Illegitimacy and the Future of American Education

**This essay was written by civilserviceman

As the federal budget soars to new highs, it's appropriate to take some time to look at domestic policy, even as foreign policy dominates. Recently I have been reading “Scam” by Rev. Jesse Lee Peterson. In this book he reveals the truth behind some black leaders in America and how they often exploit black America. He shows how people like Al Sharpton, Jesse Jackson, and the Nation of Islam are detrimental to black society and lead them down a path of destruction that will ensure them being the most poverty stricken ethnic group in the United States. One of the most profound chapters deals with the role of the father in the household.

It should be said that this debate is not about race, as the victim mentality hurts any who go on to live it out. From the mid-1990s and the welfare debate came a greater understanding that too many children are born without a father figure in their lives. This lack of a father figure often leads boys that are feminized, women who abuse their children because they have nobody to help them and the stress is too great for them to handle, and children who don’t have positive role models in their lives. 24% for white children are born out of wedlock while the same is true for 70% of black children.

Unfortunately the problem is a downward spiral, and works in an exponential manner. These numbers for black children have over doubled since the 1970’s and quadrupled for white children since the 70’s. Without positive role models and parents in the house to teach these children that this is unacceptable behavior, these children will have children of their own out of wedlock and leave them to be raised by a single parent or even worse, the state. There will be a generation of children who are raised with few moral principles and a zest for life to be quenched by promiscuous sex, violence, drugs, and alcohol. These people will not pay taxes but instead will need to be taken care of with taxpayer dollars. So, how do we solve the problem?

Clearly the state and federal government alone does not have the capacity to solve this problem. The government has the power to cut out the social programs for those who abuse them. This year, over half of the federal budget will go to social programs and still cries come to cut military spending and help the people that need it most. (What they really mean is that their voting base needs to stay healthy enough so they can get to the polls and pull the lever.) Can the federal government mandate that those who receive social program help should work? Paul writes to the Thessalonians that if a man will not work, he shall not eat. There was an understanding then of the importance of not being a burden on others in society, and we now know that working gives one something to be proud of and develops character. Then we can have a culture where people have too much pride to take from the government. Unless we continue to foster a culture of entitlement.

While we know that accidents do happen and children are born out of wedlock to parents that take care of them, there is no excuse for these women who have three different babies from three different fathers and have never been married. There is also no excuse for a man that plants his seed all over the place never intending to watch his plants sprout. Our immorality and subsequent lack of education at home is part of what is leading us to fall behind the Chinese and Indians in education. Even though we still produce more than them, in time, these education stumbles may lead to a collapse in economic output.

The change has to start in the home. We as people of the United States have to find out a way to help these kids who aren’t being helped by their parents. The answer is not in entitlement programs, it’s not in free education, and not something the government is able to give. The answer is to instill pride in these kids that they can only achieve on their own. This is the pride that comes with hard work, a little discipline, and forming a family around you that a man can be proud of.