Sigh, I just wonder to myself how it is that we still require all kinds of hoops to go through to get a gun, and yet when it comes to having children, anyone can do it and in fact do do it in mass frequency (Idiocracy all over again). Is it our civic responsibility to aid in the development and guidance of the children left to the harsh world to raise, or is it somehow something we must just turn a deaf ear to and let what will happen, happen? I can’t believe that doing nothing is the right thing to do in these cases, and yet when you want to do something more, you are faced with the reality that in most cases, your help is not welcome or wanted, and actually even in the face of insurmountable opposition and evidence to show that their child is really a social problem, the parents defend them with the gusto that you think to yourself “if you did this in the first place and put that much effort into your child, we wouldn’t even be having this conversation!”.

How do you reach a kid who’s sole purpose this far in life has been to live up to nobody’s expectations and who themselves have none? This seems to be an ever mounting reality that we are facing and yet the solution seems so common sensical that when we take a step back and really think about it, we can’t seem to find a reason why we wouldn’t all be doing the right thing and have a society filled with well adjusted individuals who find purpose in themselves and the people around them.

And if the answer is that those who find themselves as the social outcasts in trying to instill the right thing onto others, is there really a place in this world where others of like minds gravitates to? A sort of haven for the sane? Perhaps the real reason that there is such a divide amongst social classes, the need to classify everyone and everything around us, is to distance ourselves from the things that we deem to be “wrong” and to surround ourselves with those who we find acceptable, or tolerant of our own wishes for what is normal. Sure you can’t live your life with doors unlocked these days, or to trust absolutely in those around you, but certainly there is a point at which we can trust in the abilities of others to do the necessary and to take care of the thing that we call mini-me (or me’s in the plural if you are so inclined).

And how much work does this really require? Well lets face it–while I can’t say from my own personal experience how much work is involved, I will venture the pure guestimation method to say that not just having kids but raising them is not something we should enter into lightly. We should be concerned with ourselves from the beginning and question our own motivies and examine with a high degree of scrutiny what it is that we think we will offer this child, this life, in terms of a future, in terms of a contribution to society. That isn’t to say that we should nievly think that our child will b the next Stephen Hawking or Enrico Fermi, but we should all believe that each child has something incredible that they will bestow unto this world and you can live knowing that who they are, what they are, is a direct result in the efforts that invested. It’s similar to a 401k, with patience and a watchful eye, your little bit can become a lot over time. Raising a child I would think is a very similar process whereby one takes small steps to build a strong foundation, one that will support add-on steps that are placed in small and patient increments.

Are the best parents the ones that go into the process with the idea that they will be the best parent ever?!? Or are the best parents the ones that are surely terrified that they will not be able to do enough and constantly on a daily and hourly basis look for ways that they can become better for themselves and their children? My guess would be the later, but again that’s just me and my inexperience talking! However, a lot of things in life are just common sense, and if we believe that part of what makes us human lives in our DNA, in the very fabric that makes us alive, that there are hundreds or thousands of years of experience tucked away in those strains, then parenting should come natural to us–and yet, this is the exception and not the norm, and 9 times out of 10 we have to do more than we expect, or more than we can, to make that new life turn out to be something more than just another drain on society.