Teddy's Law Tuesday

http://teddyslaw.org/our-mission/         Another post from my archives:
The system failed Teddy. His mother failed Teddy. A man without a job, too much time on his hands, raped and killed Teddy. Two school districts reported abuse and because Teddy denied any abuse, the child protection didn't investigate. He said his twin brothers gave him the bruises.
A family tried to penetrate the mother's fortress, but she defied them. The neighbors showed concerned, but the children were forbidden to talk to the neighbors. Teddy was let down by society.
I think back on stories of the Great Depression and no, I didn't check facts, so I'm going to try not to state them as such. This is my impression. The men didn't have jobs, but they tried to get work any way they could. I'm sure there were moochers, but they didn't have the government to help them out. I know, we pay into unemployment and when jobs weren't steady for my husband at Trinity Steel Car, we used the unemployment, but I had to work full time. Men get depressed without a purpose of working. FDR at least made jobs building the country. I love Pymatuning Dam.
Men back then, traveled the country looking for jobs. Many men did have jobs, like my grandfather, and could stay with their families. People grew their food. People took care of themselves. Still, I'm sure there was abuse then. There always has been. My mother and her older brother were physically and verbally abused.
Our focus in this country, now, should be creating jobs, a climate for growth. I want to be positive. The president is focusing on the wrong problems- gun control, immigration, women in combat. If men and women can have jobs, feeling useful and contributing to their neighborhoods, a few more Teddy's may not have to face the trauma of a sick, bored man and a woman desperate to find belonging in the wrong places.
We will always have ills in society. We cannot legislate morality. But as the old saying of idle hands are the devil's playground proves, I believe if we can get our men and women working again, some of the time wasted will be spent instead at a job.