Let’s discuss parental influence. Parents were once held responsible for rearing children to become mindful of their responsibilities; namely; 1. To be a loyal and conscientious citizen of the United States, 2. To respect and acknowledge that the law is the defense against the brute, 3. To be educated enough to prepare one to go as far as they might, 4. To work not only for your livelihood but also for your dignity and 5. To do unto others that which you would have done onto you. In short, to be patriotic, law-abiding, diligent, responsible, and moral.
Parents partnered with teachers to instill not only valuable knowledge for the future but also good citizenship to safeguard the young from drifting into dangerous lifestyles. What was taught at home was expected to be reinforced at school. What was taught at school was expected to be reinforced at home. In an earlier era, an errant pupil could be whacked at school and then whacked again at home. That is called reinforcement.
Over the last six decades family unity has been fractured by social forces that have driven deep wedges into the heretofore stable home. One of those wedges was the legalization of abortions. Roe v. Wade gave men the legal and moral license to abandon parental responsibility. In 1973, ten percent of all American children were living in fatherless homes. By 2011, that percentage had doubled. In 2011, the statistical rates by race for children in fatherless homes were 58% (b), 30%(h), 15% (w) and 10% (a). [Statistics without editorialization from US 2011 Census]. Hope for a strong male role model in the home was shattered. And the hardest job in the world becomes being a single mother.
Education and the judicial system will be discussed later.