As a young prospective college student in modern-day America, I have heard a lot about why the government needs to “stand up for students” and cancel student debt. We hear every day about how the government needs to, in the words of a headline published in The New York Times on July 2, “Make Americans’ crushing debt disappear.”
As a young student who very much lives paycheck to paycheck, I can definitely understand the appeal of such student debt forgiveness ideas. So to the surprise of many people I know, I do not agree with the idea that our government needs to cancel student debt.
I believe that an important part of the development of diligent, industrious citizens is the life lessons we gain through working for what we receive. I believe that the self-reliance and grittiness that Americans have prided ourselves on for decades has completely faded in our modern society.
It would be a wonderful thing if us younger generations re-embraced these values and decide to pull ourselves up by our bootstraps and embrace the challenges of adulthood head on.
