Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
There is no way to compare what is happening in such a tiny country as Sweden to the U.S. It is like comparing Israels success in fighting terror to the U.S. There is no comparison. Besides there is one word to describe Sweden's answer to "solving its social problems" though on a much smaller scale. Taxes taxes taxes!
And why can't you compare? True, the population and size is much less, but that can be compared to any state here in the US.
So taxes decrease crime is what you're saying? If you take into account some of the things in the US that you have to pay for such as social security, medicare, health insurance, etc, the tax rates aren't too different. One thing to point out is that Sweden spend a lot less as a percentage of GDP on medical services than the US despite universal coverage, so that seems to be more efficient.
Wow! Such incredible insight for a younger person. I commend you, Spike, for excellent observations.
Our currency has "In God We Trust" imprinted on it...yet we will not even allow a few minutes set aside for individual prayer in schools. Our pledge of allegiance includes God in it...it's what our forefathers believed in. Separation of church and state is misconstrued to appease the far left who would like nothing more than to abandon all morals and values.
I think the work ethic in America has deteriorated, also. These days, children are learning to expect things, not EARN them. In addition, I am saddened by the lack of respect toward elders...parents, teachers, even government leaders. Just my opinion.
Okay, I'm ready for the flogging to begin.
Actually "in god we trust" and the like were very recently added. Thanks. Also the founding farthers were mostly deist, agnostic, etc...along those lines. Very few were what you would think of as being christian. K thanks
Some of the moral decay has always existed, but in recent decades we have been plagued by (a) excessive consumerism, (b) increased and unwarranted litigation, (c) corporate rights vs. individual rights, (d) extremism and polarization, (e) a shift in family and community values, regardless of religious persuasion, (f) media propaganda, (g) the dissolution of the family as a unit and as a community, (h) local and regional displacement, and much more.
For every negative, we can find a positive, but the sum total has increasingly led to a permissive society with few boundaries, little respect for the other and an absence of conscious.
1 - The US is still by far the most religious country of the developed nations, so that really can't be the problem. And is Europe that "mess" that you believe? Have you ever compared murder rates in the US with Europe? Have you compared the percentage living in poverty in the US with Europe? Start there and it might give you an idea of what "do what feels good" is.
2 - I agree that this may have some influence on young people today. I'm still surprised at how much violence is shown on TV during prime time but we're upset about sex and foul language that really don't cause a lot of trouble.
3 - So we should teach children that the US does everything right? I have a hard time imaging that all teachers tell their students to hate the US, but there is nothing wrong with getting an objective education that look at what effects the actions of the US government around the world has.
4 - So foul language will mean the end of the world?
5 - Maybe the reason women started to work was because of World War II, but I may be mistaken. So do you believe that women shouldn't work? Do they need to "know their place" and "obey their husbands?" I think it shows great progress that women are out in the workforce and are given good opportunities even though they still have ways to go (see percentage of women in Congress). I do agree with you though that real wages have decreased that has caused more women not to have the choice to stay at home.
6 - Glad you turned out ok, but I was never spanked and guess what, I also managed to get a college degree and never get in trouble. Maybe that was because my parents taught me right from wrong using their WORDS and not violence. In many other countries, or quack countries as you probably would like them, spanking has been outlawed for many years since it's considered abuse. However, that doesn't mean that you shouldn't discipline your children, but there are many other ways. Maybe you shouldn't let your children have a playstation, snacks, etc in their bedroom?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Nirvana-Guy
To me, it's a combo of issues.
1. Religion creates a deterrent to crime and other types of bad behavior. For years, the United States relied on people "policing themselves" to do what is right and honorable. It was because of the country's religious foundation that people (even the non-religious) had some honor and sense of right and wrong. Now that is gone, it's the "do what feels good" culture that we see in Europe (and look at the mess their socities are with mass drug use, mass depression, and high suicide rates).
2. The Media. We grew up knowing who the good guys were and who the bad guys were. Superman, The Duke, and Batman were the good guys while Joker and Lex Luthor were bad. That was cut and dry, a clear "right and wrong".
