Some fifty-one years ago, our country was in chaos as well. We came out of the turbulent 1960s when drug abuse and political protests were ramped. People were terrified about where the country was headed. There was deep concern about the proper raising of the nation’s children. A movie came out in 1971 to voice the betrayal of our children’s innocence called “Bless the Beasts and Children”. The film is an exciting story starring Billie Mummy (Will Robinson from Lost in space). Still, it has a sad ending when a child is shot to death while committing a crime to save the thinning of a Bison heard by “sport” hunters. Karen Carpenter sang the famous title song, “Bless the Beasts and children.”

A similar crisis faces our nation’s parents and children today. No one knows where Biden is leading us. Children are confused about their gender because schools and politicians have moved away from the teachings of the Bible and God, where sex and moral standards are clear-cut. Children are being killed in their schools because parents don’t teach their own children to respect the lives of others. Children are being paraded before drag queens to groom their sexual orientation. Data shows that 4o-50% of children who undergo gender transformation will commit suicide. Is this the way we want our society to move toward the death of our future?

Thankfully, I don’t have to raise a child again in this society! I’d probably raise a new child the same as our first one, who we sent to a catholic school from pre-school through middle school. He attended the local high school to taste the real world more. He turned out to be a well-adjusted teen who graduated from college and moved on to find a good job matching his college major. Never did our son show any gender confusion or desire to kill anyone. This is how children have been raised throughout the last century. Only recently have problems been with mass killings and child grooming by sexual deviants who wish to destroy American families. Only recently has our society moved away from the traditional teachings and raising of children, which has served so well for centuries.

Guns don’t kill people by themselves. A disturbed and morally confused person must pick up that gun to shoot and kill another. The gun is not at fault. Restricting guns to lawful citizens will not stop mass murders. That same disturbed individual can use their bare hands, a knife, or a pitchfork if their desire to kill is so great. The solution is obviously identifying the killer before they kill or raising them correctly from the start. Parents need to take responsibility for raising their children to respect others and the society in which they live. This isn’t only the fault of parents. Schools play a significant role in a child’s upbringing. Schools are teaching CRT, the teaching of hatred between races and against the United States in which they live. The teachings of God have been removed and should be replaced. Why have we moved away from traditional education and allowed drag queens to read books to our youngest and most impressionable?

To correct this corrupt society and end mass killing, we need to return to a simple phase of life where we honor the family, God, and each other. I still profoundly respect my in-laws, Van and Wilberta Smith. Van was a World War Two veteran who came home from the war to a family of ten children on his twenty-five-acre Indiana farm. He worked an entire shift at Warner Gear during the day before setting out to work his fields. Wilberta tended the kids but always had dinner ready by five. Wilberta and Van were generous church-going souls whose doors and the table were always open to anyone who stopped by, usually other family members. Van kept a stockpile of guns in the house and taught his children to use them. That explains why my wife never knew what they were served for dinner. It could be their own beef, a chicken, possum, or even squirrel. But they were constantly fed. , All ten children graduated from high school. One was killed on the job after college. Four of them graduated from college unassisted by their parents. My wife and her sister went to Ford Motor Company for thirty years. One brother went to work at Caterpillar in Illinois. One sister is a pharmacist at Walmart. Vanny owns and operates two farms near this family home. Van eventually passed from stomach cancer well into his seventies. Wilberta made it into her eighties. Both deserve my respect for the exemplary job they did with their children. They are proof that it can be done without Government hand-outs,

My point about the Smith family is that it is possible to work hard and raise a solid family without today’s confusion and drama. Bless our children by presenting them with love and the value of hard work. This July fourth, I pray for the soul of Van Smith in heaven on this anniversary of his death. I thank him for his service, his kindness, and his daughter.