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In general people of today are not prepared for tomorrows challenges. So, it stands to reason that the youth aren't either. As a people, we have lost touch with many things, and these things contribute to our unpreparedness. As a people, we generally follow the path of least resistance, plodding along without looking ahead at where we are going. We are so wrapped up in the way we feel right now, that few of us look ahead to next week, or next month or next year. How can the youth of today be prepared, when most of the adults are not?

We have lost touch with our roots. What if for some reason, we were no longer able to ship food around the world? Lets say it costs so much for fuel for tankers, trucks and trains, that it makes no sense to ship food. What would you do? Can you grow a tomato, corn or beans? Can you make cloth or even a shirt from cloth already made? If the unthinkable were to happen, many American people would die simply because they have lost the skill to grow their own food, or provide for themselves. What would you do if you went to the grocery store, but there was no food there to buy? During the Great Depression, the people who did the best, were the ones who owned their land, and could farm it. These people were self sufficient. Looking at recent headlines, it appears we are headed in that direction again.

Television has been both a blessing and a curse. What is an excellent tool for education, also empties our minds, leaving them ready to be programmed with whatever spews out of the box. Unfortunately, in most cases, that is violence, sex, and violence and more sex. Combine this with the mind altering medications many kids are on these days, then you think of things like the Columbine Massacre, the DeKalb, Illinois shootings and the Virginia Tech massacre and you have to wonder where we think we are headed with these drugs. There is no class clown any more, unless he doesn't take his medicine, and then he is chastised by teachers and relatives alike. What ever happened to letting kids behave, and misbehave like kids?

In the past, our kids used to work along sided their family when they farmed the land. Kids learned how to work, and were closely bonded to their parents and family. Today, kids get up, take a pill, go to school, come home and watch TV and eat fast food or junk food, because there is no one home. The elite kids go home to be spoiled and pampered and even have their homework done for them. The poor kids go home throw their books on the stand, grab some chips and head for the TV or video game. The middle class kid, goes home and does his homework, in front of the TV, while he is "IM'ing" his friends and talking on his cell phone. He will get a 65 or 70, whichever is passing. Few of them know what a work ethic is, and they come into the world unprepared for college, or work. These things used to be taught by parents, but in these economic times, both parents typically have to work to survive. Ask any parents, and they will tell you they would love to afford to have one parent at home to take care of this.

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