Mrs M Jukes' light-hearted look back at the fun to be had growing up in the 1940s and 1950s (Your Views, 26/4/07) was perhaps a timely reminder of how good life has been for many of you who were born into that 'lucky' generation.

Yes, the Second World War was raging (with your fathers away battling Adolf) and food was rationed (though what food was available was wholesome).

Of course, the lads had to do National Service. Otherwise, you grew up in an era when drugs were something the doctor prescribed for coughs and colds; sexual promiscuity was what Lady Chatterley was rumoured to have indulged in; and violent crime was rare enough to command front page news in the national papers.

Most of all, the majority of you were blessed with having experienced the warmth and security of being a part of a stable and loving family.

Now spare a thought for your grandchildren who inhabit a very different world; one where 'political correctness' and 'health-and-safety' have taken much of the fun out of daily life; where the temptations of junk food, hard drugs and casual sex are pushed at them at every turn; where violent crime is commonplace; and for whom - most tragically - family life is often decidedly unstable.

Is it any wonder all the clever gadgets and designer clothes can never mask the terrible truth the supposedly 'easy' life you think they enjoy actually occasions far more stress and anxiety than the 'hard' life you are fond of reminiscing about?

Some of these youngsters might argue much of the pressure they face today has its roots in the permissive society the movers-and-shakers of your generation created in the 1960s and 1970s.

Yet for all we politicians bemoan the crime and anti-social behaviour that a minority of teenagers commit, one of the joys of being a councillor is I find myself being constantly humbled by how many of today's young people actually turn out to be exemplary individuals.

If any of readers doubt this, visit www.youth4em.co.uk and see some of things young people in Halesowen are doing to prove they care about their community and want to make it a better place.

So, sure, let's celebrate the generations that have gone before us.

But let us never cease praying for our young people - in particular, that wise and courageous leaders will emerge from amongst them who will be able to put right those aspects of our society that sadly we, their parents and grandparents, have permitted to go so disastrously wrong.

Cllr Ray Burston, Hayley Green & Cradley South