Is Rome Starting to Crumble?

Late in the last school year, I had the opportunity to observe one the activities in one seventh grade classroom at North Clay Middle School. This year, I observed an eighth grade classroom. My motivation to sit in these classrooms was my concern for the education of one student who is related to me, but I am now concerned about the education of the entire student body. I did not go into these classrooms to observe the teacher, the teaching methodology or the physical environment of the classroom. I took this time to observe the students and what I observed frightens me for the future of our community and nation. What frightened me was an apparent lack of self-discipline, self-motivation, work ethic, and responsibility on the part of the students. After watching these two groups of students for an hour apiece, it is hard to believe that they are related to the Americans who lived through the Great Depression, fought and won World War 2, and put men on the Moon, but it, at least in part, explains a lot of what is viewed by many in our society as what is wrong with that society.

People who turn to drugs or alcohol in their attempt to escape from reality, turn to crime or "entitlement" programs, without need, as a means of making a living, and are contributing not a drop of sweat towards the pursuit of their happiness are the bane of American society. They will lead to the destruction of that society that was built with the blood, sweat, and self-sacrifice of the men and women who braved the perils of sea travel to land on this continent, who gathered their kin and belongings to cross the mountains and the prairies to build this nation and who fought to keep it free. America was built with hard work, but today, as you look around, you see many people with their hand out looking for a government handout. No society can last very long in that situation. We, as a society, must teach future generations that each person is responsible for his or her own destiny. We have established "safety nets" within our society to care for the orphan, widow, sick, disabled, and mentally incapacitated, among others; yet, every person can and should still contribute something to society in some manner other than their offspring.

As I sat in the eighth grade classroom and observed the students talking amongst themselves the last five or ten minutes of the period, having been given the option of doing that or studying, I thought of the man who works at a local market even though he has Down's syndrome. I was appalled that so many students with so much potential would care so little about their own future. Of the class, only three actually studied something.

Physically and mentally, I am not the person I was the day I graduated from high school. Physically, I can no longer do a lot of what I was able to do then, mentally, I have grown far beyond the person who wore that cap and gown, if not informal education then with the addition of thirty some odd years of experience. I am no longer able to contribute in ways that place physical demands upon my person that are insignificant to the average person, but I can still contribute to society. Even as I sit here writing this blog, I can have some small effect upon the society in which I live.

I find it hard to believe that American society has came to the point where so many people have came to a point where they are willing to settle for so little or risk their freedom to take the "easy way out" by violating the law to fulfill their dreams instead of working towards their goals.

No American has ever been promised happiness, only life, liberty, and the opportunity to pursue it. It is time to wake people up to that fact before America crumbles as the Roman Empire did.