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July 2, 2009
Rabbi Abraham J. Twerski: The hallmark of a person
Abe Novick: Up, up, and aliya
July 1, 2009
Rabbi Avi Shafran: The Road Taken
The Kosher Gourmet
by Marialisa Calta: Get into the holiday spirit with these Star-Spangled desserts
June 30, 2009
Rabbi Binyomin Ginsberg: What makes a great parent?
Caroline B. Glick: Ideologue-in-Chief
June 29, 2009
The Jewish Ethicist
by Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir: Beware of 'Caveat Emptor'
Steven Emerson: ACLU pushing for more money for Hamas
June 26, 2009
Rabbi Yoni Posnick: Learn the secret to a healthy marriage from a scriptural villain
Caroline B. Glick: Barack Obama vs. International Law
June 25, 2009
Rabbi Shimon Apisdorf: The Absurd Power of Truth
Jordan "Gorf" Gorfinkle's strip:
Everything's Relative
June 24, 2009
Rabbi Yonason Goldson: Advancement of technology is a wake-up call for humanity
The Kosher Gourmet by Andrea Weigl: Summer on a stick: Making frozen treats can be easy, creative and fun
June 23, 2009
Martin M. Bodek: 'On Surnames': And so, We Begin
Caroline B. Glick: The Obama Effect
June 22, 2009
The Jewish Ethicist by Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir: Working for a corrupt firm
N. Richard Greenfield : Where are American Jews?
June 19, 2009
Rabbi Abraham J. Twerski: Emotion v. intellect
Caroline B. Glick: Israel's rare opportunity
June 18, 2009
Jonathan Rosenblum: Sometimes it is more essential to define the nature of evil than good
Jordan "Gorf" Gorfinkle's strip:
Everything's Relative
June 17, 2009
Rabbi Yonason Goldson: The Language of Confusion
The Kosher Gourmet by Linda Gassenheimer: Nothing pleases Dad more than a thick, juicy onion-smothered steak. Add home-Baked Potato Chips and …
June 16, 2009
The Jewish Ethicist by Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir: Career v. Careersism
Caroline B. Glick: Obama's losing streak and Israel
Richard Z. Chesnoff: Palestinians: Never Missing an Opportunity …
June 15, 2009
Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu: How Judea and Samaria can become 'Palestine'
Daniel Pipes: Where Netanyahu's speech failed
June 12, 2009
Rabbi Abraham J. Twerski: Some big thoughts about not acting so big
Caroline B. Glick:
Obama's High Commissioner
June 11, 2009
Victor Davis Hanson: Our historically challenged President
Mitch Albom: Beware the True Believers
Lewis Grossberger: What we learn from the new Hitler photos
June 10, 2009
Mort Zuckerman: What Obama and his advisors won't -- or refuse to -- grasp about Israel and the Muslim world
The Kosher Gourmet
by Steve Petusevsky Lotsa pasta: Tips, techniques and (amazing) taste
June 9, 2009
Anne Bayefsky: Obama's stunning offense to Israel and the Jewish people
Frank J. Gaffney, Jr.: America's first Muslim president?
June 8, 2009
The Jewish Ethicist by Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir: Merchant must take responsibility for careless shopper?
Mark Steyn: A superpower that feeds on mediocrity cannot survive for long on leftovers from the past
Richard Z. Chesnoff: How do you say 'kumbaya' in Arabic?
June 5, 2009
Rabbi Abraham J. Twerski: In quest of spirituality
Caroline B. Glick: Obama's Arabian dreams
Charles Krauthammer: The Settlements Myth
June 4, 2009
Paul Greenberg: The War Comes to Little Rock
The Kosher Gourmet
by Judy Hevrdejs: Splash it on! Tap your inner jazz musician and improvise when stirring up a vinaigrette
June 3, 2009
The Jewish Ethicist by Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir: Q. Should terrible teacher be exposed?
