depression). (MHA)
- Soaring numbers of children are
being admitted to hospital suffering from anxiety, official figures show.
NHS data shows the number of young patients being treated on hospital
wards has risen by 42 per cent in just one year, with thousands of
pre-teen children receiving such a diagnosis. Experts said the figures
were “deeply alarming,” reflecting a generation under pressure from
“around the clock” social media, fueling bullying, insecurity and concern
about body image. (Telegraph, UK)
- Nearly
everyone has struggled in the wake of the Great Recession, but young
Americans have suffered the most. While others have slowly returned to
work, the unemployment rate for Americans ages 16–24 stands at 16.2
percent, more than double the national rate of unemployment. Research shows that workers who are
unemployed as young adults earn lower wages for many years following their
period of unemployment due to forgone work experience and missed
opportunities to develop skills. (Center for American Progress)
- One third of the world’s 1.8 billion
young people are currently neither in employment, education or training.
Of the one billion more youth that will enter the job market in the
next decade, only 40 percent are expected to be able to get jobs that
currently exist. (The World Bank)
- Black
and Latino students are more likely to attend public institutions of
higher education that spend less to educate them, according to a new
analysis released today from the Center for American Progress. If
these spending gaps were erased, $5 billion more would be spent annually
to educate black and Latino students. On average, the amount spent to
educate a white student at a public college is $1,000 more than what is
spent on students of color.
- More
than 187,000 students have been exposed to gun violence at school since
Columbine, The Washington Post found.
Many are never the same. According to the scientific literature,
American children face substantial risk of exposure to firearm injury and
death. In 2014, 4,300 young people ages 10-24 were victims of homicide -
an average of 12 each day. 1.7
million children live with unlocked, loaded guns - 1 out of 3 homes with
kids have guns. (Washington Post)
- And let me be clear – a school shooting is no longer an event that happens to others; it could happen in your child’s school at any time. In 2013, because no one else was doing it, Everytown for Gun Safety began tracking gunfire in schools and at college and universities — public reports that a firearm was discharged inside a school building or on school or campus grounds — and over the next three years identified 160 qualifying incidents, including fatal and nonfatal assaults, suicides, and unintentional shootings. In all, these incidents resulted in 59 deaths and 124 non-fatal gunshot injuries.
- While EveryTown's broad definition has been criticized by the Alt Right, what the Right-wing and others are failing to notice is that these incidents are occurring all over this country, even in small towns. On average, about 2-3 per month where someone is hurt or killed. So far, in 2018, that average is being sustained.
Unfortunately, this is just scratching the surface. There is so much more: bullying and violence
on the rise; STI cases and sex trafficking of minors increases; drug (heroin) crisis;
alcohol abuse; healthcare crisis; mental health crisis, student debt, etc.
In spite of the wonderful leadership and activism displayed
by the youth of Parkland, Florida and beyond, we must face the fact that a crisis
is in progress in terms of our children and young people. This is not like the past, where such
problems were seen as inevitable for young people, simply because of their
immaturity. This crisis will not magically take care of itself. No, something is at the core of this
wide-spread crisis that takes so many forms, and it is not going away!
Perhaps, then, one must finally ask: isn’t this why we have
something called “GOVERNMENT”? Isn’t our government (and other
governments of the world) supposed to be concerned with the safety and
well-being of its citizens (and inhabitants)?
Isn’t one of government’s major roles to be watching over the General
Welfare of its people? Isn’t it part of
Government’s mission to be concerned about the future and how it’s impingement
on the present will be affecting its citizens?
The answer to all such basic questions is a resounding YES. And yet, our current government is dealing
mainly with the de-construction of administrative bureaucracy. The current administration is on a Mission to
destroy, rather than to construct. They emphasize
the building of restrictive walls; de-regulation of anything that has to do
with business and profit. They push
restrictions against women (abortion and the right to equal wages), and against
Labor. They want to restrict federal
government while granting (some) states more money and power. They stress criminal elements among refugees. They are obsessed with “fake news” and want
to limit the ‘free’ press. But mainly
the Trump administration wants to restrict trade, humanitarian efforts and
peace so that America will be, in their parlance: Great Again!
As to human welfare, this government hides behind
‘inefficient’ spending; deficits, cutting taxes and passing budgets that overwhelmingly
support one small portion of wealthy citizens and corporations over and against
the overwhelming majority. This
government is working to destroy government “handouts” and to avoid spending
more than a pittance on those who, every day, face the challenges, set-backs,
disabilities and exigencies of life.
This Government takes little or no responsibility for the
impoverished, the orphan, the sick, the mentally challenged -- FOR OUR CHILDREN and YOUNG PEOPLE in many
phases of their lives. Instead, this Government
prides itself on reducing the effectiveness of government as though it is the
problem rather than a potential solution to society’s needs and well-being.
This Government avoids the effects of the future impinging
on the present. Let me ask you: what
have you heard lately from your government about the possible effects of
robotics on aspects of the human condition, such as employment? Or, to be more pointed: what have you heard recently about the
effects of a lack of universal pre-school upon the ability of many poor children
to achieve the goal of a good job with substantial rewards?
We must move beyond the confusion, chaos and lies of the
Trump administration, and return to some fundamental truths that we should have
learned early on (perhaps in kindergarten?).
(1) Children are our
future; we must not abuse, neglect or ignore them.
(2) Government is
meant to protect and advance the welfare of children (sometimes no matter what
the cost) and they are NOT doing it.
(3) As parents,
godparents, grandparents, mentors, friends, neighbors, or citizens, each one of
us has a human obligation to take personally the
rampant neglect and abuse of any child – especially by the government.
(4) We can no longer
standby and take for granted that someone is aiding our children. We must act to express our personal outrage at the
homelessness, hunger, ill health, poor education, domestic abuse and the
violence of society and its guns. This is personal, not political, for
every child is potentially my child; every child is potentially a
builder of a just society, a contributor to the human species and a legacy of
new hope.
(5) Government is not doing its job when one child is made
to feel unwanted, unloved, unworthy, unlovely.
We aren’t doing our job as human beings when a child does not have a
multitude of opportunities by which to measure who s/he is and what s/he wants
to be. The most important thing that we
or Government can do is to enable every child to discover who they are, why
they are here, and what they intend to be, to do, to accomplish, and to give
back to their heritage and to this society.
(6) Government is meant to provide the means by which
children can learn, absorb and develop their identities, their mission in life
and their obligation to better the world in which they live. Above all, Government must never restrict their
growth and development, and must not shy away from the cost involved. Government has a further obligation: to bring
together all the resources possible – from the public, non-profit and private
sectors; to find the leadership and the volunteers – and the money -- to achieve all that is needed to embrace,
nurture and launch our young people.
(7) Finally, and perhaps our main point: Government must invest in children and young
people because it is an investment in our future. Investment has been studied and researched:
it sometimes involves risk; it always involves some sacrifice. Where is that risky, sacrificial investment in
children today from our Government?
It is time to say to the do-nothings in Washington DC and
the state capitals – enough is enough!
Invest in our children and youth.
If you can’t or won’t– get out now, before we parents and our youth come
and throw you out!
