“Who’s to Blame?”

  Author Unknown

(I came across this poem a few years ago, and was so touched by its truth, its honesty, and its accuracy.  I often use it in my presentations, and attendees invariably will ask for a copy.  I wish I could give credit to the author, but unfortunately that information is unknown. )

We read in the papers and hear it on the air,

Of killing, and stealing, and crime everywhere.

We sigh and we say as we notice the trend,

“This young generation!  Oh, where will it end?”

We point our fingers... and we moan and groan,

But can we be sure that it’s their fault alone?

Are we less guilty who place in their way,

Too many things that lead them astray.

We give them too much money, too much idle time,

Too many movies of passion and crime.

There are too many books not fit to be read,

And there’s too much evil in what they hear said.

Kids don’t make the movies.  They don’t write the books.

They don’t paint the pictures of the gangsters and the crooks.

Kids don’t make the liquor, they don’t run the bars,

They don’t makes the laws and they don’t make the fast cars.

They don’t make the drugs that muddle the brain.

That’s all done by older folks who are eager for gain.

Delinquent teenagers?  Oh, how can we condemn,

The sins of the nation and blame it on them?

Instead of placing blame, let’s fix the cause,

By encouraging them and loving them and remember as we pause,

That in so many cases it’s sad but it’s true,

The title delinquent fits older folks, too!