If you read my article, “Decaying Morals,” then you know I take a hard stand on what I see as a steady unraveling of the moral fabric in society. As much as I would like to start a crusade, the end purpose of which would be to awaken us to this negative trend, I realize that I am only one person with little resources to accomplish this. I do have my writing ability and it is this that I intend to use to at least have some impact on what I see as a most important social issue these days.

Without waxing too philosophical, we can examine the issue of moral decline and come up with at least a few reasons as to its cause. A lot of these reasons have been put forth by others and so the need to regurgitate them here seems inappropriate. The end purpose of presenting this discussion is to start pounding this point home with regularity in the hope that eventually more and more people will become aware of it and start to speak out against its ravaging effects. For goodness’ sake, look at the children of today. How do you think the Puritans who came over on the Mayflower would react if they could get a sneak preview of the way adolescents behave today? Please, I am not saying that all adolescents are ill-bred, poorly behaved, or thoroughly lacking in respect. Unfortunately, the prevalence of these qualities in our youth is overwhelming. As a result, I can’t take it anymore and I hate what I see. I have to believe that others feel the same, that I am not in the minority.

In looking at this issue, we must ask the following: Can we put all the blame on the adolescents? The technological revolution has been a boon to many. So many have gotten so rich off of the internet revolution, the explosion in computers and other technological novelties, and man’s burgeoning desire for more and more electronic gadgetry. Unfortunately we both prosper and suffer from the far-reaching tentacles of the technology beast. To wit, the internet has become a haven of scam artists, child molesters, drug pushers—you name it. Anything and everything is only a click away. Indeed such technological progress has brought much good, but man, in his inherently rebellious way, has found a way to pervert and twist into malevolent form the benefits of this evolutionary progress.

Today children have become desensitized to such things as violence, abuse, scandal—even the use of the “F” word. Common everyday language has an ample supply of curse words used as descriptive adjectives, adverbs, and even prepositions. The movies that are watched, the music that is listened to, the video games that are played—all contain graphic imagery and sounds of a perverted nature. Am I being too prudish? I don’t think so. And those parents out there reading this, who have experienced the rebelliousness of their kids and their displays of disrespect, know all too well that I am not being too prudish. If anything, I am being mild in my presentation of the facts.

Should the aforementioned make us cynical and cause us to lose heart. No. Absolutely not! We must take action and start speaking out on this most important topic. We have to stop conceding that such behavior is the result of “just a phase our teens are going through,” and that such is typical of kids and to be expected. While we are understanding and tolerant to a certain degree, we must start the campaign to change society. I mean, why does music have to contain so many curses? Repetitive cursing that only can wreak damage on our youth and further desensitize them to such language. And artists are making millions off of this stuff. My books and writings serve to educate and help children, and my royalties are a few dollars. These artists come out and pervert our children, bombard them with negative and perverse images, and their royalties are in the tens of millions, if not more; furthering their drive to create more such works and leading them to believe that what they are doing is great for the world.

I don’t deny it: I would love to have great success as a result of my writings and my books, receive recognition for my hard work and creative ideas, or see some other “do-gooder” strike it rich for having done something important for society. But not these parasites that are making far too much money corrupting our most precious gift—our children.

Take a stand with me and let’s start taking back our children, our morals, and our nation from the thieves who rob us on a daily basis.

Joe is an award-winning former teacher of both college and high school mathematics and has over twenty years experience in this discipline. Writer, learning coach, consultant, and inspirational speaker and motivator, Joe endeavors to spread his teaching philosophy through his articles and books. By giving individuals---children in particular---the tools and confidence to do basic mathematics, he shows how they can progressively move into the more advanced reaches of this subject and thereby become effective problem solvers. Ultimately this endeavor leads to more prosperous and successful individuals and opens to them many doors of opportunity.

Under the penname, JC Page, Joe authored “Arithmetic Magic” (available at http://www.authorhouse.com); or by contacting the author swerenjey@aol.com, and, as a result of this publication, has appeared at book signings and on television shows. Joe resides with his wife and children in Manalapan, New Jersey.

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