Posted on 12/21/2013 7:17:24 AM PST by IbJensen
Let’s face it: There is something very, very wrong with kids today. It seems as though there are hordes of young psychopaths running around, wreaking havoc on others.
Two recent examples, and the reasons that I refer to these young people as psychopaths, are the “Knockout Game” in which a mob of youths target a random victim and punch him or her in the face, hoping to knock them unconscious with one blow, and the boy in Texas who got away with the murder of 4 innocent people because he was too wealthy to be punished like a normal person would have been.
Psychopathy is defined as either an aspect of personality or as a personality disorder, characterized by enduring dissocial or antisocial behavior, a diminished capacity for empathy or remorse, and poor behavioral controls or fearless dominance. (source)
Lots of research has been done exploring whether psychopaths are born or created by circumstances. In the case of these teens, I believe that our society has created them. They have been raised with an entitlement mentality. They have parents who either ignore them and are not present, or who give in to every whim and constantly try to give them the “wow” factor, forever upping the ante with bigger and better gifts and experiences. Kids, even those who are mainly ignored and neglected are still constantly stimulated with television programs, movies, the internet, and cell phones. Their needs are met electronically and this removes the very vital element of empathy from their lives.
When every day is a trip to Disneyworld, how are you going to be satisfied with climbing a tree and finding animals in the clouds that float by?
When your entertainment consists of stealing cars, running down hookers, and shooting into crowds of people, like one popular video game, how will you be entertained by going skating or taking a walk in the woods?
I came across an article about the Christmas wish lists in 1913 versus this year’s wish lists, and I believe that the list says it all. The differences illustrated in these two lists define our society, then and now.
In 1913, the yearned-for items were mostly simple ones. Many of them could be homemade by a loved one who cared enough to take the time to do so. The toys on the lists were “imagination toys” that required kids to playact scenarios in their minds.
1. Candy
2. Nuts
3. Rocking horse
4. Doll
5. Mittens/gloves
6. Toy train
7. Oranges
8. Books
9. Handkerchiefs
10. Skates
Fast forward to 2013. The most popular toys on the list are electronic stuffed animal that dispenses affection and companionship on command. Personally, the only items on this list I would have ever gotten my kids were the dollhouse, the Nerf Gun, and the Lego.
1. Furby Boom
2. Teksta Robotic puppy
3. LeapPad Ultra
4. Flying Fairy
5. Bug Hugs Elmo
6. Barbie Dream house
7. Giggly Monkey
8. Nerf Gun
9. Ninja Turtles
10. Lego
When you are forever seeking a greater “wow” factor in your belongings and your experiences, you’re doomed to either be completely unsatisfied or to turn into the kind of little psychopath that we see every time we look at the news. If you are always looking for some type of excitement and stimulation that tops the last episode, then you will never be content with simplicity. If you look to your electronic devices for companionship and entertainment, you can’t fully develop a love and empathy for your fellow man. Those random people on the street simply become a character in the video game that is your life, and causing them pain and harm means as little to you as pushing the buttons on your video game controller.
This Christmas, instead of going broke and focusing on the number of extravagant packages under the tree, focus on experiences. Focus on small simple things that you can’t buy from the store. Homemade candy and cookies. Singing Christmas carols together. Going out with hot cocoa and looking at Christmas lights in a brightly decorated neighborhood. Have a snowball fight.
Children who grow up with traditions and with families who are present do not grow up to punch innocent strangers in the face or mow down pedestrians without regard. They develop qualities like empathy and kindness. They become productive members of society.
One look at the picture brought me back to the late 40’s, I had that same red hat. The picture isn’t 1913, more like 1950. It was a time when a family unit was a unit. That unit included all the relatives, who in most instances lived close by. Unlike today with all it’s dysfunctional families spread out all over the country. They redefined the meaning of Family and in the process destroyed what was so near and dear to all of us. I doubt if we will ever return to that kind of family life again.
The US is still the world’s leader in manufacturing.
Although many jobs have gone to China or Mexico, etc. the real culprit in the decline of manufacturing labor is automation.
My mom was born in 1921. She told me they would each get a stocking with candy, orange and maybe a little toy. They were happy. Kids these days are never happy, always wanting more.
