There is a statement that I have frequently made over the past several months that may be hard to believe, but it is nevertheless true. Here is the statement: There are more than 100 million Americans in our nation who would like to go back to the days when we felt safe in our country, did not have to lock our doors at night, did not have to take the keys out of the car ignition, and felt safe walking the streets alone at night, even in our large cities.

These were the days when 81 percent of parents read to their children, and our nation led the world in test scores for reading, math, and science. These were also the days when a child got a whipping in school, and then got another one when they got home.

What I am talking about is not about politics, not about religion, not about race, not about being rich or poor, not about one’s national origin. I am talking about people — granted most from the older generation, as we lived through those days. I am talking about any American citizen who is tired of seeing the senseless killings and watching newscasts or reading the headlines of violence, bloodshed, cars ploughing through crowds of innocent people, armed robbery, looting, smashing car windows and the list of carnage that is endless. Please join me in saying, “We are better than that.”

I am making an announcement to you today, that with God’s help, I am leading an effort to do something about this sad state of affairs in our great country. The idea for this effort came when our local County Judge, Jim Baker, wrote the Preface for my latest book titled, “Your Future Begins Today.” Later he said, “This book will change the culture.” Over the past several weeks I have talked with a good number of people, and I have gotten tremendous response because, as any educated person knows, we have real problems. And, for the sake of our children and grandchildren, we must take action now to correct them.

First, you should know that a couple of weeks ago I sent a personally signed copy of my book, along with some other information, to every governor in the United States of America. My question to them was this: As the CEO of your state, would you rather have more criminals locked up for a longer period of time in your prisons and hire more police, or have teachers in your schools teaching character, respect and personal responsibility to every child in your educational system? It will take time, but I can promise you that from day one we are moving in the right direction.”

As of this date, I have developed the guidelines for teaching a Character Education course in our schools. I am also in the process of enlisting Kiwanis Clubs all across the nation to develop “Bookcase for Every Child” literacy projects to help pre-school children in low-income families learn to read in their formative years. The statistics say that 61 percent of these families have no books in the home for their children to read, and many of these children will later drop out of school.

The reason we will succeed is that I have asked God to help us. For the sake of our nation, will you help, too?

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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.)