WIY –
All you say is true and, boy you hit it right on the head, I am DREADING the 12 months my boys will be overseas. And the idea of a kollel guy to play policeman is nice, but not happening. What am I supposed to do if I get negative reports, reel them back? I either trust them or I dont (after all, they are mini-adults).
That said, the odds of them going off the deep end are small, when you compare them to the number of really really good boys that are there and really learning.
And yes, I sure do know what goes on, as I have several Shomrim and Hatzoloh friends who tell me stories that would make a screen play for CSI.
But its a miut, sh’bimiut. Overall, the boys are good and while no one likes poking fun at the system as much as I do, I cannot deny that it does (for 99% of the population) work.
Look at yourself as an example; you went, you knew, but you came out alive. Why? I’ll attribute it to any or all of the following:
zuchus avos
a system that works
dumb luck
(ok, maybe that last one is a stretch)
Bottom line; trouble can be found anywhere, and you can be righteous anywhere. I’m living proof of this. (Unlike many parents and mechanchim will tell you, I was a “kid at risk” before the term was minted. So I know. Oh boy, do I know)