Among industrialized nations, America has the largest percentage of single parent homes. Between 1990 and 1999, the percentage of births that are out of wedlock increased 18 percent. Between 1960 and 1999, the percentage increased 523 percent. Not only are our children growing up in single parent homes, many young couples are not choosing marriage. The number of cohabiting couples increased from 439,000 in 1960 to 4.24 million in 1998 an almost tenfold increase.
Nothing has the power to negatively impact our culture more than illegal drugs.
The percentage of students reporting illegal drug use during a 30-day period increased dramatically between 1992 and 1999. In the past month, rural eighth-graders, as compared to their urban counterparts, were twice as likely to have used amphetamines and 83 percent more likely to have used crack cocaine. Media influence has increased throughout the past four decades. In 1960, the average American household watched five hours of television a day. By 1999, the hours had increased to almost seven and a half.