Life ain't what it use to be. Remember when you would turn on the TV and the only things you saw were shows like The Cosby Show and old re-runs of The Brady Bunch. You would wake up on Saturday mornings and lounge on the living room floor to watch your favorite cartoons. Maybe even go outside and find some kids to get a football game going. These are my memories as a kid not knowing the future and what it had in store for the world. I don't think anyone figured kids would have to fear for their lives in school, or be bombarded by violence on the once safe and reliable television. And, as a child, did you know what a single-parent home was? Perhaps you did, but chances are that at some point in time, you had both of your parents under one roof. And it's likely that's not the case anymore. I wonder if you remember a time when teenage pregnancy wasn't such a big issue as it is now. Life ain't what it use to be.

In a time when America is flaunting a low unemployment rate and a booming economy, why is it that this country has socially deteriorated? I could jump on the bandwagon and blame the media for everything, including the weather. Turn on the TV and sex, violence and Jerry Springer (before the fights were edited out) rule the airwaves. Newscasts find it necessary to lead off with murder, rape, robbery, and fire. And let's not forget the un-educational shows like Teletubbies supposedly giving young children a sense of enrichment. Yes, TV is the enemy in America. That's what some people say these days. But I don't believe this is the case.

What about the technological marvel known as the Internet? Anything you want to know about can be found on the World Wide Web. If you want to talk to people that don't particularly like minorities and homosexuals, a few clicks of your mouse and you're in a hate group chat room. Angry and want to blow something up? It doesn't take much to find a site that shows you how to build a homemade bomb. Haven't had a girlfriend in a while? The 'net is loaded with sex web sites that will entertain you for as long as you please. The Web is a haven for information that is positive, as well as negative, in nature. So, the Internet is a great contributor to the decay in our communities. It may be, but it's more than that.

Can you recall a time when you used to get home from high school and actually find your parents there on a daily basis? If so, you're a lucky person. Because if not, we children of empty houses learned how to fend for ourselves rather quickly. Not suggesting that life is easier with two parents home, but it's a good feeling to have dinner with both parents, at least from what I can remember. I bet you can't remember the last time your parents were home so much, you couldn't sneak your boyfriend or girlfriend over and explore those weird feelings you got from puberty. Truth is, with mommy and daddy at work, some of us found "physical" activities more enjoyable than the Sony Playstation; certainly felt better than playing Tomb Raider II. So is sexual activity at a young age to blame? How about the divorce rate that has destroyed the two-parent home in America? Neither of these things are helping this nation, but they can't take all the blame.

The blame that I've been talking about can be pointed to one source: you. Yeah you, reading this article. Why you? Well, if you're sitting in front of a TV and the remote control is in your hand, you can decide what is the best thing to watch. If you're on the computer, it's your decision to stay away from web sites that are "questionable" in nature. If you're sitting at home by yourself, you can determine whether it's in your best interest to have unprotected sex in your parents' home while they're working overtime. And if you're a parent yourself, it's up to you to avoid making the mistakes that your own parents may have made with you. I don't believe that one man (or woman) can't make a difference. The "difference" people refer to when they say that is the difference in self; meaning it always starts with what you believe in, what you value, and what you find important to you. America is socially deteriorating because of you. If you believe things can't be changed, they won't. Sometimes, things in life are true whether you believe in them or not. Just something to think about.

Copyright © 1999 by Dennis Demary.