As I’ve mentioned before, I get FOX and ABC network service via satellite, so I get the NY and LA feeds. This is nice for when I miss an episode of 24 or Boston Legal because I can catch them again 3 hours later on the west coast feed. It’s also enlightening because I get to see local newscasts from these two affiliates.

Last night’s big news at 9 (FOX affiliates hit their news one hour earlier than the other networks) was of a 13 year old girl who had been abducted literally as she stepped off the school bus in front of her home. Three people dressed in baggy clothes stuffed her into a car trunk and abducted her.

An Amber Alert was issued for the car and someone did spot it parked somewhere. Authorities swooped in and rescued the girl, still in the trunk of the car. The three suspects fled on foot and were not apprehended. The Amber Alert was a success but the fact remains that this is a pretty shocking daylight abduction story. Authorities are checking the girl’s computer to see if they can turn up any leads.

We like to cling to the idea that we live in a safe and happy town. We do, for the most part…but let’s not forget that we have had TWO fifteen year old girls raped in the past month under rather public circumstances. As our town grows, so does the possibility for crime and violence.

We’re growing by leaps and bounds. That has to be both exciting and scary for a community. Any time you have a rapid influx of people from parts unknown, you have to assume that many of them will be bringing their problems with them. We’re about to see for ourselves how that will shake out. Bismarck’s always been the “biggest small town in America” in many respects… but how will that change with the introduction of a population explosion?

One thing that really irks me, especially in light of that New York case, is the way the young girls in this town dress. That’s one of the prime reasons I don’t go to the mall…I don’t want to have to (not) look at that sort of thing! I’ve gone shopping with my wife, so I know how difficult it is to find conservative clothing for girls these days. But it can be done. All it takes is a parent who’s willing to take a stand.

Some friends were accompanying us to the fabulous Peacock Alley brunch buffet one Sunday after church. Ahead of us was a family of five who had apparently also just left church, judging by their clothing. That is, except for the daughter of the family, a girl of perhaps 10 to 12 years old. She was still at that age where they’re all knees and elbows, starting to get taller but skinny like a stick figure. This girl was wearing a skirt so short we could see her panties stick out the bottom as she walked down the sidewalk. No tight, revealing shirt, no bare midriff, but what in the world was going on there? It was all I could do during brunch to NOT go over and ask her parents where their heads were when they let their little girl leave the house dressed in that way. Especially to church!

I don’t care if youre 13 or 43… a pretty girl dressed provocatively does something to a guy’s eyes. And that’s all the fashion these days. Kids have bare midriffs, something that was strictly forbidden in the Mandan Junior High School and High School student handbooks when I was in school, bras that accentuate their figures, and clothing that seems to paint itself on in the mornings. Add to that the fact that our culture is saturated with the sexification of kids these days, and it’s no wonder there are problems with teachers, strangers, and Internet sickos preying on our kids.

Heck, it’s a battle for anyone not to look. A guy has to be vigilant. That’s who we are, we’re lookers. And everything in print or on TV or the computer tells us that teenage girls are hot. Even if you do your best to ignore that indoctrination, we’re swimming in a culture and an atmosphere where sex permeates everything. It’s a struggle. And let’s not forget, the Bible says that if a man even LOOKS at a woman/girl to lust after her, he’s commited adultery (Matthew 5:28). It gets tiring having to shield your eyes constantly when all you want to do is go biking on the path or walk through Kirkwood Mall.

So…here we go, Bismarck-Mandan. We’re going to be bringing in all kinds of population to staff these fancy new businesses we’ve tried so hard to attract. Not all of them will be nice people; that’s a fact of life. So let’s be vigilant and not let crime get a foothold in our fair city. And let’s start dressing our little girls appropriately so they’re not tempting the wrong kind of people to do the wrong kind of thing to them. Do you have the conviction to stand up for this?