The Bridge

Here in New Jersey, Governor Chris Christie is knee deep in what has become known as "Bridgegate". If you don't know, the Governor's staff apparently gave permission for lane closures on the highway leading to the George Washington Bridge.  These caused massive traffic jams particularly in the town of Fort Lee.  Not by coincidence, their mayor is a democrat and did not support Governor Christie in his re-election bid and the closures appear to be some kind of cockeyed retribution.

With the media focused on this inane event, the Governor made his State of the State address in the midst of the circus.  In it he (of course) commented that New Jersey schools are "failing" and highlighted the inner-city schools of Newark and Camden.  I was struck by the fact that no where did he mention the word "poverty".  Regarding Camden, in particular, he spoke of how only two (2) students in the whole city graduated "college ready".  Again, no where did he mention the word "poverty" and the role this may have.

The children of Newark and Camden live lives of significant, abject poverty.  In addition, they live amongst extreme violence.  How is a child supposed to go to school and reach their fullest potential when they can't get a decent meal?  How is a child supposed to focus on school Monday morning when their cousin, brother, uncle or sister was shot and killed over the weekend?  How is a child supposed to reach their fullest academic height when they don't know if they're going to make it to school (or back home) without being shot...or mugged?

The politicians (and most of us citizens) who choose to comment on what's wrong with our inner-ctites have never spent any significant time there.  Maybe they have driven past one or stopped briefly to shake a hand or two, but they have never sat down for an extended period of time and spoken to a child.  I'm going to say that if they did, the bridge that everyone would be talking about would be the one that's being built to connect our inner-cities back to the mainland.  This is something that needs to happen.  I will say it again: The children who live in our cities are not "minority" children nor are they "urban" or "ghetto" children.  They're American children and deserve the opportunities and rights that all of our children have.