No, cmoneyr, I don't mean to imply that spanking is the only issue related to the problems of the youth today. There certainly are other issues. But my guess (pure anecdotally, of course) is that the lack of discipline, in general, used by parents today is a major contributing factor.
Other factors certainly are present, too. Parents leaving the upbringing of their children to the television set, video games, and the local day care center certainly haven't helped. The breakdown of the family unit, in general is a contributing factor. Of the kids who were my friends growing up in school, I don't know of one of them who's mom and dad still weren't married and in the home. When I was a kid, you could have shot a cannon down our street on a Sunday morning and not hit anyone because everyone was in church. I could go on and on. In all too many cases, children are not taught respect in general. When I was a youngster, my parents taught me that there were certain groups of people I was to respect...period. That group included the police man, the fire man, the post man, the minister, the teacher, etc. When I had a problem at school, my parents always came down on the side of the teacher or the principal. When I got in trouble at school, the punishment dished out by the school was minor compared to the punishment I knew was coming when I got home.
There are a lot of issues in play here. Unfortunately, you young people did not have the pleasure of growing up in a time when your innocense stayed with you. Were things perfect? Certainly not. But never, not once, do I recall worrying about walking alone to school. Never, not once, do I recall worrying about whether someone might break into our home that night. Never, not once, do I recall worrying about sexual preditors.
Something has changed. I'll let those of you who are smarter than I am be the judge of what it is!
