Tightrope: Americans Reaching for Hope (2020)
By Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn
Across our country, it's obvious that Americans, especially children, suffer from poor health care, drug and alcohol abuse, and other issues related to poverty, but never have I seen it described so clearly as in Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn's new book. NYT columnist Kristof opens the book in his hometown of Yamhill, OR, sharing the life stories of the kids who rode with him on the school bus. There are close friends like the Knapps, whose future had looked so promising, except that they struggled with a father who drank and abused their mother. The authors show how these types of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) can drastically affect a child's brain development and ability to cope. In fact, all but one of the five Knapp kids died of drug abuse or related accidents. The authors make a convincing case for the US to invest in early childhood intervention programs, paid family leave, free preschool, and other measures to help launch our kids to more fulfilling lives.
Hypocrisy in government and politics makes the needs worse. The authors state that, "so often in America, we increasingly saw, our end point depends on our starting point" (p 249), e.g., those lucky enough to be born into high earning families that value education and social capital (e.g., group and community connections) have a hugely better chance to succeed, rather than drop out of school or become dependent on drugs. Yet for those at the bottom of the economic ladder, the government punishes them in ways that make it harder to rebound, e.g., deadbeat dads in four states get their drivers' license revoked for nonpayment of child support - so how do they get the jobs to help with paying support?
Additionally, the government has hedged at providing health care for all, or at least for poor families. Ironic that the US offers single payer health care (Medicare) for the elderly (the most expensive sector) but not for kids (the least expensive). The government cut funding for cancer screenings, breast exams, family planning offered through Planned Parenthood - because conservative politicians refused to fund that organization. "It's puzzling that many politicians fear that poor people are trying to milk the system, while they don't seem to fear rich people doing the same with far more dollars at risk." (p 69)
Some families were poor but raised their children to succeed by emphasizing education and responsibility and, as the authors asserts, many had a faith in God. "Children raised in religious households were less likely to suffer what it called the 3 big dangers of adolescence: depression, substance abuse, and risky behavior." (p 170)
I'd never heard the expression "talking right, walking left" (p 196-197), espousing traditional values like marriage and family, while engaging in premarital sex and having many sexual partners - nor its converse "talking left, walking right", those who tend to be better educated and less judgmental of more promiscuous life styles, yet themselves being more likely to live a traditional life style and encourage their children to do so. But the authors see this contradiction as driving much of our politics.
In almost every area the Kristofs discussed (health care, maternity leave, child care, etc), America is alarmingly far behind the rest of the industrial world. The hopeful times of post-WW2 when the US government invested in programs like free college to GI's has given way to the judgmental "lift them up by their bootstraps" philosophy. Yet the authors do not give up hope, citing "escape artists" who are able to overcome hardships to lead productive lives. The book ends with a challenge to readers to work for change (contact a congressman, become a mentor, support an NGO that is having an impact).
