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those were the days when men when actually men, even the modern day US military is not as tough as before, they even take homosexuals now, it's nothing like it was before they dont have the back bone like the older generations, people are too use to a life of easy living, free government handouts, nobody works for a living, too dependent on the Gov for asisstance, too many kids born out of wed lock, people always take the easy way out, marriages mean nothing today, very high divorce rates, the men wont be a man and take responsibility like the old timers.
today people dont even keep their word anymore, you have to get everything in writing.
the modern day actors are also a joke, trying to be tough guys in the movies, actors like Matt Damon in comparison to actors like Steve McQueen, Clint Eastwood, etc
and, no offense, but if you were 21 today, you could very well be one of them.
If I had my same personality, no, because I like to make money. My parents were status quo people but I was internally motivated to aim higher.
If I were 21 today, I might have started a commercial cleaning business or some sort of cleaning/repair service catering to landlords in a college area. That sort of business requires strength and long hours but not a ton of equipment or start-up money.
I've asked some of the twenty-somethings I know questions like, "If I gave you $1000 to start a business, what would you start?" Out of about twelve, nine had no clue. One had a decent idea about a limited computer repair business, and the other two gave me some BS about multi-level marketing that would be illegal in most states.
I didn't expect a well-thought out plan, but the nine with no clue scared me because they are barely hanging on in minimum wage jobs now and when those companies close their doors, they will really have a problem.
You had too be. You were expected to be an adult at 12 years of age (a general age here, don't hold me too it, you perfectionist's). Women were having children at 12 and men were kings at 12.
I, myself took care of myself since the age of 7, with very little (only my mother) adult influence. I was left alone, at home, for days alone at this age. Yes, I had food in the refrigerator. Yet, I had to get myself up for school, shower, dress, and clean my own home. I didn't have any adult influence to force me to do so. At 14, I had a part time job and have been working ever since.
Today we coddle children. Look at families where their adult children live with them until 25-30 yrs old. And no, its not "just the economy."
I've written about this before, I am a police officer and I train others to be police officers. You have no clue and no idea how many "parents" come in a complain, I was mean to their 25 yr old son. Really? Your 25 yr old son is trying to be one of the most dangerous and difficult professions in the world. Yet, you, their mother, are here complaining because I raised my voice at them? THAT is the problem with society. Parents who shouldn't be parents and have raised, no other way around it, wusses with a "P."
Yet another TODAY BLOWS!, YESTERDAY ROCKED! thread dressed up as a query.
We are still within a centuries-long trend of letting children be children and not forcing them to be adults before they have finished the necessarily-long (brain development actually takes a long time, as does full cultural socialization) sub-adult time. The trend is a good thing.
Previously, children were worked because a child earning his/her keep was part of the socio-economic state of the times. Hopefully, people can realize that children as part of the full-time labor force, be in in the mills or the mines or on the farms, is simply not good for children. Over 250 years ago, Rousseau in On Education wrote that children should be allowed to be what they are - immature, developing not-yet-adults, and not forced (generally by discipline in various forms of violence) to be what they are not - fully-developed adults.
PS - Judging the development of children as a whole by the agent-and-PR firms-managed impressions of celebrities is beyond silly.
They had to be, because they lived in a society that held them more accountable for their actions. They learned that that their actions had consequences, no matter how lazy or irresponsible they felt like being.
Today, they live in a society that generally does not hold them accountable until they've gone completely overboard. There's always an excuse, always a diagnosis, always a second chance. It's always not really their fault. In the case of celebrities, they are often actually encouraged to behave like bad little boys and girls, because their publicist has taught them that it keeps their names in the public consciousness. The public glamorizes bad behavior to a degree that would have been unacceptable in most previous generations.
Yes, people fought more in the first half of the XX century. And their job was harder and ruder on the average. My grandfather fought in the WWII and then he became a worker (made plastic pieces of clocks using press). But I work using book and computer.
I agree that boys became men earlier in those days than now.
Very complex topic, actually. The lines have blurred between traditional male, female,
and family roles, these time-honoured traditional roles and characteristics are
under attack on many levels. Also, there is the welfare state now.
Actually, the welfare state is older than you imply. It was established with the New Deal programs in the Great Depression. The 50s and 60s had much more government welfare and economic intervention than the modern day. We started shifting Right and dismantling programs in the early 70s with Nixon, then shifted further in the 80s under Reagan.
As for maturity, I'm not convinced that we are inherently less mature now. Less successful, yes, but this is nothing like the economic climate of the 50s and 60s. Back then it was far easier to become financially stable and support a family, whereas today a college degree doesn't guarantee that, and anything less certainly doesn't. You could also pay your way through college in the old days. You cannot come close to doing that now. Women also have a greater expectation to be able to do things other than marriage and childcare or a small number of jobs like teaching, nursing, and clerical work. I certainly don't want to be married with a kid only 23, and I don't want to be a teacher or nurse. I'll have kids when I'm older and have a stable career to support them. As for kids these days being irresponsible, rude, or unintelligent, that has been a complaint since Ancient Egypt. Every single older generation makes it, and today's will be no exception.
Last edited by Gothic Sunshine; 07-09-2014 at 10:25 PM..
those were the days when men when actually men, even the modern day US military is not as tough as before, they even take homosexuals now,
Yea, because where you like to place your genitals has so much bearing on your ability to operate a rifle or stand an incredibly high stress situation. Oh, wait. It doesn't.
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it's nothing like it was before they dont have the back bone like the older generations, people are too use to a life of easy living, free government handouts, nobody works for a living, too dependent on the Gov for asisstance,
Today's welfare state is nothing like the 50s.
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too many kids born out of wed lock,
Lot less teen pregnancy, though.
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marriages mean nothing today, very high divorce rates,
Social mores change, and in the old days a bad relationship would stay together to the detriment of those involved.
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the men wont be a man and take responsibility like the old timers.
I've seen a lot of the onus being put on the men in this argument, as compared to the women. I wonder why that is.
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today people dont even keep their word anymore, you have to get everything in writing.
Well, that's a new one.
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