Your View 8/22: Awe-stricken

After reading "Thrill-seeking teens must be punished" on Aug. 13, I was just awe-stricken. Senseless and horrified crimes always sadden my heart, so much so that I always want to do something about it. But what?

I can pray for the victims. I can also pray for the criminals, but that does not stop the crime from happening again.

I was born and raised in the city of St. Louis. I moved here as an adult, leaving an abusive husband. I raised three children in what they call a "broken home."

When I attended St. Louis public schools, we were asked every morning to bow our heads and pray. Every day, we had a morning prayer. Now prayers are not allowed in public schools.

Teachers spend thousands of dollars for college, thousands of hours training to teach children what they need to learn to live in the world as an adult. When I was in school, teachers were treated with the utmost respect, not just from me, but from the whole class. If you didn't behave in class and mind your teacher, you were in big trouble when you got home. Nowadays, if a teacher voices what she thinks is not right, she loses her job.

As far as being a parent, parents are to raise their children, feed them, clothe them and teach them right from wrong. I can remember being swatted with a shoe a few times. Nowadays, parents' rights are under constant threat from child abuse authorities.

As far as my three children, they were taught to pray, they were taught to behave in class and pay attention because as an adult, you're going to need what you learned in school. And when they did get in trouble, I never once thought twice about picking up a belt and with all my might, using it across their behinds.

Low and behold, my three teens stayed in school. They all held jobs and not once did any of them steal a car or shoot someone. (Knock on wood.)

My point is this. Without God, without respect and without parental control, children are going to be lost. Society really needs to put back what they took out.

Mr. Jensen, thank you. For the first time in my life, I feel like I've really done something for the victim and the criminal.

Name withheld