This article caught my attention, not necessarily because of the “shock factor” of the incident, but because this occurred near the PA town where I grew up. As I read the Associated Press article, I immediately noticed a commonality this incident shares with many other “shocking” acts throughout our nation. This commonality becomes apparent after reading just a few words of the opening line: “his father’s pregnant girlfriend.”

I rarely read articles that announce the arrest of a young boy from a loving family with a responsible mother and father present in the home. I’m not saying it doesn’t occur, but far more frequently, these incidents occur in the “non-traditional” living arrangements which are becoming far more common. I regularly see articles where babies and young children are abused, injured and killed by the mother’s boyfriend, the meth-addicted parents, or the mother who was despondent after the suicide of the children’s father (just to name a few recent incidents here in Colorado Springs).

Although it is becoming far less popular to do so and much more subject to abusive responses from our fellow citizens, we must continue to advocate public policies which discourage non-traditional “families.” We must continue to set the example and be role models for our children. They must learn the importance of traditional family arrangements in a loving, caring environment without which our culture will continue its downward spiral.