WHY IS CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT HARD?
There are many opposing forces to character development:- Moral Immaturity - Most people don't think that our character is ever fully developed and can always be changed. But certainly our character gets ingrained to some degree as we approach late adolescence. Until that time the virtues can be both malleable and inconsistent.
- Negative Cultural Influences - As a descriptive statement, some cultures emphasize different virtues to different degrees. (For example, in some cultures, honor is the most important virtue, and shaming yourself or your family is the most serious consequence. In other cultures, lying is considered acceptable if it involves the sale of goods to feed your family.)
- Lack of a Role Model - For children who do not have role models, building character can be unguided and unpredictable.
- Peer Pressure/Conformity/Acceptance - We all know the pressures that can be exerted by the desire to conform to the group. More than anything else, this can cause a good child to do the wrong thing.
- Consequential Reasoning - Many children simply reason "Will I get caught?" This kind of reasoning does not allow much room for our virtues to be implemented. A critical decision can become a "cost/benefit" analysis, rather than a character issue.
- We Focus on the Vices, Instead of the Virtues - It is much easier to count the bad things (teenage pregnancy, drug/alcohol abuse, etc.) than it is to count the good things (children working hard to get good grades, helping each other succeed, improving their sports skills, giving to charity, etc). Vices are simply easier to count.
- People are Not Perfect - We all make mistakes.
