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Thanks, Lawry, for resurrecting this topic. Don’t you think that any society, the further it moves
away from its original point of reference, will “lose its way”? When we were still mostly agrarian and the middle
class was the minority, children were raised with after school chores that
correlated to the family’s welfare, i.e., if not milking cows on the farm,
tending the vegetable garden in town, maybe a few hen eggs. Eventually, as
gardens disappeared chores became setting the table and cleaning, but the
connection to survival waned. Activities that built character and taught
business experience shifted from neighborhood ties to the service industry,
involving kids in lessons further away from home and family connections. Likewise, generations of Americans raised families on
the notion that life would be better for their kids, so naturally kids began to
see this as their birth right. Our economic success has outpaced our cultural evolution. Some people look forward to our economy ‘hitting the
wall’, anticipating that there will be a positive sociocultural transformation
(we can only hope…) but perhaps this is romanticizing the Great Depression a la
Swiss Family Robinson. For others going ‘cold turkey’ from addictive consumerism
will be thrust upon them, rather than a tempered gradual choice. For too many
of us, especially the poor, elderly and frail, it will mean disaster because we
have not tended to the liberal principles of the greater common good, as in
universal health care and education as we should have done. Young people do not understand these broader
ramifications, their vision obscured by the immaturity, so that learning to
become responsible adults is done outside the family and too many are raised to
think adulthood is bestowed upon them at a certain birthday, and with the
acquisition of the latest status symbols. This is of course, tribal by nature,
but we have lost the connection to why and what for. The substance is lost. Karen -----Original
Message----- These are indicators of an economy/society
that has lost its way. After it "hits the wall" there will
likely be changes in attitude. arthur From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On
Behalf Of Lawrence de Bivort I think Harry points to a fundamentally
important issue. I will indulge in a few generalizations.... Why have we created a culture of
entitlement? Why do American parents allow their kids to embrace the notions: 1) That school must be
entertaining, or there is something wrong with the teachers? 2) That they need
anything they want? 3) That ‘hanging out’,
‘chilling,’ and ‘veging’ are acceptable at any time? 4) That because they
are Americans everything will be provided them one way or another? 5) That ‘having fun’
and ‘being happy’ are the two highest values (and rights) or children? 6) That working hard
is bad and undesirable? 7) That ‘fashion’ is
important? I do believe that children have vastly more
ability than their parents give them credit for, and that they embrace
challenges when they are framed correctly, and that they are robust enough to
‘know the truth’ about the world and the effects globalization is going to have
on their lives. Why is it that so many parents underestimate the
capabilities of their children and educationally under-serve them? Cheers, or sighs, Lawry From:
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
[mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On
Behalf Of Harry Pollard I well remember my 10-11 year old sons delivering newspapers in
the Canadian snow. Our house was built on nursery land and my kids would
harvest asparagus from the unbuilt on fields and sell it to the neighbors. Maybe that attitude has disappeared with the advent of computer
games. Harry ********************************* 818 352-4141 ********************************* |
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