Pressure. At every level in society. In the home. On the job. On-line. And most certainly in school.
At least 50 people are involved in what the Department of Justice prosecutors are calling the biggest admissions scam in U.S. history. The race to be elite: better than, superior to has brought out the true ugliness of America's rich, famous, and entitled.
What does it mean to want to have status so bad that you're willing to do wrong at the price of what's right? What great lengths people will go to make themselves look like what they are not. Money can buy you a great many things, but it will never buy back the character that is sold for material gain.
Most know the story, but it's what's between the lines of the story that poses a much more compelling narrative.
We see celebrities and business leaders colluding with school officials to by-pass and break laws. Nothing new here, but the network of secrecy and planning to create such an organizational web takes more than just the 50 people that have been charged. But the first issue to deal with is "why"? Why would parents try to bribe a way for their kids to get into these elite schools?
Is it because they were denied access at one time or another? Is it that they knew their kids weren't going to make it on their own merits, so the next best thing was to create a criminal act to assure success? Who knows the real answer, but the tell-tale signs suggest fear and social pressure were really the cause. What can we learn from all of this?
The first thing we can determine from this scandal is that a person needs to have a true moral compass to navigate in today's world. It's not wrong to want the best for your children. It's equally ok to strive to be able to provide your family with the very best that you can. I believe it's your duty to do so. But there is a responsibility on the parent to teach their child the proper way to conduct in society, to treat their fellow human, and to excel the right way.
It's immature to want to take the easy road, and do so only spoils the person you're doing it for. Without allowing their kids to be judged on the same merits as other kids, it only says to the children of the accused that we don't believe in you or your abilities. It's a matter of trust.
So, the second lesson that we must grasp here is that in this life you must learn to trust in people. If you're a boss you must trust your employees. If you're an employee you have to trust your company. If you're a child you must trust your parents. And if you're a parent you must learn how to trust your growing child.
Trust is the cornerstone of the home, the community, friendships, and any other meaningful relationship. When we fail to trust we send all kinds of signals to the ones that we offend. In this case, it was "I don't have the confidence in you to succeed on your own."
As was previously stated, there's nothing wrong with trying to help anyone to have an advantage in life, especially, your own children. What is wrong is not having the wherewithal to follow established processes, and allow for things to happen based on the merit of ones own capability. The children aren't better for it because they can't respect the process or other people.
Lastly, you should know, money can buy you a lot of things, but eventually, wrong-doing will be exposed, and you will have to pay a much greater price than the monetary value for the wrong that you've done. Being publicly embarrassed, disgraced, and imprisoned are only part of the problems that one faces in such cases as this. Those are the immediate things that happened. The real problems come later. Years later when you think everyone has forgotten.
Your actions today have a resounding impact on your future. One wrong social media post and you're vilified for life. Some random picture from some obscure time in your past and 20 years later someone is bringing it back up again to hold it against you. You have to consider that whatever you do not only will affect you, but others around you; whether it's family members, friends, or co-workers. Some actions can't be undone, and the consequences that come from those actions will be felt.