The violence against youth in our community is crazy and it’s getting out of control. First off, more violence occurs in the black community than any other. There are young black men of various ages in gangs killing each other over what set they ride with or what street they’re from. It’s making this generation look very bad because it seems like we have this is the most killings of all time. It’s crazy because many times the person that ends up getting killed is in the wrong place at the wrong time; an innocent little kid that didn’t have anything to do with the situation.
One of the reasons why more young people fall victim to violence is because there aren’t enough activities to keep them busy. You can honestly say you don’t hear about John Doe getting killed walking home from The Link & Option Center, but you will hear about somebody getting killed coming from the corner store. If the schools and community centers stop cutting activities such as arts and music programs they wouldn’t have time to spend in the streets or be glued to their TV playing violent video games.
Another big reason why the youth are out getting killed is because their families don’t have a big part in their children lives anymore. Parents feel like they are too busy to spend time with their children to guide them in the right direction. Some children also grow up without father figures in their life so it pushes them too learn from the streets. It’s in those streets that lot of young kids join gangs, seeking someone to look up to, and often times it’s a person lacking values or morals. The same holds true for today’s young girls. Without someone to teach them right from wrong or how to be a young lady, they grow up admiring the wrong type of women—women that teach them too look and act trashy. Nowadays parents are much younger. Too many young women are having babies and they’re just babies themselves. If our youth would just learn what respect, loyalty, trust, values, and morals are, then a lot of the foolish things they get into wouldn’t even happen to them or become obstacles in their lives.
It seems that people, especially our youth are forgetting the importance of having morals and values. Basically, if you don’t develop any type of values or personal values you are living without a purpose. Personal values should play a big part in everyone’s life; they give you the strength to strive for your goals and to understand right from wrong. Family values are important as well, because they keep your family close and help you develop a sense of trust in trying times. Spiritual values help youth focus on what really matters and gives you the courage to make good decisions regardless of what others might think of you. Respect should play a key role in one’s life as well. Having respect for yourself will give you the knowledge of respecting someone else life no matter what type of situation they live in.
So like Malcolm said, “If you don’t stand for something, you’ll fall for anything.”
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