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The oldest is 33, the second is 28 and my youngest is 25.
My wife died of a coronary problem when she was 42. My boys were in there early teens back then. It's been me and the boys since that fateful date.
All I can say, they are good kids. And their friends are good kids too.
I see the problems in today's society but I don't think they are worse than the problems we faced. We had bullies, we had drugs, we had petty crime, we had murders in my time too. We had race riots, we had crime sprees, we had pointless violence, ... We had economic downturn as well. In 1973, 1979, 1982, 1995, 2001, ...
The difference? The media. Media focus has changed.
We don't hear the positive stories anymore. We only see, hear and read about things that go bad. We don't like each other anymore because the trust is gone. Because lawmakers have gone crazy...
Did you know I personally know a sex offender? That I even let him into my house and left him alone with my kids?
The kid was 17 and had a relationship with a 15 y.o. girl. In my time, that was "getting lucky". Nowadays it's rape. The poor boy now has to face a lifetime of stigma. And because the cause is not listed on the sex offenders register, he can't find a home, he can't find a decent job and he will always be judged by people who don't know the truth.
Today I read the story of the mother that left her toddler in the car. The poor kid died. As a parent, I can't fathom anything worse. I don't want to judge because I have made mistakes as a parent ass well. I have had a car accident with my sons in the car, because I was too tired and fell asleep. It could have ended in disaster, but I was lucky.
So I want to ask you something. I want you to focus on the good things that happen. I want you to read the positive stories, I want you to stop worrying and start finding solutions, instead of finding problems.
And finally, I want you to support our youngsters. Because they are facing a world that has grown more and more complex over the last decades, and it's not going to get simpler anytime soon. Let's show them we are here to help and guide them, instead of berating them for the mistakes we made as well...
I see the problems in today's society but I don't think they are worse than the problems we faced. We had bullies, we had drugs, we had petty crime, we had murders in my time too. We had race riots, we had crime sprees, we had pointless violence, ... We had economic downturn as well. In 1973, 1979, 1982, 1995, 2001, ... The difference? The media. Media focus has changed.
We don't hear the positive stories anymore. We only see, hear and read about things that go bad. We don't like each other anymore because the trust is gone. Because lawmakers have gone crazy...
Well, partly.
It's not so much that the focus has changed, but things aren't covered up on a wholesale basis. The media used to turn a blind eye to things that it no longer does. More information is not a bad thing. Also, there's the 24/7 news cycle on countless channels. The endless repetition from every conceivable angle just makes things appear more rife when, in fact, they aren't. Why people subject themselves to such content is beyond me, but that's their problem.
But you're right, today's youth are fine. What they also are, as is every generation, is different. And a great many people who look the generations that follow then confuse change for deterioration - that outlook is really just self-centered arrogance - and complain about the change that they dislike, fear, and misread.
I think its deplorable that our system labels someone a sex offender and doesn't differentiate between a 17 year old dating a 15 year old vs someone in their 40's preying on small children, or a rapist...
But I think its equally deplorable to make excuses for the women who left her kid in the car
that is the BIGGEST difference I see facing todays youth...things that were wrong back in the day are now excused, or blame shifted...kids aren't held accountable like when I was a kid...
sure media puts more attention on the negative, but I also do believe we as a species are growing worse and worse, not better
The kid was 17 and had a relationship with a 15 y.o. girl. In my time, that was "getting lucky". Nowadays it's rape. The poor boy now has to face a lifetime of stigma. And because the cause is not listed on the sex offenders register, he can't find a home, he can't find a decent job and he will always be judged by people who don't know the truth.
America needs to change it's stupid and outdated Puritanical laws about sex.
I grew up in the crazy 80's and it was very common for a 17 or 18 yr. old boy to have a 15 or 16 yr. old girlfriend back then. Yes, these high schoolers were having sex and everybody in school knew who was banging who. It was all in good fun and that kind of behavior was celebrated in iconic movies like "Fast Times at Ridgemont High" and "Porky's".
But guess what? NOBODY CARED. The paranoid legal system didn't swoop in to "save" society from all these horrific "child molestors" called horny teenage males. Teen girls grew up and some got married right out of high school and some went on to college to meet future husbands --- and they were NOT emotionally scarred from engaging in sex with an older boy.
In other words, normal life existed and people were happy without PARANOID PURITANICAL politicians and law enforcement getting so heavily involved in our peaceful lives.
I weep for the future to think how oppressive it will be by our Fascist U.S. government.
Last edited by Grand-Pooba-9; 06-04-2015 at 10:22 AM..
I weep for the future to think how oppressive it will be by our Fascist U.S. government.
Any government, regardless of it's political system, can only be as oppressive as it's citizens allow.
The citizens in those countries that impose total control, evidently believe they need it.
Last edited by Fat Freddy; 06-05-2015 at 11:05 AM..
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