Presidential candidates calling each other names. Political Action Committees using degrading comments about the opposition. A teenager runs down a woman outside a school in Florida and speeds away only to be caught a few minutes later. The woman was his mother. Tens of thousands of people fleeing war torn countries and finding obstacles preventing them from getting to safety. (Hungary finished its razor wire fence on the border with Serbia this week). Just some of the examples of the downward spiral of society in this day and age. You can probably name several more instances. This begs the question, "What can we do?
This week there is an observance called Character Day established by a group known as character.org, The idea is to pause and reflect about positive character traits that if established at a young age can have a lasting and positive impact on a person for decades to come. Character.org is similar to what is known as the Character Counts organization in the Des Moines area. It now falls under the Robert D and Billie Ray Center at Drake University where former Iowa State Senator Scott Raecker is executive director.
Mr. Raecker told me during an interview Tuesday there is a golden opportunity to begin impacting some of the societal ills facing us if we just begin to talk about good character traits in the home. By instilling the values or "pillars" of good character; trustworthiness, respect, fairness, responsibility, caring and citizenship at an early age, we can lay the foundation for a better tomorrow. Of course there are also numerous youth based organizations and entities like schools that can and do further the effort. But it has to start in the home or it will surely be an uphill battle
It is understood that character is just one part of the equation. But if young people are taught those values early and carry them into adulthood we might be able to chip away at the accepted practice of mudslinging in the political arena or hiding behind the vale of anonymity in a social media post to degrade someone else.
We have to turn the corner soon.
Enjoy Character Day. Be well.
No comments:
Post a Comment