The Quick Fix

Keep On Truckin'

In 1978 the documentary "Scared Straight" was filmed at New Jersey's Rahway Prison, and was widely shown on television.  Bad-ass New Jersey kids were sent to the prison for a "seminar" from real  bad-assers in the prison population, mostly murderers doing life.  Back then, amidst Jimmy Carter, we were not as attuned to liberal gimmickry as we - some of us, anyway - are today.  And, that's what it was.  Glitzy, feel-good liber-ade designed to divert attention from deep rooted problems. The real, and admittedly simplistic formula, IMO,  for keeping kids straight begins at home, where a code of ethics, morality, and integrity will be instilled, if any are to be.  Orphanages work too; homeroom teachers, not.   If, in the absence of this loving tutelage a child starts going bad, the answer is not a visit to Rahway,  but a bed in reform school.  Except we don't have reform schools anymore. To underscore what I'm saying, I give you ... “ Breathalyzer Tests Now The Law At N.J. High School ”