Tired of hearing how this bill or that politician will fix all of America’s problems? Do you actually think we can reverse decades of bad policies, economies or decisions by electing one person to an office?

I have a hard time believing that if someone gets elected the rest of society will wake up and suddenly realize they need to work harder, save more, spend less and be more respectful. I believe these sorts of mindsets take time and generations to build, grow and solidify into the psyche of the American people.

It all starts with education. The American education system is broken in many places. Children are not educated, discipline and respect are foreign words, and the cost of everything keeps going up.

However, if we point to anything in American society, good or bad, the root cause of that issue will most likely be education or the lack thereof.  A successful business owner can probably point to a solid education during his childhood, but the exact opposite can probably be said about a repeat criminal whose options in life were handicapped by a faulty education.

Based on statistics, we can predict, almost to a percentage point, the likelihood of a child succeeding in school, life and society based on a few facts concerning the child’s station in life, such as race, household income and location. Nevertheless, school is where a child’s life can take a positive step in the right direction, changing the course of that child’s life.

Often, we focus so much of our attention on local government, sheriff, governor and presidential candidates and elections. Instead, we ought to consider spending a little more time and energy getting involved in school board issues to ensure the children of our region are receiving the best chance at a successful life as possible.

We can try to blame parents, teachers or school board members, but ultimately we members of the community are also to blame and must get engaged in ensuring the youth of today have every chance to become the leaders of tomorrow.

The last bite….

Saturday, Courtney and I ate brunch at a restaurant named Russel’s in Lakeview. The meal started with fresh squeezed grapefruit juice then I was pleasantly surprised to see this giant omelet being placed in front of me. It was an egg white omelet stuffed with tomato, spinach, roasted turkey, and smoked gouda cheese. I give Brunch at Russel’s 4 out of 5 crumbs.

Buddy Boe, a resident of Garyville, owns a public relations and program management company and is well known on the local political (and food) scenes. His column appears Wednesdays in L’Observateur.