The reasons why decline always takes place is complex, but in essence, it occurs in civilisations that lose a communal understanding. This happens when a civilisation becomes too comfortable, religion goes out of fashion, too many conflicting opinions are held and finally decadence sets in.

We can all see evidence of this everywhere. Television is the equivalent of the Roman Amphitheatre with audiences who are more accepting of extreme violence and pornography. The family is in decline too, and although some see this as the root cause of all our problems, (it is close) in reality it is just another symptom of a civilisation in decline. The vast majority of citizens are now selfish, and this one undesirable attribute is responsible for the widespread corruption that has become a part of everyday life. (The recent banking crises is a good example)

I am not a natural doom monger in my daily life, preferring to seek out solutions to problems that confront me. But sadly I cannot offer a solution to our predicament, and as far as I am aware neither has anyone else. The historians who have studied this repeating cycle of events assert that decline is inevitable. We are living through the American civilisation at present and I doubt many would argue that it is in decline. For the sake of our children I hope all the historians will be proved wrong.

Until the 70’s it was pretty much the norm that dad went out to work and mum stayed at home with the children, only returning to work (if at all) when the children were older. Women (quite rightly) wanted to have the same opportunities in life as men and many successfully entered employment areas that had previously been male preserves. Increasingly women did not wish to halt their careers to raise families and so they found ways of juggling careers and babies.

This had a number of effects. First, with both partners working, earnings grew and mortgages became more affordable. Thus house prices increased until we reached the point where it was difficult to service a mortgage on one salary. Thus more women had to work through necessity rather than choice.

The result of so many women in the workplace meant that they were unable to devote as much time as they would have liked to child rearing and thus the erosion of family values commenced.

Teaching you people about behaviours, how thoughts and feelings affect these, understanding others perspectives and taking responsibility for there actions. This should contribute to a rounded ‘citizen’ which will impact not only on their family, but their communities.

This is more than emotional intelligence, it builds on it.

My work includes alcohol/drug, homeless people, ex-offenders, children, runaways, and supporting male survivors of sexual abuse/rape, so has covered a wide range of people

The overall impact of no work, no money, and no hope, led many people to become drug dependent, to not care about others and to be as selfish as possible, in order to survive.

When the trend is grab all you can get, and ignore others, that breeds comtempt for others and self, and within that process, respect and honour gets lost

However, as a woman, I am disturbed by the number of contributors attributing the breakdown of the family and all that goes with it to feminism. I know lots of women bringing children up alone, absolutely none of them have chosen this situation, and more than a few have left relationships which were abusive. Feminism may have contributed to a situation where they were able to leave, but it wasn’t the root cause. A common theme in the nastier break-ups is drug and alcohol abuse.

Feminism is about nothing more sinister than women being treated as equals with men – anyone who can find in that the root cause of all evil in society is part of the problem.