They're the Kids in America

Has anybody else noticed the moral decay in our children? Seriously, what the hell is going on?

I was working a high school football game this weekend as part of a TV crew. And I get run into by a 12 year old girl. Normally not a problem, except she looked like a french whore. I swear, when she ran into me, there was this huge puff of makeup in the air. Later, I hear the same kids running around... and the same kids yells at her friend 'Don't touch my thong!' Whoa. Who lets their preteen daughter leave the house like that? I'm beginning to reconsider my stance that all girls should be locked in a dungeon until they are 18. I know many fathers who would support this idea.

It gets worse than that. I'm witnessing co-workers, many who are in their 40s and some in their 50s talking about the girls behind the counter at the ice rink. Dude, you're old enough to be her father. And I'm beginning to wonder if they are child molestors. Geez. It is so wrong, but I guess if they girls are that starved for attention, the penalty is to have some creepy 40+ year old staring at her, drooling.

It does go beyond how they dress. It's how they act, too. I don't need to walk out of a movie theatre to witness some 14 year-old making out with her boyfriend. Public displays of affection are a problem. I'm not saying they are better in private, but kids should not be participating in such acts.

And then there is the language. Now, I work with kids-- I'm a youth hockey referee, and I'm a skating instructor. I also remember what it is like to be a kid. I may be balding, but I'm still only 6 years removed from high school. And times have not changed THAT much in 6 years. That is, unless I miseed some radical movement or government mandate while I was living in Canada... but I think that would have made the news up there, too.

USA Hockey has a zero tolerance policy about language. It is not strictly enforced. I also don't think it should be. It's a good idea, a utopian idea, if you will... but then again, so is Communism.

How I interpret the rule is simple. You're not going to stop high school kids from swearing. It has become commonplace in our language. But you can ask them to harness it. I let the high schoolers slide with it. Bantams, I can understand the slip of a tongue, but if they repeat it, we've got a problem. Younger than that... it is zero tolerance. I've given misconducts to 10 year olds for telling me a call was "bullshit". My rationale? I don't appreciate it from a high schooler, I'm certainly not going to take it from a 10-year old.

Coaches, get no slack from me. They are to be setting an example for their players and their fans. They are zero tolerance, no questions about it. They might get the courtesy of "I think I heard it, but I'm not sure, so don't let it happen again". But if I hear it again, I don't even have to think about it. You're done.

And like the coaches, I give the parents no slack. OK, I was raised in a strict house. Some kids weren't. But I fault parents for not having the control over their kids to keep them in line. We, as adults, need to lead by example. We need to stop talking about sex in front of our kids, we need to stop swearing at our kids. We need to show control to maintain control.

Don't bitch about how the kids are ruining this country until you have done everything you can to prevent such a decay.