yeah yeah it's been forever and this isn't even a catch-up post
Just sent this little passage in to MoveOn in response to their poll for what their focus should be in the coming year(s). There's ton's goin' on in my life right now and I've been too overwhelmed and busy to LJ 'bout it. So this is all I got right now.
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I've worked with a lot of kids, and I think I'm fairly in touch with my generation. What I see is an ever increasing disaffection with the notion that civil leadership (be it in the political, social, or religious arena) is a worthwhile and honorable pursuit.
My generation's faith in our society has been shaken time and again as the atrocities committed by priests, businessmen, and politicians seem to never abate and grow deeper in repulsiveness. And while today's kids have a new set of positive leaders to look up to they are also mired in a media storm of scandals that are shaping their outlook on life. On top of this they are facing a whole host of new pressures that we can barely conceive of, from technology warping the way society communicates and interacts, to the impacts of global ecological devastation, to unconventional and non-state warfare.
The roots of these problems are many and run deep. They are not likely to change easily or quickly, but that does not mean that there is nothing we can do. In politics the greatest problem that we can actually have an effect on is corruption. And in our political system that means closing legalistic loopholes, removing inappropriate incentives via the lobbying industry, and holding our leaders accountable via transparency and regulatory enforcement.
It is hard to know the exact effects such actions would have on our society's leaders, let alone the kids that I've worked with. But I know that when I hold out a leader as a positive example their faces brighten like there actually is a light at the end of the tunnel. Also, when I back up an admonition that "cheaters never win" with 101 reasons why it's next to impossible to cheat it refocuses their attention on working within the system.
Simply pointing out 100 crooks who have been caught isn't the same; this only leaves them thinking about how they can cheat and not get caught. The trick, no matter what age the potential offender, is to make it easier to win within the system than it is to win outside of it.
Barak Obama won because he inspired millions of individuals who then made contributions to his campaign, not because a few powerful donors paved the way for him in return for favors down the road. This is what we need to see in the future. Honest people doing the right thing for the right reasons. We need to shape our political system to further this goal because no other effort will reap as large of a long term benefit across so many facets of our lives.
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I've worked with a lot of kids, and I think I'm fairly in touch with my generation. What I see is an ever increasing disaffection with the notion that civil leadership (be it in the political, social, or religious arena) is a worthwhile and honorable pursuit.
My generation's faith in our society has been shaken time and again as the atrocities committed by priests, businessmen, and politicians seem to never abate and grow deeper in repulsiveness. And while today's kids have a new set of positive leaders to look up to they are also mired in a media storm of scandals that are shaping their outlook on life. On top of this they are facing a whole host of new pressures that we can barely conceive of, from technology warping the way society communicates and interacts, to the impacts of global ecological devastation, to unconventional and non-state warfare.
The roots of these problems are many and run deep. They are not likely to change easily or quickly, but that does not mean that there is nothing we can do. In politics the greatest problem that we can actually have an effect on is corruption. And in our political system that means closing legalistic loopholes, removing inappropriate incentives via the lobbying industry, and holding our leaders accountable via transparency and regulatory enforcement.
It is hard to know the exact effects such actions would have on our society's leaders, let alone the kids that I've worked with. But I know that when I hold out a leader as a positive example their faces brighten like there actually is a light at the end of the tunnel. Also, when I back up an admonition that "cheaters never win" with 101 reasons why it's next to impossible to cheat it refocuses their attention on working within the system.
Simply pointing out 100 crooks who have been caught isn't the same; this only leaves them thinking about how they can cheat and not get caught. The trick, no matter what age the potential offender, is to make it easier to win within the system than it is to win outside of it.
Barak Obama won because he inspired millions of individuals who then made contributions to his campaign, not because a few powerful donors paved the way for him in return for favors down the road. This is what we need to see in the future. Honest people doing the right thing for the right reasons. We need to shape our political system to further this goal because no other effort will reap as large of a long term benefit across so many facets of our lives.