Liberal parents, lost children. (Scan).(Brief Article)

Authorities recently announced that John Walker Lindh will face a maximum of life in prison rather than a possible death penalty when he goes on trial for taking up arms against his own countrymen.

TAE contributing writer Ray Wisher--a police detective who works extensively with juvenile delinquents--offers these comments about Walker: "As I read about his upbringing, his passive '60s-leftover father and his vegetarian/shaman/free love/in-a-flower/from-a-comet mother, and then his interview describing why he liked the Islamic way, one thought kept coming back: Gangs. The gangbangers I deal with have parents who provide little structured discipline, and I repeatedly see such kids gravitate toward some alternate authority. They want rules, and somebody who cares enough about them to enforce those rules. Reading Walker's reasoning for why he chose such a hard-line organization, and then putting that up against his no-morals California background, makes his path seem fairly obvious. The boy was looking for a reason to live, for something to believe in, for something firm in his muddled existence."

American public life has recently seen a string of these pitiful lost children from permissive families. Before rudderless Johnny Walker there was sad Chandra Levy, and before her, pitiful Monica Lewinsky. Recall that all three of these California Gen-Xers came from wealthy households where children were few and showered with material indulgences, while rules and adult guidance were scarce. The highly educated professional parents lived in fashionable communities (Beverly Hills, Marin County), and adhered slavishly to trendy social views. Neither Johnny nor Chandra nor Monica were denied much of anything growing up--money, personal freedom, sexual license, overseas travel, ...