As I am sure you know, human beings are creatures of habit. We just get in the habit of doing certain things and continue to do them until they are acted upon by some outside force. With age, our habits change with certain events in our lives. We get in the habit of going to school when we are young, going to work when we get older, and trying to take it easy when we get old enough to retire. If we form good habits, we will be successful. If we form bad habits, again generally speaking, they will cause us to fail. We will have a leg up if we learn this early in life and take care to form the right kinds of habits.
The reason I share this is because Janis and I are now along in years, and while we married a little over seven years ago, we have settled down into a comfortable routine. We usually have dinner around 5 o’clock, clean up the kitchen, watch television until about 8:30, and then go to bed, only to watch the news at 9 o’clock and again at 10 o’clock on a different channel. We bought a big-screen TV that really helps.
On a newscast a few weeks ago, we saw a report that really made me mad. Our state’s capital city of Little Rock is only 30 miles away, and this is where the stations are located that provide the news. On this night, a report was given about a lady and her two children who were at home and some low-life people came by her house and shot it up, and they had to find a mattress to get behind to protect them. When the TV crew got there, you could see bullet holes in the walls. I am sure you know that this is the kind of violence going on all over our country.
In fact, in the year 2022 Little Rock has had a record number of homicides, around 80 as of this writing. After the news went off and I was still mad, I said to Janis. “This could have been us.” We are no longer safe anywhere in the country. While I never want to be someone who “beats a dead horse,” it is high time we do something about this sad situation. This is what I have dedicated my life to, for the rest of my days. While it will take some time, I have a big part of the solution for this sad state of affairs.
My new book “Your Future Begins Today” will change the culture and has been developed into a Character Education course to be taught in our nation’s schools. Over time, when we begin with small children and give them “mega doses” of vocabulary building and reading skills, and also teach them “good character” from kindergarten to graduation, we will “change the culture” and make our country safe again. I already have a letter drafted to all our nation’s governors and will be sending them a copy of my book and the curriculum to install the course in every school in their state. We must teach children respect and there is no other course like it anywhere in the country.
It will take time to make some changes, but you can rest assured that I am working on it. I am not trying to make money, as 100 percent of the profits will go to Kiwanis Clubs across the nation to begin “Bookcase for Every Child” projects to improve literacy. My request to you is simple: just help me spread the word, and in time we will change the culture of our society. If we don’t, the next time it could be YOU.
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(Jim Davidson is an author, public speaker, syndicated columnist, and Founder of the Bookcase for Every Child project. Since its inception in the Log Cabin Democrat in 1995, Jim’s column has been self-syndicated in over 375 newspapers in 35 states. For a personalized copy of “Your Future Begins Today” send $20, which includes postage and handling, to Jim Davidson, 2 Bentley Drive, Conway, AR 72034.)