HAVE WE COME TOO FAR

I live on the same block of land that I was born on.
I knocked my parents house down a few years back and built a new house.
Sure, it's newer, sure it's bigger and it now has three toilets and two bathrooms but the biggest difference between the two houses is that I have roller shutters protecting the front windows, security doors and dead locks protecting the entrance doors, padlocks on the side gates and keyed window locks on all of the windows.

How sad is it that my parents wouldn't even lock the back door of their house and the side gate was only closed to keep the dog in and they were never burgled in the 45 years that they were here----yet I've already, with all of that security, been broken into once.
There is no longer any respect by people for another persons property.

God, my parents used to leave money out with the milk bottles and have milk delivered every morning---do that now and your money has gone, the bottles have been smashed in your driveway and your garden gnomes (ok, I haven't got any ) have been kidnapped.
A friend of mine paid over $4000.00 to have his front yard landscaped---six months later, he woke up one morning to find 6 pencil pine trees had been stolen---two months later, he returned from holidays to find three half ton moss rocks had been taken.

As teenagers, my friends and I had great respect for the local community police officer---he would give you a kick in the arse and tell you to go home----
You wouldn't tell you parents because you would get another kick in the arse at home and grounded for a month for coming to the attention of the police.
If a police officer did that today, a parent would have him before the courts or a disciplinary tribunal and he would be on the unemployment line quicker than he could draw his truncheon.

As a child, I knew better than to throw a tantrum in a shop, because I would get the whack on the arse that I deserved and every adult in the shop would applaud-----do that today and the parent is charged with assault and the child put in the care of some strange family who will no doubt sexually assault them.

And for God sake, don't show too much public affection towards your child because you will offend someone and they will report you to some Families Department and you will be forever labeled as a sexual predator.

Now, when your house gets broken into or someone steals your car and it is a juvenile apprehended for the crime, don't expect to see them serving time in a Juvenile Facility-----no, no, expect to receive a Court ordered letter of apology from the offender written just before he breaks into your neighbours house----and when he gets caught for that one, you and your neighbour can compare letters
Gone are the days when that same Juvenile will serve time in a Facility because we shouldn't do that to children because it is not their fault----its likely to be their parents fault because they cant keep them home at night----and they cant keep them home at night because if they try, then the child will report them to some Families Department and the parents will be prosecuted and the children installed in some foster facility that will let them go out at night to break into houses----or the children will hit the streets and the Government will give them money to live away from home.

Of course these kids will grow up and finish up in the adult courts and eventually be sent to gaol----a little too late----
Now we cant sentence prisoners to hard labour any more, so while they are in gaol, we cant make them do anything towards their own rehabilitation-----so they just associate with hardened older offenders and learn all of the tricks of the trade for re offending upon release----or if they are a little on the weak side, they can become a cell bitch for some big guy who isn't getting out for some time.

Ok, we have come a long way in other areas.
You live next door to me and you worship what you like with whoever you like whenever you like with the freedoms you should never have had to wait for.
Your daughter will take my managerial job one day and I will be as proud of her as you are.
My pale colour and round eyes are no longer an issue to you

Thank your God that we have come a long way----but are you sure that we should have come this way ?