Mona Charen
http://www.jewishworldreview.com --
IN RECENT MONTHS, there have been skirmishes among conservatives
concerning the latest social trends. Karl Zinsmeister, editor of the
American Enterprise Magazine, has trumpeted recent data showing
a decline in divorce, welfare dependence, abortion and crime as
evidence of a genuine cultural renewal. Robert Bork, John J. DiIulio
and Gertrude Himmelfarb, among others, have voiced caution.
Bill Bennett has updated his Index of Leading Cultural Indicators
and invites readers to judge for themselves whether we have turned
a corner or not.
The news on crime, as everyone knows, is encouraging. The
murder rate decreased by 28 percent between 1993 and 1997,
bringing the rate down to its lowest level since 1967. In contrast to
the popular impression, fewer than 30 percent of all violent crimes
involve a firearm. And, again, contrary to popular belief, 93 percent
of all guns used in crimes are not obtained by legal purchases (the
object of most gun-control efforts).
Not all the crime news is good, however. The female juvenile crime
arrest rate jumped almost 42 percent between 1990 and 1997. One
reason the crime rate has dropped is suggested by the figures on
incarceration.
Between 1990 and 1997, the rate of sentenced prisoners in the
United States increased by 50 percent. In 1998, 1.8 million
Americans were locked up in state and federal prisons. One out of
20 Americans will serve time in jail sometime during his lifetime. An
estimated 28.5 percent of black men, 16 percent of Hispanic men
and 4 percent of white men will serve a state or federal prison term.
The out-of-wedlock birth rate has not improved in the past five
years. Instead, it has continued to rise. The national rate is now
32.4 percent of all births; 69.2 percent for blacks, 40.9 percent for
Hispanics and 25.8 percent for whites.
Only about 50 percent of America's children will live with both of
their biological parents for their whole childhood (0 to 18). America
has the largest percentage of single-parent families among the
industrialized nations. About 40 percent of the children who live in
fatherless homes have not seen their fathers in at least one year.
The divorce rate peaked in 1980 and has been inching down slightly
since then. Still, America has the highest divorce rate among
western nations, and part of the decline in divorce may be
attributable to the rise in cohabitation.
Children of divorce display more pathology than do children from
intact homes. Remarriage is rarely the answer. Sixty-two percent of
remarriages among women under age 40 also end in divorce. If
children are present, the rate is even higher.
There are tidbits in this compilation that tell a great deal. In 1999,
60 percent of adolescents ages 12 to 17 had a television in their
bedroom. The average American watches more than four hours of
television per day. Television violence involving guns increased by
334 percent between 1992 and 1995, and a sexual reference or act
occurs once every four minutes during prime time.
In 1998, the Motion Picture Association rated 657 movies. Seven
received a rating of NC-17; 428 were rated R; 112 were rated
PG-13, 71 were rated PG; 39 were rated G. A total of 66 percent
of all rated movies were R or NC-17. At the same time, the average
G-rated film produced a 78 percent greater rate of return than the
average R movie. So much for the argument that Hollywood is
merely "giving the people what they want."
Vice President Al Gore said in New Hampshire the other night that
the answer to school violence is more guidance counselors,
psychologists, therapists and gun control. He should glance at the
data in the index.
The number of guidance counselors in public elementary and
secondary schools increased more than 500 percent between 1960
and 1998. During that same period, average verbal SAT scores
dropped 49 points and math scores dropped 10 points.
Since 1983, more than 10 million Americans have reached the 12th
grade without mastered the basics of reading. More than 20 million
reach 12th grade unable to do basic math. And 25 million reach that
point without knowing the basics of American history. Things may
not be desperate, but they are
JWR contributor Mona Charen reads all of her mail. Let her know what you think by clicking here. Please bear in mind, though, that while all letters are read, due to the heavy amount of traffic, not all letters can be answered.
