The following was published in The Capital on January 17, 2008:

I truly don’t understand the issue presented in the article “Drinking, dirty dancing end Severna
Park dance.” (The Capital, Jan. 15). Aren’t we supposed to tolerate behavior like this? Who exactly defines right and wrong? No one is getting hurt, right? Everyone is having fun, aren’t they? It’s just “how [their] generation dances.” Aren’t we supposed to encourage this kind of behavior (or at least ignore it)? Oh my, and to add to all this the school didn’t give a reason for stopping the dance. You killed all their fun you big meanies!

Or not.

Seriously, what we are seeing here is just one example of a generation that is in a downward spiral. Any sane person knows that it is ridiculous to state that we must tolerate this kind of behavior - but the day is coming when persons will demand that we not only tolerate this kind of behavior but also embrace it. It also brings up the issue of our overly sexualized culture rearing its ugly head at a school dance. These kids are inundated by MTV, magazines, movies, and the internet - all screaming the same message. The response to this? Parents have stopped being parents and have now become friends. They need to grow a backbone and get to work. Schools have turned away from abstinence based curriculum for sexually explicit curriculum that is telling kids their behavior is normal.

It really makes no sense when all these things are being said - the teen years are a time for fun at all costs - and then the fun is stopped and called “inappropriate.” It doesn’t make sense to the kids. Let’s start speaking the truth loud and clear: the parents need to parent and schools need to start rethinking their curriculum before its too late.

–Tim Sweetman