NOW, people think Snoop Dog is "good" but in a "different way". Snoop Dog and other thug rappers advocate drug use, possession of illegal guns, beating and abusing women, and being 'gangers' and taking whatever they wnat by force. The media has twisted culture in a way that the bad people. The media glorifies bad behavior so much that 'it is cool to be bad'.
3. Teachers. I know not all teachers are bad (my mother-in-law is a public school teacher). But some teachers and school are indoctrinating America's kids to have this liberalistic, anti-American midset. They are being raised to hate America and to accept everything (drugs, sex, bad bahavior, etc). Kids are taught that "well, Osama Bin Laden orchestrated the killing of 5,000 Americans in 1 day, BUT why is that?? Because America is evil, that is why. If we just gave him money and did what he wanted, this would not happen". There are a LOT of teacher that tell our kids that.
4. Music. This is one of the worse, and I will use gangsta rappers again as my example. Parents should NOT let this kids buy these types of CDs. I saw this one 7 or 8 year old yelling at people at Universal the other day. He was saying you "motherf**** I am going to kill you. I am going to rape you, hoe". Just crazy talk!! Where did he hear such things?? I bet it's on rap cds. That is where that stuff is.
5. Parents being forced to work. I KNOW I will take a LOT of heat for saying this and I bet a lot of negative feedback, but before the "feminist revolution" in the 1960's one man working could support a whole family (wife, kids, dog, 1 car, and a house). After the 1960's, women "revolted" and started working outside the home. The surge in the number of available workers drove wages down (slowly) and today 1/2 of the US workforce is female and guess why?? Because wages are so low today that both parents are FORCED to work outside the home to make ends meet.
So today, even when a mother wants to stay home and raise a good child, she cannot. So these women have to let MTV and Snoop Dog raise her kids. The result is you having to pick up your kid at the local police station because your unsupervised kid was caught vandalizing a car or shoplifiting.
6. The dumb politicians and psychologists. Politicians pass law in "quack states" (like MA, CT, NJ, etc) to prevent parents from spanking. They think sending kids to their rooms for a "time out" works.... little they know the kid has a Playstation, cable TV, and plenty of snacks, so really, the "punishment" is actually a nice funh break.
The psychologists (liberal ones) think kids should never be punished, as it "discourages them". Well, guess what? Some kids NEED to be discouraged from doing bad and unless there is some form of punishment available, the kid will have no reason to be good. I was good as a kid, because I knew that if I got too crazy, I would get a spanking. I turned out pretty ok.,.. never smoked either cigs or weed, drive very little, never arrested/in trouble, got a college degree and all. And I credit that to my mom talking to me and telling me right from wrong and knowing that being bad was not right and there is a punishment (spanking) for being bad.
These are some of the reasons. Go ahead, rip me for my comments on women having to work and the no-spank laws.
1. Religion creates a deterrent to crime and other types of bad behavior. For years, the United States relied on people "policing themselves" to do what is right and honorable. It was because of the country's religious foundation that people (even the non-religious) had some honor and sense of right and wrong. Now that is gone, it's the "do what feels good" culture that we see in Europe (and look at the mess their socities are with mass drug use, mass depression, and high suicide rates).
2. The Media. We grew up knowing who the good guys were and who the bad guys were. Superman, The Duke, and Batman were the good guys while Joker and Lex Luthor were bad. That was cut and dry, a clear "right and wrong".
NOW, people think Snoop Dog is "good" but in a "different way". Snoop Dog and other thug rappers advocate drug use, possession of illegal guns, beating and abusing women, and being 'gangers' and taking whatever they wnat by force. The media has twisted culture in a way that the bad people. The media glorifies bad behavior so much that 'it is cool to be bad'.
3. Teachers. I know not all teachers are bad (my mother-in-law is a public school teacher). But some teachers and school are indoctrinating America's kids to have this liberalistic, anti-American midset. They are being raised to hate America and to accept everything (drugs, sex, bad bahavior, etc). Kids are taught that "well, Osama Bin Laden orchestrated the killing of 5,000 Americans in 1 day, BUT why is that?? Because America is evil, that is why. If we just gave him money and did what he wanted, this would not happen". There are a LOT of teacher that tell our kids that.
