No matter where you go, there will be problems.  Whether it is crime, poverty/homelessness, school violence/shootings, racial tensions, or overcrowding in schools, chances are you'll meet up with any one of these elements, even in smaller towns like the one I've moved to to get out of the big city.

I couldn't handle the increasing traffic, crime, or population growth in the city, so I opted to move elsewhere, not knowing that I would be faced with the same darn thing.  Now I'm wondering if it was a mistake that I even left the big city ....

I know that in our small town, we run into plenty of racial tension, bullying in our schools, crime, and whatnot.  Seems like these problems have only escalated ever sine our town passed an ordinance into letting alcohol be served at some of our restaurants.

Just last week, there were two reported robberies, one at a residence, and the other at our convenience store up the street from where we live.  The owner of the convenience store was beaten; he still remains at the hospital, where he continues to recover from his injuries.

There are a lot of Mexican (or Hispanic) immigrants who have come into our town, and the old grizzled "veterans" (the "old-timers") don't like it one bit.  They're always talking about "The Brown Plague" and how property values have declined because of this.  This makes me mad because I am trying to teach our children about tolerance and racial acceptance; if they hear that kind of talk from our so-called elders, then I'm scared they'll end up becoming miniature bigots or something down the road; and that would only cause more problems.

I happen to konw quite a few Hispanic people here who are nice and are only trying to provide for their families here or back in their native countries.  Some are trying to learn English; for others, English is very hard for them, or they're embarrassed, so they choose to converse in their native Spanish.  That is not an issue with me, but some people are all up in arms about it and are always telling these immigrants to either learn our language/ways or go back to where they came from.

Again, I am concerned about my children learning how to hate or discriminate against those who happen to be different when they hear the rude comments being directed at the Mexican (or Hispanic) immigrants of our town.

All I can do is pray that somehow the alcohol law is repealed and that we can become a "dry town" again, or that people learn to accept the immigrants who have come here to live and/or work.  Yet in my heart of hearts, I don't see this happening anytime soon.