Many social observers believe the '90s will be known as the decade of renewed values awareness. When we look beyond the headline crisis and begin to understand the connections , we prepare ourselves to recognize and identify the causes . It is clear, then, that strong individual families must be built on sound basic values . . . and that strong individual families create a stable collective society. But the arrow should remain a dotted line. There are always disconnects and debates and bureaucratic dilutions when large institutions try to do the job of the most basic institution.
Values are personal and intimate and powerfully influential.
They must be taught first and foremost in the most personal and intimate setting and the most powerfully influential relationship that is the home and the parent. We are a nation adrift, sucking toward Niagara without rudder or oar, tiller or engine, without even a compass. The boat is the family . Give a family the engine of priority and commitment and, the tiller of values, and we can escape the current. America's severe social problems are painful, life-threatening symptoms.