8 catastrophes we should be worried about

There sure is a lot of talk about how "global warming" is about to destroy the planet! And how, if we don't stop driving our SUVs – and go back to living by candlelight – we'll all be dead within the next 20 years. (Just ask your children; that's what they probably already believe.)

But I'd like to propose that there are much worse catastrophes we really should be worried about. Here is my list of the Top 8 Catastrophes: I will give the first 4 to you tonight and then stayed tuned and I will give you the next 4 tomorrow night. Think about you read there is so much truth to these matters. And feel free to comment if you want.

Catastrophe No. 1 – Parents who abdicate their responsibilities

It's stunning to me how few children ever do their homework. What are parents thinking? Don't they know that doing your homework and getting good grades is a valid indicator of future success and happiness? Why do so many parents allow their children to watch so much TV, dress like thugs, disrespect their teachers (and the parents, themselves) and swear so vulgarly? And why do they drive them all over town to play multiple sports … when most haven't read a single book in the past year? No TV during the week; sit-down meals at home with Mom and Dad to discuss what's going on in each other's lives; more focus on reading, homework and family than on TV, sports, and the Internet; a little "leadership" to keep children away from bad influences and the wrong crowd would all do wonders to help reverse this national catastrophe.

Catastrophe No. 2 – No 'at-home' moms and no dads at all

I know it's old-fashioned (and home prices really are so outrageously high that you just have to have both parents working) but the sad truth is that ever since moms went back to work, families have gone to the wayside. (Yet, I don't have much room to talk because, my wife works full-time.) And it's "families" that keep every civilization functioning smoothly. Research has proven that children in "families" get better grades, have higher graduation rates, drink less alcohol, go to college more, get in trouble less and so on. And where crime is out-of-control it's usually where there are no dads, just lots of moms getting pregnant out-of-wedlock. And all of the attempts to "re-define the family" as one with two moms or two dads, or with parents who aren't married to each other, is just a feeble attempt to bring credibility to relationships that do not generate the societal advantages of traditional families. Is this a catastrophe? Indeed! And it's way more important than global warming!

Catastrophe No. 3 – Pornography, free sex and pedophilia

Just think about it for a minute … if sex were totally free and readily available, why would men ever choose to get married? This is just one of the many reasons why all major civilizations have always frowned upon promiscuous sex and have taught the next generation that the happiest, most honorable and best place for sex is between a man and a woman who love each other, get married and raise their own children – together – as part of a real family. Families keep civilizations together, and sex keeps husbands in families. Once sex became easily available – in magazines, in movies, on videos, over the phone, in men's rooms, at school – and women just went along with it because no one taught them that it was wrong to have sex outside of marriage – then the compelling "draw" for men to want to get married was gone. This is too bad. Just think of all the heartbreak this catastrophe has caused. (And we can all remember how disgusting it was to have some older person make sexual advances toward us when we were younger. There's a reason we felt that way. It wasn't just a different "sexual orientation"; it was wrong.)

Catastrophe No. 4 – Crime and drug use

Probably half of all local TV news is about crime in our cities and neighborhoods. How can this be? And how can we be so blasé in shrugging our shoulders at this tsunami of criminal behavior? There are reasons why crime is so prevalent. Young men are being raised by unwed working (or welfare) moms (or grandmas) who are unable to exert any control over them. They flunk out of school; they get caught up in the drug and youth gang worlds; they have to steal to buy drugs; they have to use guns to defend themselves from other thugs; and (if we're lucky) they wind up in prison, where they just hang-out with even more hardened criminals. Is this a catastrophe that's perhaps more urgent than global warming? Ask the victims of these criminals. They'll tell you which is more important.