It may seem somewhat confusing to state that our children are at risk, when daily we see and hear of expanding opportunities in so many areas for young people. This during a time when more doors are opening for potential careers than ever before.

The irony is that the full picture of challenges they face in a world of fast-moving negative distractions, and changing values, results often in the vulnerable falling through the cracks in today’s society.

For the families striving to mould solid values with their children as they struggle with peer pressure, the job is extremely challenging and they deserve encouragement, even though there are times when their efforts seem futile.

In this age of massive communication technology, where it is difficult to know who is communicating with whom, or in fact what the subject matter is, many parents or guardians are out of the loop in knowing what is really going on.

Bermuda is struggling with behavioural patterns never seen before, which are eating away at our social infrastructure. Numerous reasons are being given for such conduct, including suggestions that our economic plight with fewer jobs has led some to committing acts out of desperation, with some incidents closely associated with illegal drugs and gang activity.

When reflecting on possible causes of why people choose criminal activity, it is difficult not to consider very early experiences, and perhaps what might have gone missing in the family setting, where the main seeds of positivity or negativity are planted and enable you to differentiate between what is right and what is wrong.

What seems to have happened in Bermuda — and it has occurred over many decades — is that the protective community netting, which was once the anchor for communities from one end of the island to the other, has fallen apart, along with a great deal of common values that were mostly taught in the home. Although many words have been spoken and written about drastic changes in attitudes throughout our island communities, there appears to be a reluctance to accept that our value infrastructure is slowly crumbling, and it could be caused by a number of distractions and families weakened by having fewer conversations at the dinner table, about life and proper values.

Our leaders should exercise the utmost care when speaking about this subject, and at no time should the word “desperation” be used in attempting to explain criminal or antisocial conduct.

Too often the true part of desperation is a result of a need outside of food and shelter. Most of us know what that need is. No amount of columns, speeches or appeals will change much of what is happening in Bermuda today, unless there is an island-wide, renewed thrust to examine very closely our core social infrastructure. It is the only way to reduce the risk for our children, who will carry the torch tomorrow.

Even the slightest hint of an excuse will never work in trying to protect and to steer young minds in a positive direction.

While many families are hard-pressed to meet challenging daily obligations to prevent more of our children from seeing violence as a part of our society, all of Bermuda will have to engage in a 24/7 task of working more closely in building a safer and more productive infrastructure. The need for this crosses political lines because it involves everyone.

We have a choice of either taking on that challenge together or leaving our future to fate.