I don’t know about that.
Last I saw China had taken the global lead, and all the indicators are on China’s side for continued growth.
Bring back manufacturing to America.
For an entire generation we have been firing Americans and sending their jobs to Chinese workers, then bringing back the stuff they make, to buy right here.
Scr*w that. Bring back the jobs.
I think more than anything, Christmas has really been influenced by the retail industry.
I am the survivor of divorced parents....and have major issues around Christmas...being torn away from my grandparents when I was young scarred me forever....not to mention my maternal grandfather died on Christmas Eve day when I was 6...so many issues, so little time....
“.. have major issues around Christmas..”
I really wonder about many of the children today and how they will celebrate/see Christmas in the future. The little girl just “wanted it over”. No excitement in her eyes.. no real plans to “enjoy” her time off of school. She and her brother will be with their Mom till Christmas Eve and then with their Dad/new wife. Then they will spend time with paternal Grandparents for two days (while Dad/new Mom take a mini-vacation without them) only to go off to New Jersey for two days with the maternal grandparents. The best I can hope for them is that they grow up together despite all the splitting and are close siblings in the future.
Only white boys, the vermin leftists to hold their coalition together fear touching “boys of color” This I know from watching my overpaid administrators have double standards at our local mega HS.
And who raised the kids of the 60’s and left the door wide open to cultural change?
The greatest generation America ever knew survived the Depression and won WWII. When they came home to start families they wanted their kids to have it better than they did. As a kid living in my hometown bubble I witnessed this first hand.
One example I vividly recall is a proud honored WWII vet purposely keeping his son out of Vietnam so he would not have to face the same hell he did. This kid was a perpetual student throughout the war, and became a liberal professor at and lib university. Just one example.
Many HS graduation gifts were new cars in my hometown. I believe this was totally unheard of before the 60’s, except maybe for the extravagantly rich.
I am not dishonoring all the good this generation did, but I am disgusted they let their guard down raising their own kids with such permissiveness and ignoring the values of our society that they fought so hard to keep.
Everybody here seems so down on modern families and kids. Our personal experiences are quite different and I think yours probably are, too. We’ve enjoyed wholesome family life and so have most of our friends and large circle of acquaintances. All of our kids and their friends are in their early to late 20s. They are all great people: caring, kind, hard working, and accomplished. Several have gotten married and a few have kids of their own already.
I can only think of a couple of divorces in our wide circle. There has been tragedy: a friend of my son lost his Dad in a bicycling accident and our wonderful Boy Scout Troop leader lost his son in a sea kiting accident.
We taught the kids to be wise with money — we raised our family in a modest 1,800 sq foot ranch house built in 1952 with some improvements, but no major remodel and we’ve driven cars to 200k. The kids all had jobs in their early teens and learned a strong work ethic. The kids all have incredibly wealthy friends, but never complain and they all understand our situation.
Life is good and so is the next generation. Sometimes you just have to tune out all the naysaying around us.
Well....my first marriage ended in divorce, but I swore (silently to myself) that my son would not live the life I did....my ex’s family was a good family, and I made sure he didn’t get yanked around at Christmas ....and now he is married with kids, and we are one state apart, and I still make sure he is NOT yanked around, so his kids (this is his wife’s 3rd marriage - 3 of 4 kids are not his) do not have to suffer...it means I have had to suffer...but, that’s the way it is.
I do think we made mistakes in entering so-called free trade agreements. The existence of a WTO or other supranational bodies to oversee trade is an attack on liberty. We now have managed trade, not free trade. Also, giving MFN status to China was, and is, a sign that the US no longer lives up to its own ideals. Despite what neoconservatives say, I see no evidence that the rise of a Chinese middle class is bringing about political freedom there. Economic freedom and political freedom do not go hand in hand.
This said, the economy is different than at then end of WWII.
The information economy has transformed commerce. Every company, even the smallest companies, use technology to conduct ordinary business. The jobs needed to support the infrastructure are characterized as “service” jobs. In fact, the product of these jobs is a hybrid of good and service.
Of course, there has been a strong effort to offshore these jobs to India. The jobs where this was first attempted were the true service occupations, such as administrators of corporate systems or data resources. More recently, firms have attempted to offshore value-added work such as management consulting or business analysis.
