The greatest power that a person possesses is the power to chose"
The past few weeks our nation has witnessed hundreds of young
people across the U.S. forming social media driven mobs to riot, charge into a
wide variety of business and loot and steal at will, often endangering the
responsible people who work there. This past week Los Angeles witnessed
one such event as a large number of teens with hoods hiding their faces as they
forced their way into a gas station, smashed the glass and demolished the
inside. All of this for a couple of six packs of beer and some Twinkies.
This took place while the young man who worked there, locked the front door and
hid in the bathroom while calling the police.
This week on "Exploited: Crimes and Technology" we look
at the need for our society to return to the basics. Every time we do
what is right instead of what is easy we gain character. We discuss the
need for parents to talk with kids about digital morality and to reflect on
their own digital character. We discuss the need for leadership in making
strong moral decisions regardless of what is being fed on social media.
The young man in the gas station chose to get up, come to work and earn an
honest living. He is to be admired. The young people in the mob
chose to loot, destroy and take what is not their's and there should be
consequences. Even if they are not identified and arrested, they have chosen a
path that will lead them to be adults without character. Our society will
ultimately pay a price for that.