Response to previous comment on last weeks blog:I take back that it's not related to oligarchy. In a sense it is if we think about who has the power to change these situations for these youth. If the power is in the hands of the people with the most money, then clearly they aren't struggling with at risk youth issues. They have enough money to guide their children in the right direction so it's not of their concern, because they don't see this happening in their family. What type of citizenship do you want to promote through your activities this semester? Is your social activism consistent with a "new right critique"? Do you propose to enhance civic virtue in your activism work? Your service work? What role do rights play in your project? Do they advance or impede your interests?
The type of citizenship I am trying to promote through my activities this semester is getting more people involved in the non-profit agencies that have set up programs for at risk youth. Becoming a mentor for at risk youth isn't always easy. Sometimes there are programs like Big Brothers and Big Sisters that isn't necessarily for at risk youth but preventing youth from at risk activity. There are also places like Casa Pacfica in Camarillo that work with at risk youth specifically and have mentors, tutors, and volunteers of all kinds help with the children. By promoting non-profits like these to society we can get more people to consider the idea of helping change the way these youth are living.
As I discussed in class, I believe that my topic deals with the new right critique of "social rights should be administered by non-political organizations". I don't believe this is true for ALL social rights but in my case this does apply. Our government has already provided funding for school so that way students can learn and stay out of trouble for eight hours a day. I believe it's the responsibility of the parents to find after school programs for their children if they can't go home on their own yet. Or if the parent won't be home to watch them. While there is a critique that the state has an obligation to provide social rights I feel this isn't true in this case either. It isn't necessarily your social right to stay out of trouble but it's your social right to be protected from dangerous activity. But again, this is the responsibility of one's parents and not the state to bring you up in safe conditions. The state can't always control the decisions people make. It's the decisions people make that create environments dangerous for youth to grow up in. And again it's up to the oyuth to make the right decision. WIth programs like Big Brothers and Big Sisters by having that role model figure, making the right decision and learning what the right decision is becomes easier to understand. Going out and facing the world alone isn't always the best thing for everyone. Some would argue that there are plenty of people in this world who have gone out on their own without parents guiding them or anyone and have turned out okay. This is true, but we aren't all the same person. We don't all have the same mindset and courage to know what is right.
I think that the idea in my head enhances civic virtue to some extent. By providing youth guidance we create safer environments in the future. They make better decisions which then leads to future environments being safer and so on and so forth. (This is almost becoming an equation I'm ready to write out, so it makes more sense) Hopefully you understand what I'm saying. guided youth = good decisions = safer environments for the future = less at risk activity being available. While these youth are being helped, we are creating a safe environment for the communities in the future.
Depending on the way we look at rights I guess rights sort of impeded my situation, since I believe it's the job of non-political organizations to help in these matters. It's our "civic duty" to make sure our own children stay safe, but that we look out for the well being of our community as well. If that entails working with other children to make sure they stay safe, then so be it.
Sunday, March 7, 2010
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