| Law is a blunt instrument, and we cannot superintend everyone to the degree required to make them behave properly most of the time. We have to depend on the internalization of values, and on informal enforcement, like shame, to obtain the desired result. But acts of government can have an effect on such matters. For example, it is a bad idea to have the schools too much undermine what is taught at home, it merely confuses children about what is right. "Critical thinking" is a higher order function that is age appropriate for 16 year olds, not 8 year olds. Government should show that it is on the side of mothers and fathers by favoring community volunteer efforts that provide recreational opportunities to children and/or help families, for example, by building and maintaining parkland. The government should ally itself with community institutions, like churches and synagogues, to help clean up and provide services within distressed communities. In these and other ways, the government lends support to values- bearing institutions and activities...... |