Take, for example, my own field of analytics, which I have done in a variety of industries for the past 20 years. In the past eight years, I have seen a vigorous effort to offshore work in my field, the idea being that there are well-educated people in India who can do the work much cheaper.
Unfortunately, the offshored work product is often of much lower quality than what I would insist upon getting from my own staff. The BPO firms count upon the ignorance of their clients - that they don’t know what quality looks like or what questions to ask regarding methodology.
Further, projects done through this channel are no longer much cheaper than doing work onshore and in-house- perhaps 80% or 90% of the cost of a regular employee - not a cost savings when you account for the rework necessary with a BPO firm.
I’ve come to the conclusion that offshoring, whether to China for manufacturing or India for information services, is not being driven by a desire for greater profits. Given the risks, it really isn’t cheaper to conduct business this way.
Offshoring is being driven by a set of crypto-religious imperatives, a social justice ideal that ignores business reality or societal impact. In other words, “it’s the right thing to do”, just like setting up a diversity industry within each company.
I hope conservatives didn’t think that Gramsci’s “long march through the institutions” would stop at the security gates of our corporations. The leftists are in charge. Their religion is the cultural currency of our fallen republic.
My father used to get oranges and socks.
In my new position, I see pediatric patients pretty much non-stop all day.
Some of the kids are delightful. But I am almost embarrassed for some of these parents over the way some of their children behave.
These kids are rude, disruptive, incredibly jaded, smart mouthed and they rule the roost — only because the stupid parents LET THEM.
Parents don’t know their own authority anymore. They let these kids walk all over them. If the kid doesn’t want a certain medicine or treatment, they don’t get it ...even if it’s best for them. It’s all about their “wants” and avoiding any sort suffering, even if it’s only temporary.
The worse thing is ...you don’t enjoy their company a bit and it’s just a huge relief once they all just leave.
Parents need to know . ..you are not doing your child a favor by raising them to be spoiled rotten ninnies. No one is going to LIKE them ...or want them around. They are indeed “spoiled” human beings. It’s just sad.
I wish I could say this to all parents: if they want to throw a fit, LET THEM ...let them tantrum until they can tantrum no more. Shut the door and ignore them. Eventually they will learn that tantrums get them nowhere. Reward GOOD behavior ...not bad behavior. It’s basic behavioral training for crying out loud. People have forgotten it.
Heartwarming and sounds quite a bit like my background.
A very good contribution to this thread.
Every generation has been written about as the ruination of all that is good and decent (check out what the Romans and the Greeks were saying about their youth thousands of years ago).
Yes there are bad children but they are not now, nor ever, the majority. We hear about the ‘dramatic’ cases. It is like working in an ER… one gets to the point where everything is an emergency and yet that is not the truth.
Children want what is intriguing. In 1913 that which intrigues was far different than what intrigues today. Blame flush toilets, hot and cold running water, electrification of the home, affordable automobiles, and lots of other inventions.
Every one has the opportunity to make a choice as to how they will celebrated Christmas. I don’t need to blame lefties or government for the greed that is intrinsic in man’s nature
What’s wrong with the KIDS, you ask?
Well, for one thing, it’s not the kids doing the purchasing, it’s the parents.
Secondly, I don’t see walnuts, oranges, handkerchiefs or mittens being marketed as unique, must-have christmas gifts.
In 1913 ‘’tv’’ wasn’t as influential as it is today considering it wasn’t developed yet.
And parents aren’t any different today with regard to wanting to supply the kinds of things a kid might enjoy at christmas.
And finally, christmas greed as we know it today was not the cultural norm back in 1913. It’s a much more recent marketing invention.
In 1913, there was more celebration to the birth of a man they called savior, and the bowl of nuts and oranges was more likely to be an extravagant part of the family dinner after church, IF they were fortunate. And home made mittens were a necessary part of agrarian life, a must have item when you had to go outdoors to feed your livestock, and shovel your way to the horse carriage lane, or to school.
So what’s wrong with the KIDS???
Nothing. Look beyond the kids.
My father (born 1920, passed away 2008) would always look at what I got at Christmas and tell us that they got oranges and candy, and thought it was the greatest thing in the world.
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