Monday Musings...
I'm still one of those people that reads the morning paper.
Call me old fashioned, but something about having that cup of coffee while READING the paper, holding it in my soon-to-be ink-smudged hands is part of *my* Americana.
It's one of the things that signifies "morning" to me...along with that rising ball of hydrogen fusion in our sky, quaintly known as the SUN.
But lately, it has almost become a study in angst.
Aside from reading the Garfield comics to assuage my growing terror at what's going on everywhere, there's not much in the way of "comforting" news.
We're basically assaulted 24/7/365 with "news" these days. Turn on damn near ANY cable channel and you'll get it...somewhere.
And I suppose that feeds the habit of those news "junkies" just fine (as well as the insomniacs in the crowd).
But, I've become one of those people that rarely takes anything at face-value.
I like to know ALL the facts. I live for knowing as many aspects of a given story that there are to find, so I can make something we used to call an INFORMED DECISION regarding whatever story I am trying to understand.
That's where the paper comes in...
Granted, there ARE those news agencies that tend to "slant" a story to serve their profit line, and there are also those that just plain print the untruth. But there IS that "tangibility" attached to the paper, none the less.
Ditto for news magazines. Many print what they "think" the readership wants to hear...others will print the FACTS and the TRUTH, regardless of whatever fallout comes their way.
It's when ALL of these sources tend to reach consensus that we begin to scratch the surface of finding the truth.
And truth can be very liberating.
Truth can also get you in trouble, because there are those either in denial, or with some other agenda that has been placed only for obfuscation of that truth that you might be seeking.
There's a nasty consequence that comes with all this diversion and subjugation. What will become history can get blurred along the way (or "fundamentally transformed").
And if there should be ONE constant in our minuscule part of the multi-verse, it has to be that our HISTORY remain INTACT and FACTUAL.
No bullsh*t, no skewed truths, and no deletion of what actually transpires.
We're adults, and we will make of the truth what we will.
Now, I said all THAT...to say THIS:
People have always talked about generational "gaps" since the 1960s.
Well, we've got ourselves a really NICE one staring at us these days.
And that is the "gap" between today's parents and their kids.
Now, before you say "well, duh...parents are OLDER than kids", stop and think about how a lot of kids act today.
Here's an article that reveals what's been going on:
http://www.journalgazette.net/article/20090831/FEAT/308319941
In essence, the story focuses on indulgent parents, and the unruly children that come of such indulgences. And it's a damn good read.
Now, I'll be the FIRST one to tell you that, as I was growing up, if there was ONE WORD I knew VERY well...it was the word NO.
Mostly, it was because Mom & Dad couldn't afford a lot of extravagances (for themselves as well as for me), but they did what they could as situations permitted. In other words, I NEVER "got something for nothing".
Sound familiar?
Does the word "welfare" come to mind?
How about the word "entitlement"?
Getting warmer?
Thought so.
Kids today are growing up with this "instant gratification" mentality...blame that on the root cause founded in the 1960s.
I guess it ALL started with INSTANT COFFEE...LOL!
As I have said here numerous times, we're producing technologies that "kids have to have", and without the wisdom to PROPERLY apply it, it's a waste of money...period. If it's not a Blackberry, it's an LG phone...or an iPod, or the latest MP3 player (are we up to MP5 yet?) or some Bluetooth thing to jam in the ear (the kids need more ears these days...one to LISTEN to the parents and teachers...LOL).
Many times, parents have "relaxed" limits on the kids, and always with the predictable results.
The kids grow up thinking there ARE NO LIMITS...ANYWHERE and for ANY reason.
Oops, sorry...welcome to REAL LIFE 101.
The rules HAVE changed...and the kids cannot change with them, due to all this entitlement crap foisted upon them since childhood.
Let's face it...every single one of us will get to hear the word NO a helluva lot as we grow up...and grow older.
Hell, if I don't say "no" to MYSELF at least twice a day, I've let me down somewhere...!
But the kids need to learn this...and at a lot EARLIER stage in life, lest they become jaded with instant gratification.
It might be an instant world (when it comes to coffee...or the Internet...or even the news), but we cannot, nor should not become "instant" people as a result.
We need to know when to say YES...AND (especially) when to say NO.
For me, it's a simple as chasing kids off the property...I basically say NO...you CAN'T play here.
You have a perfectly good property of YOUR OWN to trash...leave MINE ALONE.
It's a marvelous example of the "entitlement" mentality shown by these kids.
They think if it EXISTS...it should be THEIRS.
Sorry, people..."rude-awakening" time.
More people need to say NO...and MEAN it.
Did we need Wall St bailed out? NO.
Did we need car makers bailed out? NO!
Do we need out of control spending by our government? NO!
(See how easy it is...and all for the right reasons too)
If nothing else, it would instill a more proper sense of DECORUM & CIVILITY towards one another.
That's something that's been MIA for WAY too long.
And...it's something that made AMERICA such a great nation.
Be nice to get back to THOSE kind of basics...wouldn't it?
(and I know you're not saying "no" to THAT)
It would be VERY nice, indeed.
And it would be a damn good start.
In the interim...
Stay safe out there, America.