The Next Generation

What’s going on with all of the violence in the streets?  It used to be that you would only need to worry about violence in the streets.  Now the violence has found its way to our children's schools.  However these days we have young kids doing the killings, car jacking, and selling drugs at almost any age.  At what point did our country turn into little Beirut?  Why is it that it seems like firearms are finding there way into younger and younger kids?  Who’s supplying them with the automatic weapons that are murdering kids before they get a chance to live their lives?  How is it that a 15 year old could take a life without thinking it through?  The rate of younger kids hitting the Juvenile system is growing at a overwhelming rate.  In the last 6 months bookings at the Juvenile system has doubled on Armed Robberies alone and for what, a couple of dollars and a iPhone?  We have to ask ourselves again, where are the parents?  Could it really be that parents don’t communicate with their kids enough to know if their child has a criminal mentality?  Or is it that these kids just won't listen to reason.  It's important to be more involved in our children's lives so that they are open enough to communicate with us on any given situation.  As a man I know how easy it is to over react in situations and to be irrational.  As I raise my son I try to make sure that he controls his temper and realizes that things can be dealt with without over reacting.  Some people may say it’s not that easy, but I think it can be.  However I do feel repetition is the best form of learning so I plan to enforce it as long as he listens.  Let's make it a point to help out any of our younger generation whether they are related to us or not.  It took two generations to destroy a single civilization and it will take another two generations to build it back.  

Life affords no greater responsibility, no greater privilege, than the raising of the next generation.
-- C. Everet Koop, M.D.