Constructive - I'll give it a shot, although I must admit my guts are all in knots in hopes of a continuing sodomy discussion... I'll start out by saying that I think every parent has a responsibility to ensure that his/her child makes use of the very education system you speak of - which seems to involve, to some's dismay, more than telling them the bus is coming. As far as the provision of food - considering schools are serving breakfast and lunch, it seems quite a few parents have neglected to do that as well. In addition, financial aid for post-secondary education is now offered to parents to supplement THEIR incomes based on THEIR ability to pay, which tells me that should a parent choose to become involved, he might just have to pony up MORE dough someday to send his kid to a post-secondary institution if he wants him to get a decent job. I think most people would agree that a parent, whether green, black, white or purple, who doesn't at the very least make an honest attempt to prepare their child for school IS neglectful. And your point about medical care - if we left that up to parents, most of us would have bled to death years ago. Last I heard it's up to employers to provide medical care; and counties and states respectively. I may be ranting, (and likely will again) but gall darnit already, potential parents have a responsibility to insure that they're prepared with relation to having a roof over their head and a stable, wholesome environment in which to raise a child before ever making the conscious decision to conceive one! Folks who believe having children is not a conscious decision will never be convinced otherwise, and are frankly, quite free to blame the schools, society, the communist realm or Haley's freaking comet for their child's inability to perform in school, or in society for that matter. The flipside of course is the harsh realization that we can't go backwards and 'unbear' children that don't have a chance in heck, because they're already here and in poverty, etc. It's incredibly frustrating that more people call family meetings to partake in lengthy discussions as to whether or not they're going to get a dog and who's gonna walk him and who's gonna feed him, more than others do about the responsibilities and consequences of bringing up baby. JHarmon Cleveland
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