Foundations of American society found in our families
SATISH MOHAN Amherst Supervisor
In addition to Waco and Oklahoma City, our country has, in the recent past, suffered from two heinous massacres: Columbine and now Virginia Tech. They were all committed by our own citizens. The latter two happened in a school and a university, and the cause was not wealth or religion.

All of the above are inexcusable acts of crime, have no rationale, do not represent this great free society and must be condemned. A society that was, and is, an example of freedom is unfortunately open to attack from within. We must search for the root causes and come up with real solutions.

Our children should be taught to understand two very important changes that are occurring in our society: First, we now live in a very diverse society with U.S. citizens from many countries, and second, we are in an era of global competition, and we must work very hard to protect our most advanced nation status.

The mix of students in schools and colleges today is very diverse. Thirty years ago, most schools had all Caucasians, or all blacks, or a mix of the two, and they had learned to attend classes together.

Today, the mix, both in schools and colleges, includes children of immigrants from many nations. They may look different, but most were born here. America is their country of origin and is their future; they know of no other country. Our children have to be educated on this change in the citizenry mix.

All of our young now face global competition, which their parents did not. Because of the high salary base of our workforce, U.S. businesses have exported much of the manufacturing and jobs to other countries. This will gradually decrease

our value-added wealth and lead to fewer high-paying jobs.

Our research and development advances in manufacturing technologies will decelerate, placing our most advanced and industrialized country status at risk. Therefore, while our business continues to export manufacturing and jobs, we must develop a prediction model and let our businesses and leaders know the consequences after five, 10, 20 or 50 years.

Our family demographics are also changing. Many families have both parents in the workforce, giving them little time to spend with their children.

Some TV games and toys include violence rather than mental or physical exercise. We should attempt to change this by setting firm rules and standards in our homes.

These are all writings on the wall, and prudence dictates that we should prepare to protect ourselves before we crash into the wall.

As the town supervisor, I am always looking and planning for harmony in the town and to keep our safe-town status. I am always addressing hard questions and seeking their answers. What I have concluded so far is that we need a change of hearts, and our most valuable allies are the parents of Amherst's children.