<p><DD>There is no way that one can wage a War on Drugs which destroys communities... Without having a severe impact on education, schools, and teachers. Teachers have had to deal with increasingly dysfunctional families with disruptive children and dysfunctional parents who are add to the problem and not the solution. Add to this a convoluted feel good "school reform" package with additional requirements and you wear out teachers fast. We will be having a severed teacher shortage in the next decade and the same demonization tactics routinely employed by politicians in the war on drugs scapegoats teachers [often done by same politicians] - via their union bashing - in an unfair manner. The problem lies in the communities; in the alienation, suspicion and scapegoating that is a necessary component whenever government wages war on its citizenry.
<p><DD> We need to rebuild our communities. But first we must end the poison that results from this vile war. The very first thing we MUST do is to end the war on drugs. This means that we must [read my lips] legalize all drugs. It's not the drugs that are destroying our neighborhoods; it's the war on drugs and the poisonous hate, distrust, and moral corruption that it necessarily spreads. If someone suggested that alcohol was responsible for the problems of Prohibition they'd be laughed off the stage - yet leaders today have too many people convinced that the government is not responsible. We have way too many politicians making careers out of not solving problems - but blaming them on "them". I've encountered too many hate filled people while knocking on doors who want to inflict unspeakable punishments on other people - rather than to solve the problem. When you have that kind of poison constantly being funneled into communities how can you be shocked at Columbine.
<p><DD> There are no government solutions to the healing process. It will have to be done by churches, charitable organizations, and neighborhood coalitions whose main interest lies not in expansion of their own influence and budgets - but in the better interests of the community. It will not be a quick process; the destruction of communities took generations and it will take long to rebuild trust and incorporate inclusion.
<p><DD> The bottom line is that once the War on Drugs has ended, crime has fallen, and the process of restoring communities has begun, schools will improve. The learning environment will improve. Teacher morale will improve. This process can only began AFTER the poison of the drug war has ended.