I just read that Lori Loughlin, the actress who along with her husband Mossimo Gianulli was charged in the college cheating scandal, does not understand why she is being charged. The article states that she feels there is nothing wrong with what she did as she has the means to do it and that any mother with the money would do it too. I don’t know which is more tragic. The fact that she doesn’t understand why what she did is wrong or that she figures all mothers have no ethics or values speaks volumes about her. She obviously doesn’t think it important to raise ethical human beings who will one day contribute in a positive way to their community.
I taught for 15 years and during that time I saw my share of “helicopter” parents who want to smooth the way for their children and who have taught their children that nothing is ever their fault. It was always the teacher’s fault or the book wasn’t clear or they never heard the directions (even tho’ everyone else in the class did) and I could go on and on. These parents set their children up for failure in life and I find that very sad. These are the adults who will not be able to function in a job because their boss doesn’t know what he is talking about or some other self-serving reason on the part of this now dysfunctional adult. How do you become a contributing member of society if you have never learned accountability, to respect authority, to work with others without getting all the glory and to understand that accomplishments in life take hard work over time? I salute the parents out there who fight everyday to stay on top of what their children are doing, despite their own busy schedules, as they work toward raising successful adults.
I don’t know how Lori or her husband were raised. Maybe this belief that they were special started way back or maybe they allowed money to corrupt them. Remember the Bible is clear. It is not money that is the root of all evil. It is LOVE of money that is the root of all evil. (1 Timothy 6:10) What matters now is that Lori Loughlin doesn’t see what was wrong with tying up two places on the crew team even though her daughters had never rowed. The fact that students who had worked hard over a long period of time to earn those spots and now wouldn’t get them meant nothing to her. This is a terrible reflection of her character. One student explained that she was up at 4:15 in the morning so she could be on the water a little after five in the morning for a two hour rowing work out before classes. To lose a spot to someone like Lori Loughlin’s daughter, who has never rowed, left a bitter taste in her mouth at the unfairness of it all.
We need to give more attention in the media to the students who despite various and often tragic circumstances are accepted to a college and then succeed after hard work and perseverance. Sometimes these students accomplish great things despite having less than ideal parents.
No, the world isn’t always fair and our young people need to learn that early and know that they can’t let that fact knock them off of their road to success. However, blatant acts like this need to be identified and prosecuted. Yes, these parents need to be taught a lesson. Fines won’t do it because they have money and it is what they figure will always keep them from paying for their intentional misdeeds. They need to see the inside of a prison and not just for a few weeks but for a decent amount of time so that others will think twice about trying to buy their or their children’s way into college.
I have no problem with the fact that someone with the money Lori and her husband have can buy many things. I don’t care. When they start to think they buy their way past people who have worked hard toward a goal then I care. There are certain playing fields that can not be corrupted by money or we will be become no better than a Banana Republic that sells all its positions to the highest bidder. People with money always carry influence and that is okay to a degree but this nation was built on the belief that hard work and a fair shot at your goal is all you need to be successful. As long as we, as a society, accept the fact that rich people get special privileges, when ever and where ever they want them, then this issue will never be resolved. And there in lies the problem.