What”s next?
An ungodly tidbit on the evening news tonight: a barefoot 2-year-old was found on the streets of Petaluma. Someone summoned police. They discovered the mother at home, two miles away. Having downed five glasses of tequila, she was unaware the child was missing.
This is a felony, with a possible six-year sentence. Admittedly, my sensitivities are high (I worked for Planned Parenthood for decades, where the motto was: “Every child a wanted child).”
But add in two TV reports this week (and maybe it”s not just me): 1. Citizens of Petaluma voted down a school tax increase; now they have to close half their schools. 2. One in four teenagers in the United States have an STD (venereal disease). With school budgets slashed across the country ? with teens facing disease/(unplanned)pregnancy/abortion in unprecedented numbers ? what sort of a “next generation” is on the way?
Norman Fleishman
Lakeport
