Broken Britain

I don't know if the news has reached your respective corners of the world yet, but for the last few days England has been shocked at the news that a boy, Alfie Patten, has become a father at the age of 13; copy and past the link into your browser to read the whole article and watch the video.

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/article2233878.ece


I'm wondering if this chap really is 13 because I personally would say he looks no older than 10 years old. Whatever his age, I feel sorry for him because it is so evident that the enormity of this situation is completely lost on him. His parents are milking it for every penny that they can get, having already netted several thousand pounds since the story broke late last week. Alfie is being tossed to and fro in the media hurricane and no one is looking out for his welfare. This story has been debated in Parliament where speakers are saying it illustrates clearly how broken our society is. To add to this crazy situation, Alfie has to take a DNA test to prove his paternity because two other boys, aged 14 and 16, are claiming they are the father of this baby. One suspects this is purely for financial gain as this is one of the biggest, and therefore one of the most lucrative, stories in England at the moment.

I agree that our society is broken, but it has been broken for decades. With each year that passes there is another crack in the dam of English society that threatens to burst and destroy everything in its path. The world and therefore our immediate societies are changing at breakneck speed leaving in its wake problems and challenges that this nation is ill equipped to deal with.

I'm 36 years old and all I know for sure is what I have witnessed during these years. I trace the decay to when the government took power from the teachers and parents and put it in the hands of the young. The youth of this land get away with all kinds of antisocial behaviour on a daily basis because the poor decisions made in Parliament over the years have made them virtually untouchable. Parents can't correct their children their way, teachers can only give a token reprimand to pupils otherwise they could be charged with abuse. Their hands are tied and the law will not back them to do what is necessary to bring order back into homes and schools. The result has been gangs of feral youth and young adults roaming the streets and causing untold misery to thousands. The law favours the criminal heavily; it would appear that only a foolish person would choose to live within the law. Few people take responsibility for their actions because the law in the main does not hold them accountable for the deliberate decisions that they have made to break it.

England has the highest teenage pregnancy rate in the whole of Europe. Why? One of the reasons, and I stress it isn't the ONLY reason, is because for decades pregnant teenagers were immediately given council flats and a whole range of benefits to help them in their new lives as young mums. It is only in the last couple of years that the government has started to clamp down on those who are getting themselves pregnant purely to get their foot on the housing ladder, but I think it is a case of too little too late. I remember when I was unhappy at home and decided to go and apply for a council flat. I was asked a number of questions: was I pregnant or did I have children, was I on drugs, was I in an abusive relationship, etc. When I replied in the negative to these questions and all the others I was asked, I was told I wasn't a priority and would be on the housing waiting list for many years. If I had been pregnant or a law breaker I would have gone to the top of the list.

I could go on and on; the Jamie Bulger case, all the horrifying stories of children being killed at the hands of their parents, binge drinking, crime spiralling out of control, people fleeing the country in terror, etc. But all it would do is make you want to jump off a cliff!! What is needed to restore order and peace in this land is for a few men and women in places of authority with backbone to stand up and say what needs to be said and do what needs to be done AND NOT SEEK TO PLEASE PEOPLE JUST TO BE POPULAR. It will be a lot harder to do it at this stage in our country's history but it CAN be done. This country has a glorious heritage, but the only reason it has one like this is because of the calibre of men and women who were in positions of power who stood for what was right in the face of overwhelming opposition, and sometimes even death. Fortunately, it isn't as drastic as that anymore and with that in mind we must believe for politicians who are of the stock of their political ancestors to step up to the plate and make the much needed changes. England isn't finished with yet, but NOW is the time for those who can turn this country around to do so.