[Suzi]

The fabric of our society has changed dramatically. I think if any meaningful dialog is to take place about this and many other "tragic" recent events, we have to address the very core of our current beliefs.
All of us "mature" adults remember the good-ole-days.
1. Respect for ourselves and others. We would address others by Mr. Smith etc.
We would dress properly: no pj's in the mall etc.
Halloween is the place for black fingernails and goulish faces.
2. Schools were a place for education and teachers were respected (refer to #1)
not babysitting. Parents respected teachers and backed them up. You HAD to
go to school.
3. Marriage, family values, living small but happy.
4. Drug problems you read about in the newspaper-not in your home, family or
school.
5. Faith was an intregal part of your family life.
6. We had paper routes or babysitting for spending money. Parents didn't just "pop"
for everything we wanted.
7. Don't get mad at me but: there was a Mom in the house. Mom wasn't out working
so we had 2 cars, name-brand jeans, boat, 4-wheeler etc. Dad lived in the
home, had a job, was married to mom, we were all his children, did the outside
chores and paid us a small allowance to help with chores.
8. We had goals: Doctor, lawyer, indian chief...whatever. And our parents were
part of that discourse. What we would be in life was not left to the whims of the
school or government. Parents had a role in who we became.
9. Living was pretty safe: police had guns, nobody had too much $ so theft was
fairly rare. The worst you had to worry about was drunks but they would just beg
for your change for a bottle and most of the time the policemen would hustle
them away.
10. There were no video games. Disney was the movies you could see at the show.
You couldn't hold-hands at high school.
There are many more examples of how our lives have changed. But to discuss gun ownership, illiteracy in schools, violence, teen pregnancy, drug use, and a host of other ills, we must look to the ways our society as a whole has changed over the years and if those societal changes need to be addressed.