The Erosion of American Lives

http://www.sierratimes.com ^ | Feb. 21, 2005 | Nancy Levant

[hedgetrimmer]

passive citizenship-- the refusal or inability to teach children the fundamentals of the American experiment and how to preserve its ideals.

[writer33]

passive citizenship-- the refusal or inability to teach children the fundamentals of the American experiment and how to preserve its ideals.

That's true too.

[MontanaBeth]

It's true you have to fight to learn to be self sustaining if necessary, I have always thought it was worth it. But can you imagine how you would have to fight to keep those at bay that can't drive without a cell phone stuck to their heads? And wouldn't have a clue how to hunt, preserve and plant for your own family? It would not be pretty. More ammo.

[Cultural Jihad]

All brought to you by moral-liberalism, with the Libertarian Party champions.

[sarasmom]

Not really.
I know how to "can" vegetables.I had to learn because that was what we ate.
A back to nature dilettante liberal couple I once knew "canned" an acre of various vegetables they had worked hard on all year,n their spare time, from their own garden.
They proudly showed me their pantry of two serving portions in color coordinated, artistically disobeyed quart jars.





They were dismayed when I told them they would get violently sick, and possibly die, if they ate any of it.
You see, they didn't fill any of the jars to seal properly...botulism laboratory.
I doubt they burned the waste, as I advised. They probably just dumped the jars upstream of their or their neighbors well.
I try to avoid living near high income, gated communities.
Not a safe place to be near in a power outage.

[writer33]

All brought to you by moral-liberalism, with the Libertarian Party champions.

Could I have said this better myself?

Probably not.

[OkieDoke]

back then, I used to wear an onion on my belt. Yessir, those were the days! But then they had to go and change things . . .

[ccmay]

It seems like each generation talks about how easy or how lost the younger generations have it.

Hear hear.

My great grandfather laughed at my grandfather for not knowing how to drive a horse and buggy. My grandfather laughed at my dad for not knowing how to hand-crank a Model T. My dad laughed at me for not knowing how to drive with a manual transmission. I laugh at my kids for not being able to navigate without a GPS. My kids will laugh at my grandkids, as they fly around in their automated jet-pods, for not knowing how to drive a car with a steering wheel.

Hindsight is always, always, always obscured by rose-colored glasses. The future always, always, always looks grim to cranky old people.

-ccm

[writer33]

I strongly disagree. The military and economic compromises (technology to China, etc.), revolting morals (Monica and defense of lying), and other such things under President Clinton have been far worse than the war-time growth in the budget under President Bush.

Sick 'em, CM. Sick 'em. :)

[1john2 3and4]

Yes, something else...though it might be a subset of political correctness.....

....the safety issue. Particularly: the loss of childhood. FReepers have been discussing the reasons on and off for awhile. When you think about it, it may be the saddest tragedy (thanks, liberalism) of all.

The freedom to roam, to explore, ride a bike, hike around - unsupervised - is just about GONE.

The reason? Coddling of the predator. I believe there's no "rehabilitation" for particular types of predators. Child predators need to be punished once. Removed from society by any means at the states' disposal. They're allowed to hunt and haunt our children. Breaks my heart.

[Snoopers-868th]

Yes, we don't have as many farmers; that's because agricultural productivity is much higher, which is *good*. And she ignores positive changes like vastly improved medical treatments and widely available global communication. These are only good in the eye of the beholder. We don't have as many farmers; no we have huge farmers, argicultural productivity so we can subsidize the farmer NOT to grow, medical treatments that keep us alive way past quality of life and willinginess to care for the elders, global communication is good if you want your job exported.

[dighton]

.
In the good old days, FReepers* didn't log on* to the internet* and ping* folks just for the hell of it**.

* Newfangled expression.

** Shocking vulgarity.

[Snoopers-868th]

Assimilate immigrants rather than accept diversity.

[Muleteam1]

I was raised on a small Texas farm. My son-in-law was raised on a concrete stoop in Brooklyn. We both speak English, both claim to be conservative, but communication is still very difficult.

I surley don't want to go back. That would mean having to go through the 1960s again.

Muleteam1

[Monti Cello]

This is mostly hypersentimental BS.

the world we lived in as children is completely gone. Nothing that exists resembles our lives....
give me a break with the hyperbole

I was never afraid of the dark
Ah, yes back in the day when even the dark was light.

All fathers and brothers could fix cars, lawn mowers, tractors, boat engines, toasters, leaking faucets and spigots.
Uh, huh, yeah right....white collar employment and urban life sprang into existence in 1969.

Many people lived in cities and towns because there was very little crime.
This is idiotic beyond comment.

pig farmers, goat and poultry farmers and seed farming were all held in the highest regard by most people.
I highly doubt this.

The freedom of self-definition has all but gone by the wayside.
Nonsense! I've got my own tagline, dammit!!

I as a young 30-something grew up in a life closer to what she describes in a ruralish suburb than my upper-50's parents did in a big city suburb. One's environs and shopping habits are for the choosing, not dictated by the media.

[RipSawyer]

"They proudly showed me their pantry of two serving portions in color coordinated, artistically disobeyed quart jars."

Please tell me, how do you "artistically disobey" a quart jar?

[freekitty]

I remember those days.

[television is just wrong]

I agree with that. We are now sympathizing with the criminals. So our children have to stay close and under watchful eyes at all times. Not fair, but the liberals want it that way.

[ExpatGator]

Easy Sparky. You are not in the Goatlocker and probably should not talk to the locals like you are. Everyone here has different experiences than you and you can disagree without resorting to ignorant Chiefspew. Consider yourself chastised by an ex E-6. At ease sailor.

As far as your point of view on the issues, I disagree on all points except the spending increases. Can you really say that Clinton and his ilk did not harm this country a whole lot more than the current White House resident? Seriesly?? With a straight face? Without laughing, or your fingers crossed behind your back?

[TheForceOfOne]

Butting in....
Trolls are recognizable by the fact that the have no real interest in learning about the topic at hand - they simply want to utter flame bait. Like the ugly creatures they are named after, they exhibit no redeeming characteristics, and as such, they are recognized as a lower form of life on the net.

lol