Like parents, banks must learn to say no

If  your child insisted upon playing at the edge of a cliff and all other means of persuasion failed to get him to stop, would you give him a spanking? By spanking I mean something that stings a little but does no physical harm. King Solomon, the wisest king who ever lived, wrote in the book of Proverbs the following statements about raising children: "Don't hesitate to discipline a child. A good spanking won't kill him. As a matter of fact it may save his life. Teach a child how he should live and he will remember it all his life. Discipline your children when they are young enough to learn. If you don't, you are helping them destroy themselves."

It is easier to teach a child what no means when he is 18 months old than when he is 6-foot, 4-inches and weighs 250 pounds. Failure to say no to such unsafe practices as reckless driving, promiscuity and unsafe drugs can be just as dangerous as falling off a cliff; it usually just takes more time for the results.

The permissiveness of society today is a factor in the failure of marriages, the breakup of family life and the expanding prison population. We have a host of social workers trying to pick up the pieces. Do our contemporary psychologists and philosophers think that they are wiser than Solomon?

Our economy would be in much better shape now if the financial institutions had so no to unsafe lending practices. If helps to know when to say no.

CLYDE MEREDITH

Clark Fork