While Mr. Bird, Editor of the Villager, fouls his nest once again wondering where the ‘super heros’ have gone, a mother gets realistic about parents’ concerns for the children.
“…you’re good enough, you should be able to get by, you are not worth more of our investment!”
When did getting by become the American dream? I ask myself this as I look into my child’s future. My child is surrounded by a realm of peers that seem proud of barely making it, as if mere survival is something of a marvel. Is it because our culture has gone out of its way to give hall passes for almost any anomaly life throws our way? What happened to gutting it out, to keeping a stiff upper lip, to damn the torpedoes – full steam ahead?
My father raised me to be so proud of anything I did that I would be willing to sign my name to it. For the most part I have lived my life by that challenge (this may be why I really don’t “do� housework). I wouldn’t say I’m competitive, but I do hold myself to the standard of my name’s worth. Between my father’s philosophy, my mother’s anonymous-never-ending-effort, and the left over guilt and responsibility of a Catholic education, I am often left wondering when it became so laudable to celebrate the achievement of minimum standards.
Our children are surrounded, nay accosted, on a daily basis by the justification of everything as special (like happy meal toys). We have inured them to true value to the point that most all of them are incapable of making the very judgments that might lead them to a better life than that of their parents. When some aspect of every behavior, character or situation qualifies as special, is it any wonder that there is little effort made to stand out, to stand up or stand for something, anything in particular? Read the rest of this entry »
