The economy took a record breaking decline last week, 4 weeks before our presidential election, and the media pundits are telling us that this is all we should be concerned about. The candidates, Barack Obama and John McCain, roll out their strategies for economic recovery, although we know, and they know, that they don't have a clue as to what they will be able to do about this. There appears to be enough blame to go around.
As I watch the presidential debates, I am proud that Barack, Hillary, and Sarah have stood up to demonstrate their strength of leadership, alongside John and Joe. As a teacher and professor I have encouraged equal rights for all.
But I am concerned.
What is needed at this junction in history are leaders who have the WISDOM, WILL and COURAGE to help us restore a greater loss than money.
OUR BROKEN DREAM
On August 28th, 1963 my husband and I joined a carload from our (white, suburban) church to attend the March on Washington For Jobs and Freedom which was
organized by black ministers, including Dr.,Rev. Martin Luther King,Jr. We stood at the foot of the Lincoln Memorial as Dr. King challenged us to build a country where people were judged not by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. I believe that Dr. King, an eloquent Baptist minister, was calling us all to social, personal and moral responsibility.
Somewhere along the line the American Dream moved away from a focus on personal responsibility to a focus on personal indulgence and the acquisition of material goods. Hedonism was placed on the throne, with personal pleasure in the present as our primary goal.
THE DREAM TURNED PLASTIC
Credit card debt has become a major problem to many Americans. Beginning in the 1950's the convenience of plastic money enticed us into a compulsive consumer economy. Instead of saving and buying with cash, we were told that we can have it all now, so 'charge ahead'!
In 2004, the average family owed $8,000 on their credit cards. Credit card companies send us endless invitations telling us that we are preapproved to open an account. Even high school students receive them. 1.
We bought into it, buying cars, boats, houses and all the furniture.
SEX SELLS!
Sex represents the ultimate personal indulgence. Sex, a powerful motivator, is used to sell products.
Advertisements have long used provocative women and sultry men to sell products from cars to cigarettes. Perverse images of sexuality are presented repeatedly to sell us products every seven minutes. When we become bored with one level of perversity, the shock value increases to continue attracting our attention, regardless of what this is doing to our ability to respect each other and our relationships.
Previously young women were raised with the awareness that sex was related to babies and sexuality was sacred, something to be saved for motherhood and family.
When the 'pill' was introduced in 1960, sex for its own sake became possible. Women were enticed into presenting themselves as sexually available and spontaneous.
Young people were drawn into early and promiscuous sexual relationships with tragic consequences.
PERSONAL AND SOCIAL TRAGEDIES - SEX SELLS AND WE BOUGHT
The hard truth is that most personal and social problems are the result of our inability to protect and nurture caring family relationships. Female headed households became the single most reason for the rapid increase in poverty for women and children.
Births Out-of-Wedlock
In 1960, 4% of births were to unmarried women. By 2005, out-of-wedlock births accounted for 37% of babies born in the United States. 2.
* In 1950, five out of six black children were born into a 2 parent home, now 70% are born outside of marriage. 3.
Divorce
Following the establishment of no-fault divorce laws in the 1970's, the number of divorces increased rapidly, In 1970, 4 million Americans had divorced. By the year 2000, the number had grown to 22 million. 4.
* Divorce and separation rates for blacks are now 50% higher than for whites. 5.
Fatherless Homes
The breakdown of marriage and family led to fatherless households. Many men are removed from the responsible and nurturing role of parenting.
Sobering federal statistics report that children from fatherless homes include the large majority of behavioral problems, teen suicides, juveniles in detention, school dropouts, children in chemical-abuse centers, youth in prison, and homeless and runaway children. 6.
Abortion
Since Roe vs. Wade in 1973, more than 50 million abortions have been performed in the U.S. Over 80% of abortions were performed on unmarried women, and over 50% to women under 25. 7.
*In 2000, blacks made up 17% of live births but 36% of all abortions. 8.
Sexually Transmitted Disease (STD)
By March of 2008, 1 in 4 teen girls had at least one STD. The most common, the human papilloma virus causes cervical cancer. The second most common, chlamydia, can lead to infertility.
*Nearly half of black teens had one or more STD's. 9.
By 2005, AIDS in the U.S. had claimed over 530,000 lives. The first cases were reported in the U.S. in 1981 in the homosexual community. 77% of those infected with AIDS are males.
*Blacks represent 12% of the U.S. population, but represent over 50% of accumulated AIDS cases. 10.
Bisexual and casual sexual behaviors transferred this disease to women. In 2005, of the 126,964 women living with HIV/AIDS in the U.S., 64% were black, 19% were white, and 15% were Hispanic. 11.
ALCOHOL ABUSE 12.
The tragedies of nicotine use and illegal drugs cause immense personal and social problems, but my focus here is on problems caused by the legal and socially accepted drug of alcohol.
Alcohol is used for sociability in our society and advertisers present it as the life of the party, without presenting the tragic consequences that often result.
Binge drinking is a major problem at colleges. Even one-third of high school students report binge drinking.
Alcohol impairs muscular coodination and mental judgment and is responsible for 22% of all auto fatalities. Over 17,000 deaths occur each year in alcohol related accidents.
The bill for alcohol related abuse may run as high as $100 billion a year in responding to lost employment, crime, date rape, family abuse and family breakdown.
About 43% of adults have experienced alcoholism in their family.
Each year 5,000 children are born with fetal alcohol syndrome.
A CALL FOR WISDOM, WILL AND COURAGE
In three weeks we will vote for the next president of the United States of America.
Who will have the wisdom, will, and courage to call us to restore the content of our character?
Who can lead us back to citizenship and social, personal, and moral responsibility so the foundation of our country can be protected and restored?
There is enough blame to go around.
Let's all decide to get rich a little bit slower and care for each other.
REFERENCES
1. "Secret History of the Credit Card". Frontline. Posted Nov. 23, 2004. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/credit/view.
2. Associated Press. Nov. 21, 2006. MSNBC.com.
3.Cosby, Bill and Alvin F. Poussaint, MD.Come On People. Thomas Nelson. Nashville. 2007:2,14.
4. Henslin, James M. Social Problems. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall. 2000:371
5. Cosby, pg. 17.
6. Alexander, Mark M. "Fatherless in America". June 17, 2005. www.townhall.com/Common.
7. Center for Disease Control- Abortion Surveillance - U.S. 2000.
8. Lott, John R. and Sonya D. Jones. "Abortion Rate Among Black Women Far Exceeds Rate for Other Groups". April 9, 2008. http://www.foxnews.com.
9. The Associated Press. March 11, 2008. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23574940.
10. Center for Disease Control HIV/AIDS. 9/8/2007. http://www.cdc.gov/hiv/topics/surveillance.
11. HIV/AIDS Among Women. 5/26/2008. http://www.cdc/gov/hiv/topics/women/resources/factsheets.
12. Henslin, James M. Social Problems Prentice Hall. Saddle River, NJ. 2000:105-106.
Palen, J. John. Social Problems for the Twenty-first Century.McGraw Hill. 2001:370-371.
Parrillo, Vincent N., John Stimson and Ardyth Stimson. Contemporary Social Problems. Allyn and Bacon. 1999:58-59.
Monday, October 13, 2008
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