Next Obama Speech: Youth Violence

Long before President Obama recently addressed school children, I had wanted a sitting president to address the subject of youth violence directly with our young people. There is good precedence for an Obama speech on this topic. Solomon, the wisest of ancient kings, addressed the youth of his day very directly on the subject of violence. Solomon was sought out by other monarchs (notably, the Queen of Sheba), and was paid handsomely for his Management Seminars; his writings are full of references to violence prevention--an important topic for heads of state.

Throughout his life, Solomon collected proverbs, those pithy, earthy sayings like our "a stitch in time will save you nine"--Benjamin Franklin. Solomon compiled these into a complete book to which he added little sermonettes, some of which would come under the heading of "What parents should tell their kids", since each one begins with "My son....". These lessons are essential tools for fatherhood and parenting.

In the Book of Proverbs, Solomon's first appeal is to avoid people who will get you in trouble. It doesn't take long to discover that the illustrated trouble is armed robbery--not the first thing we think of when talking with our kids. But the lesson is clear, and I will summarize it here:

Proverbs, chapter 1: "their feet run to evil" - this means that people skilled in something are going to do it faster than you can think the words, "maybe I'd better leave." A carpenter friend shows up at your house when you are working on a project; faster than you can say it, this person has a hammer in his hand. If you in the company of an experienced felon, and he or she sees the opportunity, a bad deed is done, and you are implicated, although it happened faster than you could think.

Kids always think that there is time to back out, like the good kids did on the TV show, "Walker, Texas Ranger". In that series, there was always a kid who had remorse, and at the right moment would change sides while a crime was in progress. But life is not like a TV show, unfortunately; when a crime is in progress, things happen too fast. Pretty soon, a group of older teens is standing before a bond judge--then there's time for remorse.

Another issue is gun violence: Because it's effective at a distance, the gun becomes too impersonal to be used with restraint. It is too easy to use. The person who would never hurt anyone has done the unthinkable. Solomon puts it like this: "They hasten to shed blood." It always happens too fast. The novice thinks that he won't shoot, and his more experienced partner in crime promises the same. Adrenalin, hard hearts, the heat of the moment--all take over, and someone who wasn't supposed to get hurt is lying in a pool of blood. And it gets repeated again the next night with another naive youth who gets in league with a criminal.

The solution, according to Solomon, is to "avoid their path", which I paraphrase as, "Don't let your feet get mixed up with their feet." As Jesus put it, "If your foot offends you, cut it off." Jesus meant, that we have to be ruthless with ourselves to stay out of trouble. This is true with any addiction, and violence is certainly one of the chief addictions, as a read through Proverbs will reveal.

The concept in Proverbs describes what you do with your feet. If your feet get mixed up with a troublemaker, you are going to get into trouble. On the other hand, if your feet get mixed up with someone on the way to swim practice, band practice, dance class, or horse camp, sometime someone is going to put a trumpet in your hand, you are going to dance, you are going to swim, or you are going to ride--am I right? But no one is going to come to your house and put a trumpet in your hand; you are not going to wake up on the sofa with a horse nibbling your hair. That is the concept of feet--the good and the bad of it.

The young person can get his or her feet mixed up with kids who are going places. A summer camp is a great place to do exciting things. Don and Debi Ethridge have a camp near Jackson, Mississippi called New Life. They recruit kids who could not otherwise afford to go to camp. They have horses, and for some kids it is quite a hurdle to get over their fears of horses. But horse people (like Debi) have a special patience that transcends definition, and these kids are soon enjoying those treks through the pines. They got their feet mixed up with with feet that were on the way to camp, and ended up on a horse.

For Christians, who believe the scriptures are God-breathed, i.e., directly inspired, Proverbs uniquely retains the personality and breadth of insight of an intriguing head of state. These directives have stood the test of time; moreover, they are more current than tomorrow's newspaper. Any sitting president would do well to model his appeals after those of this world-class leader, who was also a great man of peace.