Voices

‘I fault the baby boomers. . . . We thought we could make everything better, everything looser, freer, less disciplined. We wanted to change the boundaries. And now we’re paying for it. Because the kids don’t want to listen. And instead of the parents being in control, the teenagers are in control.’

--Sharon West, 44, Sunshine School Uniform Co. marketing director, Miami, Fla.

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‘I believe Americans are hungering for genuine dialogue about right and wrong . . . to the extent that government and the media will get out of people’s way and let people converse. It’s perfectly all right for politicians to spark the debate. What would be bad would be if we believe that we need some sort of government structure within which the conversation has to take place.’

--Stephen Carter, 41, Yale University law professor

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‘We’ve convinced ourselves that everything is a gray area. But not everything’s gray. Becoming a parent makes you realize you have to make judgments. You can’t say to someone you love, “Whatever works for you,” and not fear the consequences.’

--Michael Josephson, 53, founder of Josephson Institute of Ethics, Marina del Rey, and president of Character Counts! Coalition

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‘They don’t do their homework. They don’t get enough sleep at night. A lot are being brought up by grandparents, aunts and uncles, foster parents. . . . Nobody says a family has to be a mom and a dad, but it sure helps.’

--Emalie Mobarekeh, 45, part-time middle school teacher, Sarasota, Fla.

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‘There’s a sense of victimization of our entire country: “It’s not my fault, not my responsibility, I’m just a victim.” I think we all need to take back responsibility.’

--Marsha “Pat” Maliszewski, 49, mother of two and volunteer community organizer, Battle Creek, Mich.