Morals and Common Sense

What is it about human beings and their societies that they find it so difficult to accept moderation? Above all, for parents to accept their responsibility to ingrain common sense into their children, to teach them responsible judgement. Unless, of course, common sense and reasonable judgement is absent from the parental balance sheet to begin with.

It seems a pattern of neglect has developed, where people have children and simply forgo the necessity to teach them values, ethics, self-restraint. Societies that people once lived in looked askance at conduct unbecoming members of the collective, and signing on to certain moral codes has diminished. People simply see no need to restrain their impulses and teach their children to do likewise.

Britain, it has been revealed, by a recent study, has the distinction of appearing as the country in western Europe with the highest rate of teen pregnancies. A report by Population Action International indicates that Britons between ages 15 to 19 had 27 births per one thousand women.

Australia and New Zealand rate at 17 and 27 births per thousand women between 15 and 19, in comparison. Low levels of educational achievement have been pointed out as one causative; the economically disadvantaged, and poor job-market expectations primarily. "Put simply" goes the report, "they see no reason not to get pregnant." Pardon? What is gained by a child having a child?

And British tabloids are all agog over the latest such scandal, with a 15-year-old girl having given birth to a baby fathered by her 13-year-old boyfriend. "I didn't think about how we would afford it. I don't really get pocket money. My dad sometimes gives me ten pounds", said the young boy from southern England.

Talk about low expectations, low social standards, lack of parental discipline and children begetting children. It's not that the British government isn't alarmed about this state of affairs. They launched an education program six years back, attempting to teach teenagers about contraceptive use.

In Denmark and the Netherlands where there is a greater acceptance of teenage contraceptive use, there is a concomitantly lower teen pregnancy rate.

The country, evidently, that could use a whole lot more education for its teenagers, however, appears to be the United States. As high as the British teen pregnancy rate is, it pales in comparison to that of the United States, at 44 births per thousand women, ages 15 to 19.

Parental disassociation, their inability or unwillingness to guide their children toward a fulfilling, self-respecting and socially responsible lifestyle, is the real problem here, no matter the country involved.