The youth population in Britain is living with a different ideology, according to David Lammy, the skills minister. I read a report by the Guardian just a few minutes ago:
Young men are shunning work and turning to a life of crime as Britain develops a “get rich or die trying” culture, the country’s most senior black MP warns today. David Lammy, the skills minister, says young men are encouraged by a “bling culture” to pursue crime as a short cut to wealth in the face of a rapidly changing economy which no longer places a premium on manual jobs.
In an article in this week’s New Statesman, Lammy writes: “Young men from poor backgrounds feel they have least to lose. Why, one boy asked me, was I worried about his grades at school, when he might not live long enough to get a job? This is the world of ‘get rich or die trying’.”
Lammy, the MP for Tottenham, says young men run into trouble because the role of men is changing in society.
How true is this? I guess your perspective could depend on your own experience. I know many people who definitely do not fall in this category. There are a lot of young men who still think that going to school and working hard are the key ingredients to success. Then again, I have read and heard about other people who are living the lives described by Lammy – and I am sure that you have as well.
I agree with Lammy’s statement though – strong father figures are needed now more than ever.