Tom Ault
Jefferson City
Dear Editor:
Yesterday a friend of mine and I had a discussion pertaining to the wonderful country we used to have versus the one we are nurturing today. The question was the cause of our current dilemma. My friend suggested two things she felt were the main causes of the situation were "violence without punishment and the media."
I suggested that she was correct and the root of those problems started many years ago just when I was not sure. I recalled vividly that when I said bad things, or ever started to, soap was used in the mouth rather than on the body. If I refused or simple conveniently forgot to do the chores set out for me to accomplish, dinner came late or maybe not at all. In the rare event I got into trouble at school, I was met at the door when I came home and the outcome was not pleasant. This list of things could go on and on, but hopefully the point has been made crime must be punished, no matter how slight that may be; we learned from it and we feared it.
It was a great day when I got home from school and got to read the news of the day. There has always been that "shock" news about bad things that happened, but it was limited to something actually newsworthy. Today's news appears to be all about ratings. The nastier the story, the more outlandish the meat of the thing, the better for the ratings because the media (that includes newspapers, radio news and commentators, television commentators and news) and a large share of the movies we are so "honored" to have available. What happened to honest and decent reporting?
When our kids are awarded equally for doing nothing along with those who do the work; when no punishment is dished out, regardless of the deed; when we tell our kids they need sexual protection because they are now of that age rather than suggest abstinence; we are not doing them a favor. Paving every road they take with flowers and money only lets them believe when they are older, and on their own, that life owes them everything without effort on their part.
Could this be the problem? Could we have caused the problems of today because we listened to the wrong people?