Dear Editor,
I write with great concern for our “generation next” when I read the way our youths have been making the headlines in the general media.
Surely crime and criminal activity have reached new sadistic levels and no one is spared when confronted by bandits whose minds to all intents and purposes seem to be warped; such gruesome acts were never before experienced in our country. The burning of the house with the victims bound or trapped leaves mouths agape and people wondering what is really going on.
What is the cause of such demented behaviour? How have our youths reached this high point of cruelty? Who are they influenced by? Who are there role models?
One parent puts it down to peer pressure, some blame the church and others blame the government for this unwholesome fiasco. What about the family, the home circle? I believe that almost every family has someone who has questionable patterns of conduct, especially those from depressed communities. These youths are infected by the ‘fast dollar’ syndrome and won’t work in any job for a minimum wage; they prefer to take work that lasts for a few hours and be paid for the entire day. This habit is now a culture, and compounding this is the enormous number of school dropouts and/or those who have been nixed by their teachers as being no good.
As a parent and grandparent I detect a lack of understanding as it relates to the young, and also a lack of patience in dealing with this generation. Time spent with the young has gradually decreased, and tolerance has dissolved.
I also believe more must be done in the home and by the family to salvage our youths from extinction via Lot 12.
Yours faithfully,
Ivan John
