Fri, Jan 02 2004

Messing In Their Own Nest

I had been seeing work in neighboring Watsonville, and wondered what it was. It turned out to be the beginnings of a 6-mile Wetlands Trail System. Unfortunately the linked article mentions some vandalism on the part of local youth. I've never understood people who trash their own neighborhood in either protest, anger or some other display. Pride of ownership usually comes with ownership, and I can't figure out if these people have never owned anything and have no concept of ownership, or if they have just never been taught to respect the property of others, or even their own. The trails will be a community-owned project, so why not take community pride in them and get involved in positive ways. When you have things handed to you, and you trash them, you're setting up a system of anger and resentment that is going to come back to bite you in your rebellious little butt. This world is loaned to us, and we are stewards. If we don't teach kids that trashing property is wrong, we do them no favor. They will grow up to react the same way to their educational opportunities, career paths, and their own neighborhoods later. We are the grown-ups and we have to serve as an example. It's natural for kids to test their boundaries, but then, kids left to wander on their own don't really have boundaries to begin with, do they?

posted at: 08:11 | category: /Miscellaneous | link to this entry