Teen pregnancy plagues small town

Time has an intriguing piece on CNN.com about a Gloucester High School in Gloucester, Mass., which has 17 pregnant girls going into summer vacation.

At first the article says girls point to "Juno" and "Knocked Up" as reasons why the girls are getting "knocked up." They think the unwed mommy life is glamorous. Yeah, cause indie-rock songs and track-team boyfriends are soooo cool, so you have to have a little guy or gal to share it all with.

Then the article points to a much better reason: These girls don't have great family lives; they're having children so they can feel unconditional love, so they can know automatically that someone will pay attention to them all the time.

Sure, I can write this off as another "blame the Boomers" rant, but really, it's true. The definition of the American family has changed so much that little girls are now caught between what the family should be, and what it really is. Especially these girls in northeastern towns, where the moral compass swings like a pendulum over their tiny heads.

Really, just another case of "The American Moral Missive" plaguing our childfolk.