4. Music. This is one of the worse, and I will use gangsta rappers again as my example. Parents should NOT let this kids buy these types of CDs. I saw this one 7 or 8 year old yelling at people at Universal the other day. He was saying you "motherf**** I am going to kill you. I am going to rape you, hoe". Just crazy talk!! Where did he hear such things?? I bet it's on rap cds. That is where that stuff is.
5. Parents being forced to work. I KNOW I will take a LOT of heat for saying this and I bet a lot of negative feedback, but before the "feminist revolution" in the 1960's one man working could support a whole family (wife, kids, dog, 1 car, and a house). After the 1960's, women "revolted" and started working outside the home. The surge in the number of available workers drove wages down (slowly) and today 1/2 of the US workforce is female and guess why?? Because wages are so low today that both parents are FORCED to work outside the home to make ends meet.
So today, even when a mother wants to stay home and raise a good child, she cannot. So these women have to let MTV and Snoop Dog raise her kids. The result is you having to pick up your kid at the local police station because your unsupervised kid was caught vandalizing a car or shoplifiting.
6. The dumb politicians and psychologists. Politicians pass law in "quack states" (like MA, CT, NJ, etc) to prevent parents from spanking. They think sending kids to their rooms for a "time out" works.... little they know the kid has a Playstation, cable TV, and plenty of snacks, so really, the "punishment" is actually a nice funh break.
The psychologists (liberal ones) think kids should never be punished, as it "discourages them". Well, guess what? Some kids NEED to be discouraged from doing bad and unless there is some form of punishment available, the kid will have no reason to be good. I was good as a kid, because I knew that if I got too crazy, I would get a spanking. I turned out pretty ok.,.. never smoked either cigs or weed, drive very little, never arrested/in trouble, got a college degree and all. And I credit that to my mom talking to me and telling me right from wrong and knowing that being bad was not right and there is a punishment (spanking) for being bad.
These are some of the reasons. Go ahead, rip me for my comments on women having to work and the no-spank laws.
I agree with you 100%. I couldn't have said it any better if I tried...lol
It's kind of funny (sorry, back to religion a bit). Most of the topics spoken here stem from the Bible, but most do nto know it. #1 We have the prayer issue: God says to pray continuously. #2 Lack of Discipline: Spare the rod, spoil the child. He who loves his child chastizes him (remember the issue with the little girl on the flight that was about to take off and she wouldn't get in her seat and calm down? Nothing a good old fashioned spanking wouldn't take care of ) Kid acts up, give him/her a pill #3 Working parents: It is in the Bible that the man is the bread winner and the woman should raise the kids (I know I will get flack for that one as well). #4 As for the Media, porn/adultery/lust, violence, lies/gossip. smoking drinking I'm sure you can fill in your own here as well. #5 Even economics ans consumerism etc pretty much plays into the Bible as far as everything in MODERATION rather than over endulgence. Example, Matthew 6:19 (King James Version) 19Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: Matthew 16:26 26For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? I'll stop before everyone gets upset with me.
I agree with you 100%. I couldn't have said it any better if I tried...lol
It's kind of funny (sorry, back to religion a bit). Most of the topics spoken here stem from the Bible, but most do nto know it. #1 We have the prayer issue: God says to pray continuously. #2 Lack of Discipline: Spare the rod, spoil the child. He who loves his child chastizes him (remember the issue with the little girl on the flight that was about to take off and she wouldn't get in her seat and calm down? Nothing a good old fashioned spanking wouldn't take care of ) Kid acts up, give him/her a pill #3 Working parents: It is in the Bible that the man is the bread winner and the woman should raise the kids (I know I will get flack for that one as well). #4 As for the Media, porn/adultery/lust, violence, lies/gossip. smoking drinking I'm sure you can fill in your own here as well. #5 Even economics ans consumerism etc pretty much plays into the Bible as far as everything in MODERATION rather than over endulgence. Example, Matthew 6:19 (King James Version) 19Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: Matthew 16:26 26For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? I'll stop before everyone gets upset with me.
I disagree with everything except #5, but it always amazes me how the religious right only voice their concerns about gay marriage and abortion but will not say a word about helping the poor or asking people to live in moderation... I guess it's the same as the old don't spare the rod literal quote while for some reason we don't endorse stoning of people.
