When I was a child, all of my friends had 2 parents ... a mom and a dad. Most of the moms were home all the time with their kids while the dads went off to work everyday. I know some families even had a regular meal schedule ... like Tuesday was lasagne, Weds- pork chops ... etc. Sunday, everyone went to the church of their choice except our Jewish or Catholic neighbors who went either Friday evening or Saturday morning or evening. There was an order about life. I cannot say, at least in our household that it was a rigid thing, but is was a guideline, a routine that spoke of establishment and security.

Then came the 1960's! A time of war, a time of unrest, a time of ... well ... in my mind, there was a cultural explosion. It has been called the "Sexual Revolution," but it was much more than that. It was the destruction of the cultural infrastructure. The youth, the "Baby Boomers" began to ask WHY? Why is it necessary to get married? Why is it necessary to respect authority? Why must we all follow the rules? Why should only the men leave the home to go to work? Why shouldn't men have the same responsibility in raising their children? Why? Why? Why?

Depending on your age, I imagine all these events looked a bit different, but what I saw then, and what I see now, is that we have never quite recovered from that cultural explosion. I'm sure some will argue to the contrary, but I don't really see any positive changes that came out of this "Revolution." What I see today is fear and insecurity because humans function better in a sound environment, and that has been destroyed.

No longer do the majority of homes have 2 parents. No longer do most children have the benefit of a loving nurturer at home in their early years. No longer do we respect others whether they are 35, 65, or 95. No longer do most marriages last a lifetime. No longer are children expected to obey their parents. No longer are children expected to refrain from sexual activity. Gender roles are completely confused. Suicides are up. Spouse abuse and child abuse all up. I could go on ...

What good has come of the Sexual Revolution? Well ... I suppose there is a little more tolerance for homosexuals and for unwed mothers ... a little. Anyone else name something?

I, for one, have apologized to my children for the mess we are handing them, and that doesn’t even count things like the deficit and the world events. We are handing our children a world with no respected absolutes and therefore, with no security and we are reaping the rebellion we sowed. I remain hopeful, however, that somehow, we can rebuild & re-establish some form of agreed upon infrastructure before we move on. Obviously, we cannot go back to the 50's ... Happy Days when all we worried about was Russia and having enough grease or hairspray to do our hair, but some semblance of order would be nice...