The Feds Wise Up - Finally

In an article in The Washington Post, the FBI has said that they are strongly opposed to developing student profiles to predict future violence. Instead, they favor a series of steps to assess the seriousness of individual threats and to determine how to address them.

The FBI is to be commended for its wisdom in making this choice. By acting in this particular fashion, they are allowing individual school boards to set in place policies that are best suited for their students. This is a much better alternative for parents, teachers and students to make the choices that they believe are best for them, and not to be led by the hand of what has been an overexpanding federal influence that has been the hallmark of the Clinton administration.

The report also stressed the importance of assessing each situation on a case-by-case basis, as some kids just ‘talk trash’, while others that are specific in the nature of their threats need to be taken seriously and preventive action taken for the safety of those affected. FBI Director Louis Freeh said, "We want to work with America’s schools now, not when they have tragically become a crime scene."

The shooting tragedies of the last few years in Oregon, Mississippi, Arkansas and especially Columbine illustrate the need to ensure that our children are adequately protected. After each of these shootings, the media went on a feeding frenzy and Rosie O’Donnell went on her weekly anti-gun tirade. These antics only exacerbated the problem and no doubt inspired copycats of one kind or another. The answer to these problems is not tighter gun control, but for parents to take a more active role in the lives of their children.

People like Columbine shooters Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris who went on the shooting spree in Colorado had parents who not only didn’t seem to have a knowledge of what their sons were doing, but they were totally clueless as to the extent of their sons’ activities. They had no idea about their hate-filled web site or about their plans to kill ‘hundreds’ or to crash a plane into New York City.

The majority of parents I know, know their children well and have a good idea of what goes on in their lives. They know who their friends are, where they are going, how long they will be gone and what is happening in their lives. They invite their children’s friends into their home and do their best to provide an atmosphere where their children and their friends will feel comfortable and welcome.

My wife and I have five children between us of varying ages. My two oldest (from my first marriage) live out West, and her two and our little guy live here. My wife does not work outside the home, as we believe that the time with the children, particularly our youngest is important in their development. While the two oldest are in school, I know that my youngest has a sense of security knowing that his mother is always there should he need her. She has been a terrific influence in helping him develop and gain the knowledge children acquire in their first four or five years. To be perfectly honest, I imagine she will miss it when he goes into kindergarten next year.

Parents need to make a greater effort to ensure that their children are not given more freedom than they can handle and to make it a point to have an active role and influence in their lives – without smothering them in the process. In doing so, the chances of another Columbine happening will decrease sharply. These problems will not go away overnight as this problem took time to develop. But we can make a difference in how our children view life in general and their life in particular. They can face the future with a greater hope and a deeper faith within themselves and their fellowman.

It’s refreshing to see a federal agency not overreact to a situation that the American people have to deal with. With the breaking out of common sense in this area, it just might spread to other sections of American society at large. The next thing you know, we will have a government that will give the American people a little credit.

Now wouldn’t that be nice for a change?

You can e-mail your comments to Timothy at trollins@idirect.com.

Copyright © 2000 by Timothy Rollins.
All Rights Reserved.

-Published with permission