Re: "It's simply a matter of desire."
I remember Newt Gingrich saying once why should we pay welfare to an able-bodied man in his 20s who lives a block from a public library? To some extent that way of thinking is valid. On the other hand, it tends to be over-simplistic.
For instance, I never could have become, say, a chemical engineer, no matter how much I would have desired to become one. I fared poorly in subjects like chemistry and calculus. Nor could I have ever become even an average singer. I can't carry a tune in a bucket, although I love classical music, especially good choral music.
To a certain extent, similar is true when we look at certain young people in our society. They have grown up w/o a stable family environment, w/o a father in the home, with a parent who did not value education, w/o a strong work ethic. Some people simply have no foundation for learning in a school setting or working a steady job.
By the time we tell this teen-ager to "lift himself up, work hard, etc." it usually is too late. I don't know what the answer is, but I suspect it partially lies in early childhood development centers and similar childhood social programs ... which cost money. |
