There is an old saying that goes, “If it’s not broke, don’t fix it.” Well, what if it IS broke?

Sad to say, this is the case in our society today. The mass shootings, parents who pay big money to get their kids into prestigious colleges, newscasts that are dominated by horrific crimes, television shows featuring violence and bloodshed, and the list is endless. In our country we have always had crime and always will, but we can take action to slow it down. Perhaps we could even return to the days when I was growing up when we did not lock our doors at night, take the keys out of the car and society was mostly filled with good, honest, hard-working people who loved and cared for each other.

Here is a classic example of what I am saying: One evening this past week, my wife Janis handed me her smartphone and said, “Here, watch this.” It was a video showing a woman who had pulled into a self-service gas station, opened the door, got out and went to the other side of the car to pump gas. About the same time she pulled in, another car came into the driveway from the opposite direction. As she was on the other side of her car preparing to pump gas, a young man got out of the other car, squatted down, went to the driver’s side of her car, opened the door and reached in and took her purse that was on the front seat. He silently closed the door, went back to his car, got in and drove away. The woman pumping gas did not even know she had been robbed until she got back in her car.

If you agree with what I am saying, I have an idea that, over time, can make a great difference in our nation’s future. It is my honor to announce that a number of concerned people are currently working on a new educational curriculum titled, “Healing a Broken Society by Teaching Success Habits to Every Child.” We plan to target preschool children in our Head Start programs across the nation to teach the following: good character, personal integrity, respect for others, and polite manners. When the word is out, I believe there are millions of parents, and others, in America who will help us.

Here is why I am so optimistic. My new book, “The Best of Jim Davidson,” contains many of the values that were evident back in the 1940s and 1950s, and these were the days that I referred to earlier. Please allow me to share a review of my book by Dr. Arvil Burks, who purchased the book when I spoke for him at a retired teachers meeting.

He said, “Jim, the book is simply ‘out of this world’. I am on page 136 now about ‘My Fair Weather Friend’. I really like the way you begin each title with a quote from a famous person and then conclude with another quote or bit of advice. I found myself looking forward to each of these as I began to read each title. This is a very clever way to get one’s attention. So far my favorite titles are ‘Do You Have Class?’ (I wish I had written that!) ‘Smile It May Be Good for Your Health’ was appealing to me. Since I spent a good part of my career in educating young people about the dangers of smoking, alcohol and drugs, the ‘You Never Know Who Your Friends Are’ was really good. I will finish the book soon and will see that our three grandchildren read it! I will get in touch with you when I finish the book.”

Thank you, Arvil, I am grateful for your kind works. The book is available from www. Amazon.com. Why not order a copy and read it to get involved with our “Healing a Broken Society” initiative.

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(Editor’s Note: JIM DAVIDSON is an author, public speaker, syndicated columnist and founder of the Bookcase for Every Child project. Since its inception in 1995, Jim’s column has been self-syndicated to over 375 newspapers in 35 states, making it one of the most successful in the history of American journalism.)