Actions speak louder than words. This has never been more evident than today, where what society says and does are not the same.
Say: "Bullying is wrong!."
Do: Watch politicians build campaigns by bullying. See pro-athletes taunt players and gain respect because they're "tough." Popularize reality television built on manipulation, deception and meanness. Engage in rampant name-calling on Internet comment boards. If it is acceptable to call the president names then why wouldn't students call other people names?
Say: "Marriage is sacred."
Do: Produce TV shows where people pick spouses. Mandate fewer requirements to get married than adopt a dog. Watch national celebrities father children out of wedlock and still command respect and hefty salaries. Buy magazines dedicated to stories of failed celebrity marriages. Expect single mothers to raise children with little focus on the fathers.
Say: "Education is important."
Do: Put 30-plus students in a classroom. Require little parental support or responsibility. Allow college expenses to rise until college is unreachable or will put a student in deep debt. Expect quality learning in 100-plus-year-old buildings with outdated plumbing, heating and electrical. Pay teachers less than average baby-sitters. Eliminate art and music. Try and evaluate all learning with a pencil and paper test.
Say: "Children are important."
Do: Keep children in abusive households to "not break up the family." Fail to provide affordable preschool education and child care. Cut women's and children's health care. Fail to find time to instill basic values and courtesies schools are now expected to teach. Rely on an overburdened foster care system to care for neglected children. Under-staff and under-pay social workers. Fail to insure that children receive their due child support.
Say: "Live healthy."
Do: Subsidize the sugar and corn industries. Make junk food cheaper than nutritious food. Price a large pop less than a medium. All you can eat buffets. Serve oversized portions. Advertise drinking pop for dinner as the norm. Offer travelers only fast-food stops on thruways. Allow our youth to sit sedentary for unlimited hours in front of computer screens.
The television shows we popularize, the type of adults society honors and the mean spirited politics do not align with what we believe our society to be. You can't act one way and then expect a different outcome from children who learn by example.
Where is our society of kindness, compassion and compromise?