Where have all the parents gone?
It is 3am in the morning when a police officer spots a group of juveniles in a public park. The police officer and his partner approach the juveniles and find that they have been drinking. When the officers begin to question the fifteen year old, he replies with obscenities and spits at them. Rather then taking the juveniles down to the station, the officer decides to phone the juvenile's parents to make them aware of where they are and what they are doing. To the officer's surprise when the mother of the juvenile answers the phone, her reply is, "Oh, they're just out having fun and I have to work tomorrow, Can't you just drive them home?" What is most disturbing about this story is that this is a common event; this story is based on an actual event as evidenced by netcops.com. Why are today's children not being taught basic manners, and the difference between right and wrong? Where have all the parents gone? In order to answer these questions it is necessary to explore the history of the American Family.
In the 1950's there were established norms for the way people lived and behaved towards one another. To deviate from the norms would result in much embarrassment and humiliation, any person deviating from the norms could be stigmatized. Saving face in front of society was absolutely essential in the 1950s. "The idealized family was composed of a home-maker wife, a breadwinner-father, and two or more children (Bianchi 14)." It was the norm for a mother to be up and running at the crack of dawn, preparing her children's breakfast and making sure her children's dress was clean and crisply ironed so that he or she could look good and be prepared for school. The families of the 1950's were very concerned at how their parenting skills were seen by others. Parents instilled manners and respect in their children from birth, the use of "yes ma'am" and "No ma'am" was the norm and to address an adult or someone in a position of...