I've found myself thinking a lot about responsibility lately as I listen to the political campaign talk and debate, and watch so many around me make multiple decisions about their lives. What is responsibility and why does it matter?
First, as I think of loan forgiveness programs, like many who sacrificed to pay off loans, it does touch a nerve. If you watched friends go on lavish trips and not pay their college loans while you put off travel to pay your bills, you're going to feel a natural reaction to loan forgiveness programs. On the other hand, if you know people burdened by tremendous college loans, you know the weight that puts on their lives, the lives of their family members, and our economy in general. I also know that some have tremendous debt because of the very high costs of a college education and also due to predatory lender efforts. So I'm ready to support a scaffolded loan forgiveness program, however, I'd like to see a tax placed on that so those whose loans are forgiven have to pay a small yearly tax to help others who fall into the same category in the future.
The same feeling arises related to universal child care. My husband and I had to pay significant fees for child care, and I wish there was universal child care when I was young. But just because we suffered the consequence of little support for child care doesn't mean I need to pass along that burden to the next generation--healthy children depend on good child care, and I do support a system that helps families earn a living and take care of their children too. Of course, like the loan forgiveness program, I hope that this will be a scaffolded program so that it doesn't encourage abuse.
I believe in social supports because we know that life isn't fair for all kinds of reasons. The reasons that some are poor and others wealthy have a lot more to do with events of inequity throughout history or by birth rather a person's individual choices, yet individual choices also play an important role.
As an educator we see this differential too. We see some families that invest heavily into what's best for their children and other families that do little to support their children. It's painful to teach a child whose family has not prioritized what's best for that child, but we cannot punish the child for that. Instead we can work to educate the family and help that child get what they need--essentially we are working to change the tide for that child, to make their life better so that hopefully they'll live well and do the same for their children and the people they care for. Typically when families don't take good care of their children there are reasons for that, reasons such as health issues, psychological problems, socio-political events, and one's environmental constraints/challenges. Poor care is usually the result of a history of poor care that's been passed down from one generation to the next.
I'm a fan of responsibility. I believe in honesty, paying your bills, taking care of yourself, investing in good work, and living the best possible life that you can. That's why when I am met with irresponsible behavior, I initially am bothered, but when I think more deeply, I usually can understand the roots of that irresponsibility and think of positive ways to respond to that. Though you don't have to be fooled or tricked by people who are typically irresponsible, you don't have to support that poor behavior, but instead, seek to surround yourself with responsible people instead--people who demonstrate good character and live good lives.
Responsibility matters, and a lack of responsibility is not always a choice, but sometimes a way of being that has been inherited and persists until you understand a better way.
First, as I think of loan forgiveness programs, like many who sacrificed to pay off loans, it does touch a nerve. If you watched friends go on lavish trips and not pay their college loans while you put off travel to pay your bills, you're going to feel a natural reaction to loan forgiveness programs. On the other hand, if you know people burdened by tremendous college loans, you know the weight that puts on their lives, the lives of their family members, and our economy in general. I also know that some have tremendous debt because of the very high costs of a college education and also due to predatory lender efforts. So I'm ready to support a scaffolded loan forgiveness program, however, I'd like to see a tax placed on that so those whose loans are forgiven have to pay a small yearly tax to help others who fall into the same category in the future.
The same feeling arises related to universal child care. My husband and I had to pay significant fees for child care, and I wish there was universal child care when I was young. But just because we suffered the consequence of little support for child care doesn't mean I need to pass along that burden to the next generation--healthy children depend on good child care, and I do support a system that helps families earn a living and take care of their children too. Of course, like the loan forgiveness program, I hope that this will be a scaffolded program so that it doesn't encourage abuse.
I believe in social supports because we know that life isn't fair for all kinds of reasons. The reasons that some are poor and others wealthy have a lot more to do with events of inequity throughout history or by birth rather a person's individual choices, yet individual choices also play an important role.
As an educator we see this differential too. We see some families that invest heavily into what's best for their children and other families that do little to support their children. It's painful to teach a child whose family has not prioritized what's best for that child, but we cannot punish the child for that. Instead we can work to educate the family and help that child get what they need--essentially we are working to change the tide for that child, to make their life better so that hopefully they'll live well and do the same for their children and the people they care for. Typically when families don't take good care of their children there are reasons for that, reasons such as health issues, psychological problems, socio-political events, and one's environmental constraints/challenges. Poor care is usually the result of a history of poor care that's been passed down from one generation to the next.
I'm a fan of responsibility. I believe in honesty, paying your bills, taking care of yourself, investing in good work, and living the best possible life that you can. That's why when I am met with irresponsible behavior, I initially am bothered, but when I think more deeply, I usually can understand the roots of that irresponsibility and think of positive ways to respond to that. Though you don't have to be fooled or tricked by people who are typically irresponsible, you don't have to support that poor behavior, but instead, seek to surround yourself with responsible people instead--people who demonstrate good character and live good lives.
Responsibility matters, and a lack of responsibility is not always a choice, but sometimes a way of being that has been inherited and persists until you understand a better way.