Letter to the Editor

Danielle Borgerson-Nesvold, Austin

I have to agree with Steve King’s comments regarding the need for our society to start improving at home with our families, from the article “Crime a family affair in many cases” in the Tuesday, March 15 Herald.

First, I want to state that I am not an expert parent, but I do know a few things that work like most parents: that you love, nurture and raise the kids you bring into this world. Deciding to have a child shouldn’t be taken lightly. It is a lot of work, but worth it. It is our responsibility to take care of our kids and not leave it up to the government or school system to handle the issues and enforce rules. I love my kids enough that when or if they make a wrong choice, I will be there to help them fix it and not leave it to the school principal, liaison officer or law enforcement to raise my kids. It seems to me it would be easier for parents to intervene early rather than wait for issues to arise.

Drug and alcohol dependency is a gateway to evil. I pray that there is hope for these families stuck in this generational cycle of crime in our court system. They obviously only know one way of living.

I also hope that there is a change in our system to enforce the laws we have. While they cost us money and harm innocent people along the way, I think we should start hitting them in their pocket books 100 times more for their lack of responsibilities. If their drug habit has caused their children to be taken out of their homes or sent to juvenile detention centers because of bad behavior, then they should have their assets seized to pick up the costs. Why should law abiding citizens pick up the tab for someone else’s poor choices?

In the meantime, if we can be mentors or help guide someone off the wrong path towards better choices in life, we could be changing some child’s life for the better.