“..Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold; mere anarchy is loosed upon the world, the blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere the ceremony of innocence is drowned; the best lack all conviction, while the worst are full of passionate intensity..” is part of a poem by William Butler Yeats written in 1919 and titled “the second coming” which became the prelude to a famous novel by Chinua Achebe, the famous Nigerian novelist. Although the eloquent novelist borrowed those lines in comparable within the context of an emerging new geo-political evolution within his local community, little did he imagine the same feeling of betrayal and destitution would return to mainland Britain in the 21st century.

It is arguable that things started falling apart in the sixties. When young men and women decided it was time to break out from parental confinement of too many rules and regulations. This was the proven, workable moral ethics which bonded local people and to a greater extent the larger society together. Some of those teenagers of almost half a century ago still recount their stories with nostalgia.

For some, it was a time of going with the flow; the undefined craze of popular music; the subsequent emergence of the so called culture of freedom and emancipation across the land. To others, a trying age.

Some called it “the swinging sixties”. It sure was, because a lot of issues swung into action and to the attention of the status quo. Some women egg heads that’d had the chance of a decent education decided they shouldn’t just be seen, but heard, loud and clear. Shouldn’t just be home makers and baby factories, but allowed to be equal with the traditional male breadwinner. Not just in the home, factories, but all endeavours of life.

Sure, the clarion call was heeded and women got what they wanted. The door was thrown open, wide open and so began the gradual decline of morality as most parents went to work, leaving their kids in the hands of somebody else, which is never the same.

So as both parents spent most days in offices and factories, increasing their economic wellbeing, so was the gradual decline of discipline. The teaching of right and wrong, what is acceptable behaviour within the home, which albeit transcends the wider community gradually became meshed in gray areas.

To make matters worse, politicians who tended to score cheap political points against each other rather than be guided by “common sense” of purpose, rode on the bandwagon and idiocy of “political correctness.”

Strange cultures which corrupted Christian virtues were systematically allowed to gather moss within the fabrics of this emerging freedom.

Conservatism suddenly shifted enough ground for the seed of antagonism to be sown. Leaders in government became blind to the morals of right and wrong. Traditional Christian values gave way to modern parochialism.

Corporal punishment was outlawed in schools; so was other community based punitive measures that really made a difference in society for centuries. I bet when they look back now at the rate of gross indiscipline within society, they wish they never did.

Respect is a word that seems so alien to young people. Pupils pride themselves for outrageous behaviour, some beat up their teachers who dare take a stand for common sense.

Schools have been known for centuries as the environment, platform for educational learning and development. Teachers are afraid to put a foot wrong due of loss of disciplinary authority. Some out of control students now intimidate those who are supposed to teach them. All around us, there’s panic. Institutions of learning now tread carefully for fear of being sued by its own student for “human rights” violation over such issues like non conformity of uniform dress codes. Absolutely shameful!

Of course it gets worse. Our politicians seem more and more impotent to institute a reversal of some of these outrageous laws that decapitate society.

Ok, you might surmise this is old fashioned thinking. Modern or new age philosophies aren’t doing any better. I am sure the vast majority of sensible hard working British public would rather see a return to the old days of meaningful respect, integrity and dignity of labour. When children obeyed and respected their parents and elders within and outside of their communities.

When a sharp clip to the ear of a young mischievous teenager would not earn the perpetrator, a fast ticket to the police station for questioning and possible court appearance on child abuse accusation, but may well have been the difference between toeing the straight and narrow which leads to responsible citizenship. Of course, there’s always the other option of the loose cannon with nothing to offer to society.

These “modern” days, decent hard working people just watch their community get torn apart by teenage gangs with hoodlumish behaviour and fierce thuggery.

It is the perceived fear of this new age interpretation of “child abuse” that have given rise to decent adults walking away from taking any action even when they observe some wrong being perpetrated by the scum of society.

This writer was a witness to a TV experiment by Esther Rantzen to determine how the British public would react to the plight of a stage managed distressed child who pretended to have lost their parent in a busy crowded shopping centre. It was heart breaking to observe that 99% of people walked on by even after casting a second look.

The surprised answer by the few brave men and women, who were questioned later, summed up the depth our society has sunk. There are lots of people out there in the community who want to take action when a child is genuinely in distress. And many more who cannot bear the gross offensive of teenage thuggery, but are hampered by the frightening tag word, “abuse”. The result is that wayward kids, who should be disciplined, are largely on the offensive and seem to get away with murder.

The spate of teenage killings for all sorts of silly reasons, and the emergence of gang warfare are unprecedented in the history of England.

Figures obtained by the Tories show that fatal stabbings in the capital alone were up from 68 in 2006-7 to 86 by the end of 2008.

What do those in government do to tackle the violence? Absolutely nothing!

Nothing effective enough than the usual rhetoric of finding the root causes and involving local groups within target communities to work with youths using alternative methods of persuasion instead.

Hello! The root causes are starring us all in the face.

Bad or lousy parenting is a factor, kids first pot of learning is the home environment. The removal of effective authority with a bite from teachers is another.

Total lack of general discipline. The list goes on.

“Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old; he shall not depart from it,” wrote the wisest man of his time.

Our society is reaping the fruit of disobedience of the above injunction and many others.

Some of our laws need to be revised to reflect proven fundamental Christian values which formed the building blocks of this great nation.

Parents are the primary custodian of children they bring into existence; therefore the full responsibility of each child is with the parent. It’s not just good enough to bring a child into existence and thereafter desert all manner of social responsibility to another.

It’s been said repeatedly that today’s youths are heirs of tomorrows’ society. It’s also true there won’t be any future for those who’re bent on snuffing out their lives and others.

Her majesty’s prison would be preventive enough for those who chose to make an error of judgement to disobey and disregard the rule of law, if conditions were rigid enough to make it an effective deterrent institution in the first place. The prison shouldn’t be a place for trading illicit drugs and muscle enhancement gym.

All happy trigger, gun totting, knife wielding gang members, or not, should be summarily despatched to Iraq or Afghanistan where they can put their skills to better use.

A nation is defined by the character of its people. It’s time to redefine Britain again by stepping back in time to recapture the lost Christian values and virtues that bonded families and communities together.

The blame is ours to share, but the onus is on each one of us to retain and pass on those values and virtues which make this nation great. It is of course the best place to live.