If you want your kids to pray, then pray with them. The only reason people are so hot to get prayer in schools is to make other kids pray.
I agree with some things in here and alot I dont. Both my parents worked but they were around for me and I didn't dare disobey my father.
However, women are not baby making machines. I'm not married yet but I won't ever have children..and I won't allow my gender to change what I want to do with my life.
Again that said people are overly materialistic...they buy things they cannot afford, houses, cars, electronics....work harder and more and more hours. They worship their material goods.
And for example, New Orleans where I Am moving this week, people have left there because it's a hard place to live, We are a security minded people now, not liberty minded. We would sell our own nation down the river for some more money and perceieved security.
1. Religion creates a deterrent to crime and other types of bad behavior. For years, the United States relied on people "policing themselves" to do what is right and honorable. It was because of the country's religious foundation that people (even the non-religious) had some honor and sense of right and wrong. Now that is gone, it's the "do what feels good" culture that we see in Europe (and look at the mess their socities are with mass drug use, mass depression, and high suicide rates).
2. The Media. We grew up knowing who the good guys were and who the bad guys were. Superman, The Duke, and Batman were the good guys while Joker and Lex Luthor were bad. That was cut and dry, a clear "right and wrong".
NOW, people think Snoop Dog is "good" but in a "different way". Snoop Dog and other thug rappers advocate drug use, possession of illegal guns, beating and abusing women, and being 'gangers' and taking whatever they wnat by force. The media has twisted culture in a way that the bad people. The media glorifies bad behavior so much that 'it is cool to be bad'.
3. Teachers. I know not all teachers are bad (my mother-in-law is a public school teacher). But some teachers and school are indoctrinating America's kids to have this liberalistic, anti-American midset. They are being raised to hate America and to accept everything (drugs, sex, bad bahavior, etc). Kids are taught that "well, Osama Bin Laden orchestrated the killing of 5,000 Americans in 1 day, BUT why is that?? Because America is evil, that is why. If we just gave him money and did what he wanted, this would not happen". There are a LOT of teacher that tell our kids that.
4. Music. This is one of the worse, and I will use gangsta rappers again as my example. Parents should NOT let this kids buy these types of CDs. I saw this one 7 or 8 year old yelling at people at Universal the other day. He was saying you "motherf**** I am going to kill you. I am going to rape you, hoe". Just crazy talk!! Where did he hear such things?? I bet it's on rap cds. That is where that stuff is.
5. Parents being forced to work. I KNOW I will take a LOT of heat for saying this and I bet a lot of negative feedback, but before the "feminist revolution" in the 1960's one man working could support a whole family (wife, kids, dog, 1 car, and a house). After the 1960's, women "revolted" and started working outside the home. The surge in the number of available workers drove wages down (slowly) and today 1/2 of the US workforce is female and guess why?? Because wages are so low today that both parents are FORCED to work outside the home to make ends meet.
So today, even when a mother wants to stay home and raise a good child, she cannot. So these women have to let MTV and Snoop Dog raise her kids. The result is you having to pick up your kid at the local police station because your unsupervised kid was caught vandalizing a car or shoplifiting.
6. The dumb politicians and psychologists. Politicians pass law in "quack states" (like MA, CT, NJ, etc) to prevent parents from spanking. They think sending kids to their rooms for a "time out" works.... little they know the kid has a Playstation, cable TV, and plenty of snacks, so really, the "punishment" is actually a nice funh break.
The psychologists (liberal ones) think kids should never be punished, as it "discourages them". Well, guess what? Some kids NEED to be discouraged from doing bad and unless there is some form of punishment available, the kid will have no reason to be good. I was good as a kid, because I knew that if I got too crazy, I would get a spanking. I turned out pretty ok.,.. never smoked either cigs or weed, drive very little, never arrested/in trouble, got a college degree and all. And I credit that to my mom talking to me and telling me right from wrong and knowing that being bad was not right and there is a punishment (spanking) for being bad.
These are some of the reasons. Go ahead, rip me for my comments on women having to work and the no-spank laws.
