Blog Post 1

USA Land of Limitations
By: Nicholas Kristof

Quotes:

1. "..Too often the best predictor of where we end up is where we start".

This quote is interesting because a lot of people who were brought up in a family that struggled don't want to follow in the same path. But as this quote says, it is hard to overcome the struggles your family went through because it matters where you started. Many people succeed when they try but it does take a lot of work to go above and beyond to not be where you started. Kristof explains about his friend Rick Goff and the struggles he had growing up. His mother died when he was 5 and his father was an alcoholic so that left Rick to care for himself and his siblings. He later dropped out of high school his sophomore year and was married and divorced and raised his children. This is a perfect example that where you started affects where you are going to end up. His adult life was a reflect of his childhood. If there is family dysfunction at an early age it is going to follow with the children even when they grow up because it is hard to escape that and become better. Many people are successful in going above and beyond to get what they want however it just takes hard work and time. There may be bumpy road at first but they want to do better than what they had to go through in their family.

2. "They grow up not in a 'land of opportunity,' but in the kind of socially rigid hierarchies that our ancestors fled, the kind of society in which your outcome is largely determined by your beginning".

Being compared to one another based on classes isn't fair because of the advantages and disadvantages.  We are all human and here to learn, succeed and achieve our goals but some people have a disadvantage of where they started. Kristof explains how people who are middle class succeed more than those who are in poverty. That is because it is harder for the people in poverty to rise above and be greater than where they came from because they find themselves in the same hole. Some do succeed but not as much as those people with the advantage and background of it.

3. “Rich kids make a lot of bad choices,” Professor Reardon notes. “They just don’t come with the same sort of consequences.”

This quote is putting a name to rich kids because that is what they have been known as. A lot of people would say rich kids get everything handed to them and don't have to work to earn things.  Since there is a background associated with the rich then that is what we follow and think of. Rich kids get treated differently than average and lower class kids. This quote is important to the text because it shows you lower class kids struggle when it comes time for adult life because of what they went through and are used to but the rich kids always were given things so they know what is expected of them and have a greater chance of being as successful as their family.

Link:

https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/article/how-poverty-can-follow-children-into-adulthood/

I found this article interesting because it explains how more children who grew up in poverty continue to live that way through their adult life. It is so hard to escape and get out of that hole to become better so they just end up right where they started. It is sad because those children didn't ask to be brought up that way and they should have a chance to change their way of living when they are an adult but this society is so hard equal everyone and have the same opportunities and advantages. 

This picture represents how the wealthy have the money they need, the rich have money handed to them but some also work for their money and earn it but the poor are begging for money because they don't have the same opportunities.


Comment:

I personally think that it isn't fair for the adults who grew up in a poor household and are just trying to become better and achieve their goals but it is harder for them because of their background. They should have the chance just as much as everyone else to be seen as equal in this world and we shouldn't be able to put limitations on people just because of where they started. However, some people who grew up poor do overcome all the obstacles and are successful and worked hard to make it where they are. But that doesn't happen with everyone.