No place to hide

Back in the day, when I was in grade school, my sisters and I walked home from school. It was over a mile, but our mother didn't have to worry. She told us never to accept candy or rides from strangers, and that was all the warning we needed.

I won't let my thirteen year old son walk home from school by himself, in spite of his constant pleadings and never-ending arguments that he's old enough and tell enough. He probably is. But I know how vulnerable kids are these days. I suppose when he's fourteen I'll have to give in. Or maybe I'll wait until he's taller than me--at the rate he's going, that won't take long.

No one is safe. It doesn't matter where you live. I made a hobby of studying the crime rates in different cities. Some are a little higher than others, but none I've found is really low. Here in Milwaukee people have killed their 'friends' over trivial arguments. Murder is easy, I guess.

I have my own theories for why this is so. I think it started with the legalization of abortion. Since then life has not had the same meaning. An embryo can be conceived and later tossed aside. We don't think about responsibility. It's all about convenience.

It's been worse, these last few years, because we are "a country at war." The Decider proudly announces he is the war president--as if invading other countries is a badge of honor. Toys are made to promote a militaristic mindset. Not to mention the cartoons.

Civilians are being killed daily in Lebanon and Iraq. And if you listen to some people in high places, such as John Bolten, our ambassador to the U.N., the civilian deaths aren't important. They're just the means to an end. Kill them all and let God sort it out, right?

There are no more safe places. Killing is in fashion.