In this article, human right writer Nicholas Kristof discusses what he thinks the Presidential candidates this running should be concerned with, and informing about. This ongoing issue is the fact everybody is born into different financial situations and this highly affect the opportunities they are able to receive and the way their life will play out economically and socially. Throughout the article, he tells the story of a hometown friend Rick Goff and how unfortunate circumstances took control of his life, disregarding his talent of knowledge and kindness of heart.
Quotes
"Yet I fear that by 2015 we’ve become the socially rigid society our forebears fled, replicating the barriers and class gaps that drove them away"
Reading this at the beginning of the article places an idea/image in the readers head. Kristof earlier states how his father and Senator Rubio's fathers came to this country wishing to get away from "barriers and class gaps", to find that by the year 2015, the USA has only replicated so. This made me wonder, if our country continues not to face these issues, will people leave? Where will they go? And will this cycle repeat itself again? By saying this, Kristof places a certain fear in the readers mind, hoping to provoke agreement.
“talent is universal, but opportunity is not.”
Kristof references a piece in which he had written previously about Goff. Kristof informed readers of how Goff was brought up, the difficulties he faced in educational settings and what he had to do to provide for his family. He stated that Goff was indeed smart, talented and hard working, but he did not get the biggest chance to show this because of what he was born into. I once heard the question, "What if the cure for cancer is in a person's brain who can't afford college?" and Goff's story reminded me of it. At the end of the day, you could win the lottery or lose all of your savings. Either way, your brains and your talents stay with you.
Questions/Comments/Points to Share:
Something that I thought about while reading this article was the accessibility of education. Never facing this situation, I am unaware of the difficulties of attending school but I am not naive to the fact that there are some issues. I wonder for children who face the same issues that Goff did such as having to take care of siblings and work, how do they make getting an education happen? Better and more beneficial, what can our country do to help these children get what they deserve even though they face poverty? Similar but a whole different realm, is the cost of college. If a student does not have the means to go to school, is that their own financial state holding a diploma out of reach, or the USA for not finding a sufficient solution to end this crisis?
Something that I thought about while reading this article was the accessibility of education. Never facing this situation, I am unaware of the difficulties of attending school but I am not naive to the fact that there are some issues. I wonder for children who face the same issues that Goff did such as having to take care of siblings and work, how do they make getting an education happen? Better and more beneficial, what can our country do to help these children get what they deserve even though they face poverty? Similar but a whole different realm, is the cost of college. If a student does not have the means to go to school, is that their own financial state holding a diploma out of reach, or the USA for not finding a sufficient solution to end this crisis?
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