We grew up under the greatest generation. We could roam the neighborhood, enjoy great freedoms, and spend most of our leisure hours outdoors. Our kids had less freedoms, but enough.
Two big losses under our watch have made freedoms scarce for our grand kids. Too many rights and too little accountability. We watched while the ACLU gave everyone more rights at the expense of our grand kids. Perverts have more rights to be perverted. Criminals have more rights to commit crimes. Free speech must be filtered through political correctness. An innocent slip might offend some group with new rights. Kids can’t be left at the bus stop for more than 30 seconds without parental protection. Kids can’t walk to and from school. A kid taking a kitchen knife to school to cut a birthday cake will be suspended for a week. An Eagle Scout can’t take his camp kit to school.
Two stone cold killers in Chicago are awaiting sentencing to determine whether they get the death penalty. The local media runs daily stories about their tormented childhoods. Who cares? They killed multiple innocent people and whatever happened to them growing up is sad, but not relevant. This lack of accountability is part of the issue than puts innocent people in the sights of these monsters. It’s the reason why kids can’t walk home from school anymore.
In my entire youth, I can’t recall one missing child. The Leopold/Loeb killing was big news, since it was so rare. How does an entire nation become so dysfunctional?
The ACLU has given excessive rights to every cause. The public has given free passes to people who don’t deserve passes. They should be accountable for their actions. Why isn’t there a conservative offset to the ACLU? Some group that counters every one of their specious lawsuits and even files some suits of their own?
A celebrity is a life-long junkie. She writes a book saying she had sex with her dead father. Forgiven for being a junkie? Sure. Another 50 celebrities and athletes get DUI’s. They go to rehab. Forgiven? Sure. Or, they are born again. Forgiven. Sure.
Every special interest group wants a new set of laws that give them more rights. No problem.
Politicians steal. We turn our backs. No accountability. Chris Dodd brings down the housing industry and had a special mortgage from one of the main perpetrators. No problem. Re-elect him. Charles Rangle doesn’t pay taxes. No problem.
Our parents would never have knowingly tolerated most of this behavior. From us, from our neighbors, or from the elected officials. How did we become such patsies?
We are a special interest group, called grandparents. We don’t want to have our grand kids grow up in a dysfunctional nation. We are growing old and have tons of spare time. We have some time left to try to mend what we let happen.
The answers are not easy. Giving money to either political party is a waste of money. Writing letters to any politician is a waste of time. The AARP is a waste of time. We need to become the new Grey Panthers. The Tea Parties and Town Hall Meetings are a start. We need a plan of action. We need to have our own organizations to offset those that are taking us down the wrong roads. We can’t just watch anymore.
