Thought for the Day :Radio Nottingham 14 July 2008
Its all seems bad news doesn't it? Kids out of control, gangs, knives, killing on our streets.
So who do we look to blame? Where do we look for solutions?
Well it sounds from the news like everyone is going to get tough. Tough we need to be. But we also need to recognise that these young people involved in these crimes have been failed. Failed by parents, school, society. Our values cannot be right somewhere. We need to look within.
So, am I being soft on crime? No, but I have just had the privilege of meeting a few of these young people on special programmes at the Holocaust Centre addressing knife crime.
Take Carlton, he is sixteen. He seems to get it. 'Learning about what happened to others in the past and what it can teach about our lives today is more relevant than school trying to tell me I need a new language or something. This changes people?s lives and stuff. To come here and to learn this that's a big opportunity. At school they seem to miss the real important things about life.'
Of course, there is no telling whether Carlton will avoid using his knife in future, hopefully he has enough support to put it way for good.
He thinks we are failing to tell our young people about "the real important things about life."
It makes you wonder, are we?