1. If religiosity was a deterrent against violence than the Middle East would be the most safe and tranquil region in the world. Also, with the unfortunate exception of the UK (which except murder has a virtually identical crime rate to that of the US), no Western European country has as much violent crime as the US (although levels of property crime are similar). The reason crime was lower in the mid 20th century US had to do with less economic inequality, a middle class majority (the product of FDR's New Deal social programs, and which began to decline when Reagan dismantled the New Deal Consensus - it ended under George W.) and plentiful employment, not religiosity. Note that the most devoutly religious region of the US, the South, has the highest violent crime.
2. Admittedly rap and hip hop can be quite extreme and I don't condone the violent and hateful side of those genres, but one has to be careful making these remarks. Parents in the 70s said the same thing about their kids listening to David Bowie, Alice Cooper, and the Sex Pistols - parents in the '60s were horrified by the Stones, Dylan, and the Doors - parents in the '50s were horrified by Elvis and Little Richard - parents before rock existed were horrified by jazz and swing - etc. etc. This is a recurring pattern. Not all hip hop is violent and hateful (how could anyone find OutKast to be hateful for example?) As for Snoop Dogg, Big Pun and many of the other more crude and explicit rappers, they're essentially actors playing a role (they often admit this) and this needs to be more well known. But this relates to the greater problem in our society of too many people confusing what they see on the screen with reality - a problem that has worsened as entertainment has become much more intimate. Back in 1950 when only wealthy Americans owned TVs and most Americans watched TVs collectively in bars (like in many Third and Fourth World countries today) and when entertainment meant seeing a movie on a big screen in a theatre or listening to a radio which left much to the imagination, there was less of a problem with distinguishing reality from fantasy.
3. I don't see a problem with anti-American indoctrination, I see a problem with history books being blanded due to PC so they don't offend ANYONE on the right or left, of any particular ethnic group, so essentially nothing gets taught. I also think that security in schools needs to be taken much more seriously.
4. As a child of the '70s I remember kids talking in a very foul manner back then as well. I don't like the "f****k you, I'm gonna cap you" type "gangsta" hip hop either, and it's clearly not appropriate for kids, but people in this society have forgotten that parents do have to play a role in choosing what their kids listen to. Beyond this, though, one has to look at the larger picture. My generation saw blood and guts in Nam on TV as kids and these kids today are seeing the same thing in Iraq on TV. One has to question why the leadership in this country keeps making the same mistakes over and over and these mistakes do affect the larger society. "Gangsta rap" is a reflection of "gangsta government".
5. The reason for the economic conditions being what they are have to do with the dismantling of unions, the increased conglomeratization and offshoring going on in the US, and the restructuring of the US economy which favors large corporations and disfavors everyone else. I mentioned earlier that the UK is the only European country with similar violent crime rates to the US - no big surprise because Maggie Thatcher did exactly what Reagan did in the US, and Tony Blair has continued her economic policies (just as Clinton did not reverse the economic policies of Reagan, he merely contained some of the damage), with the old industrial belt of Northern England suffering the same fate as the old industrial belt of the Great Lakes, jobs disappearing, hope disappearing and crime going out of sight. Globalization's a *****, isn't it?
6. I'm not for or against "no spank" laws- I don't think they really make much of a difference either way (other than kids who aren't spanked not developing particular sexual fetishes once they become adults). I'm obviously for laws against child abuse and child sexual abuse, neither of which should be tolerated. I do think parents may indulge their kids with technology too much - parents should encourage their kids to read more, and media literacy should also be encouraged just so kids don't believe everything they see on TV or other media and thus can't be manipulated as easily.
Well, here is a good example of the extent to which we have moral decline; another fatal shooting spree at a university in VA---20 reported dead by the Chicago Tribune and this just in from the WP:
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
#3 Working parents: It is in the Bible that the man is the bread winner and the woman should raise the kids (I know I will get flack for that one as well). #4 As for the Media, porn/adultery/lust, violence, lies/gossip. smoking drinking I'm sure you can fill in your own here as well. #5 Even economics ans consumerism etc pretty much plays into the Bible as far as everything in MODERATION rather than over endulgence. Example, Matthew 6:19 (King James Version) 19Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: Matthew 16:26 26For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? I'll stop before everyone gets upset with me.
