Let George Do It

I’m a George. All my life I heard two common catchphrases: Georgie Porgie made girls cry! And Let George do it. I’m not sure if any of this is appropriate to me particularly, and it is not the reason for choosing the working title of this posting.


No, the title means, ‘leave the work to someone else.’ Don’t worry about what needs doing; not my job.


A lot of people take this approach to life. They don’t want to get involved with the work, nor do they want to spend their time on such details. They pursue other interests. They do what serves their needs, careers, or pleasure.


In a highly complex society of present day, it is easy to avoid doing the responsible thing and help build strong social norms. Having a hand in that building process is a valuable source of learning about the self and society. Lessons avoided yield no learning.


Is that what we have become?


So much good work is done by people who care. So many volunteers in our midst. So many nonprofit organizations striving to make a difference in so many ways. We are an active nation of doers. The question, do the doers yet outnumber the non-doers?


Working with young teen drug addicts, I learned most of them were escaping unpleasant life matters in pursuit of pleasure. Yes, they followed others into this dark place. But it was exciting and provided a rush of calm.  Until it didn’t. When the pursuit became an addiction in need of daily support, the dark place loomed large. They became separated from support networks. They lost their focus, direction and purpose.


Finding a way out of the dark, we asked what mattered to them. We pressed them to describe non-drug pleasure they still yearn for. Oddly, art was an emergent thread in our discussions. Not oddly, mother nature was an allure. They recalled walking in a bowery woods with dappled sunlight poking through. They told of times they sat on a rock at lake edge. They remembered seeing the Grand Canyon for the first time. These addicts had buried their deeper roots. Finding them gave them pause. For some, a glimpse of a better future came into focus.


Other teens of the same age find focus in peer relationships, school subjects, or activities such as music, drama, science lab. They learn to explore for more understanding. They taste a lot of different things to learn better what is more important to them. In future years all of this will be recalled, but they will narrow their focus on fewer and fewer topics. They will find their way forward. Most youth find their way. The minority find only trouble and heartache.


We must listen to all of them. They need support. They need programs to help them explore life and future. Each is a challenge. Each needs one or two of us to help them. Too many for us to say ‘Let George do it.’


No. Let you do it. That’s how we get to ‘we.’ And ours. Remember?  This is Our Land? Only if you and I – we – make it so.


May 24, 2019