Nevertheless, it was a salient point, for the imposition of a curfew is a serious matter. It involves the denial of rights to certain human beings, and a pledge to protect those rights is the very premise upon which democracy is founded. One does have to wonder, however, if there does not come a time, when we must weigh those rights against what is wrong. What is wrong is for us to allow our children to be victims of macabre abuse. What is wrong is for innocent citizens to be murdered needlessly and in cold blood. What is wrong is to place the rights of those who commit atrocities above the right of society to live in a peaceful and safe environment.

Now peacetime curfew is nothing new and before we condemn it as being communistic, let me point out that at last count, over 250 U.S. cities had imposed similar curfews; with some having had them in effect for as many as ten years. Of these, over seventy also have daytime curfews; but of course, that’s the good news. The bad news is, that of the cities that have had curfew long enough to show statistics, barely fifty percent boast any significant decrease in crime, and maybe we should be warned, in case we were expecting that this curfew would present some miracle cure.

Another interesting point is that apart from the Ashanti Joseph case, how many of these really serious crimes that besiege us, are being committed by children under 16? Might it be possible that we are using our children as scapegoats for the sins that we adults commit.

Of course, before I go on I should say, that I fully support this curfew; though not from the aspect of punishment but protection. I agree with the lady who suggested that we should be ashamed to even need a curfew, for as parents, it would seem that our first instinct would be to protect our children. If there is danger on the streets, and who will deny that there is even in the daytime much less at night, then it would seem that we would want our children to be safe? What safer place than home? Of course, for this curfew to work, it will need the cooperation of the police, the parents and the children themselves.

From the police standpoint, we will require much discretion. Not all children are criminally inclined and to generally treat them as such, would be a mistake. It will be incumbent upon the parents to also do their share, even though it might mean having to give up some precious TV time. A big part of the problem that will face us, is that by the age of fourteen, many parents have already lost control of their kids. While many might indeed want to tell them to stay at home, they no longer have the power to do so. The way some of these children treat their parents, one might think that they would just as soon hurt them, as they would anyone else. For the parents who can still talk to their children, this curfew will present an excellent opportunity for quality time with the children; time hopefully, that will be used to communicate and to bond.

And now that we have gotten tough on our children, the next thing for us to do, is to get tough on the criminals. I support bringing back the death penalty for without it there is no deterrent to murders. Public floggings have also been suggested and if there is a chance that this will help, then bring on the cat-o-nine tails. The court system also, will have to become more efficient, for too many criminals are allowed to walk free because of senseless technicalities. I believe that it is time for some of these so-called human rights, to take a back seat to the real course of justice.

Now of course, while a curfew might indeed serve to deter a few criminals from their activities, it does not come close to addressing the real root of our problems. I believe that as a society, we must pay more attention to how we are bringing up our children. Because parents no longer take the time to enlighten their children, they grow up without the necessary morals, discipline or direction.