Mentoring Our Boys –

An Economic Crisis

All the evidence is pointing to an economic crisis. It seems to be the prominent concern in our nation. And while there are many factors involved, fuel prices are definitely the biggest culprit.

The price of gas has skyrocketed. The effects of our free market system, with its supply and demand patterns complicated by foreign dependence on oil and speculative investments on oil futures, has resulted in a price jump that defies all intuitive common sense. It’s a huge problem and we’re all looking for answers.

The Family Crisis

All the evidence is also pointing to a crisis for the family. And a crisis for the family can bring about the demise of a nation. Divorce rates exceed 50 percent. Three years after a divorce, over half those dads never see their kids again. Two of three kids graduate high school from a broken family. About a third of today’s kids are born to unwed mothers. It’s a huge problem and we’re all looking for answers.

What a correlation. Two of the weightiest problems facing our culture. And for both, there seems to be no answer to the problem.

Or is there? Is there an answer to these problems? Is the answer so obvious, we don’t see it? Is the answer so easy, we won’t get it done? I think the answer is right in front of us and it’s an answer we can get done.

The Answer for Gas Prices

Try a google search on the words: save gas improve milage. You’ll find ways to improve your gas milage by up to 35 percent with average improvements around 20 percent. And it’s easy to get done. Accelerate to 60 mpg in 20 seconds or more. Get off the gas pedal as early as you can before a stop. Drive at 55 mph. Turn the motor off if you’re going to idle for more than 30 seconds. It’s easy.

My wife recently bought a new mini SUV. The advertised highway mpg is 28. I drove for about three hours and averaged 33.4. That’s a 19.3 percent improvement.

My wife’s old car displayed an average mpg of 14.3. I have implemented the suggested gas saving techniques in her car and have averaged 18.3 mpg. That’s a 28 percent improvement.

With 20 percent better milage as the average improvement, our equivalent savings at the pump would be 80 cents on $4 per gallon. A 30 percent improvement would equate to $1.20 per gallon savings. Would that be worth having a few drivers flip the birdy at you every once in a while?

But the savings continues. A 20 percent reduction in fuel consumption on the American roads would cause a rebalance on the supply and demand economics of fuel pricing. The price of gas would surely go down.

The Answer for Our Families

While I’ve made my argument here for fuel conservation techniques on this MentoringOurBoys Blog, let’s apply this argument to the vision of Squire2Knights Ministries. The compounded return for our investment into the next generation of men is huge. But just like our affluent habit patterns have negated any real improvement in the price of gas, our busy schedules have negated any real improvement for our families. And just like a few simple and logical driving techniques could result in an improvement in our cost for fuel, some simple and logical mentoring practices could bring about improvements in our young men and the families of tomorrow.

Go to the Squires2Knights Ministries website to find a strategy for mentoring our boys.

Posted on July 7th, 2008 by Jeff Purkiss
Filed under: Cultural Issues, Fathering/Mentoring