Jonathan Rosenblum: The Israel Lobby: Missing in Action
June 2, 2009
Dennis Prager: The Speech President Obama Won't Dare Give in Egypt
Frank J. Gaffney, Jr.: Pressure on Israel raises war risk
Oct. 29, 2003
Mortimer B. Zuckerman: Graffiti On History's Walls (MUST-READ!)
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Jewish World Review
Dec. 28, 2007
/ 19 Teves 5768
On the bright side?
By
Greg Crosby
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http://www.JewishWorldReview.com |
A new year and a new reason for hope. Good news doesn?t exactly flow off the
television screen or out of the radio on a regular basis. Nor does good news
scream out at you in large bold headlines from our newspapers and magazines,
so it was a very pleasant surprise when I opened my December issue of
Commentary Magazine and read the article entitled, ?Crime, Drugs, Welfare
and Other Good News." The authors of the piece, Peter Wehner and Yuval
Levin, scholars at the Ethics and Public Policy Center in Washington are not
being sarcastic with that title, either. There really is good news to tell.
Try these stats on for size:
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Teenage drug use has fallen by 23 percent since the 1990s, and by more than 50
percent for certain specific drugs, such as LSD and ecstasy.
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There is less abortion. In 1990 abortions reached a high of 1.6 million, the
number of abortions performed annually in the U.S. has dropped to less than 1.3, the
lowest level since the Roe v. Wade decision in 1973.
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The U.S. divorce rate is at its lowest level since 1970.
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Higher educational scores. The high-school dropout rate, now less than 10
percent, is at a 30-year low. The mean SAT score was 8 points higher in 2005 than
it was in 1993.
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Teenagers are drinking less, anywhere from 10 to 35 percent less than in 1996
depending upon the grade in school. Binge drinking has dropped to the lowest levels
ever recorded.
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Teens are smoking cigarettes less than ever before.
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The number of high school students having sex has declined by more than 10 percent
since 1991. And the birth rate for teens since that time has gone down by 35
percent.
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According to the National Crime Victimization Survey, both violent crime and
property crime are at their lowest levels since 1973. In some places, even lower:
New York City, it was reported a few days ago, is expected to have much fewer than
500 homicides this year, the fewest since the early 1960s. Compare that with 1990,
when New York recorded 2,245 homicides.
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As far as welfare is concerned, since 1994 the U.S. caseload has dropped 60
percent ? virtually every state in the union has reduced its caseload by at least a
third and as much as 90 percent in some states. Overall poverty, child poverty,
black child poverty, and child hunger have all decreased.
Unfortunately, not all the news is good. Illegitimacy is at an all-time high,
the marriage rate continues to sink, and popular culture largely remains "a
cesspool of violence and vulgarity." Furthermore, the condition and strength
of the American family has thus far, they say, not yet begun to turn upward.
However, the authors write, "the progress we have witnessed over the last 15
years is impressive, undeniable, and beyond what most people thought possible."
So, as we begin 2008 we Americans have solid reason to be optimistic about our
future society. Sure, we need to be concerned about the ongoing coarseness in
American culture and the decline of the American family, and perhaps one day, these
too, shall start to improve. Sometimes, things do change for the better, not often
enough and not quickly enough it seems, but it does happen. Sometimes people wake
up and do the right things, and sometimes good solid values and ethics win over the
bad.
One thing is for sure ? if decency, honor, and ethics make a comeback anywhere in
this world, you can bet it will be in the United States of America!
Happy New Year!
Every weekday JewishWorldReview.com publishes what many in the media and Washington consider "must-reading". Sign up for the daily JWR update. It's free. Just click here.
JWR contributor Greg Crosby, former creative head for Walt Disney publications, has written thousands of comics, hundreds of children's books, dozens of essays, and a letter to his congressman. A freelance writer in Southern California, you may contact him by clicking here.
Greg Crosby Archives
© 2006, Greg Crosby
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