The Lamest Generation

[Destrier]

I think they grew to 51% during the election

[JimP]

Food for thought - just how do you think the hippies and boomers came to be such slackers??

I have a working thesis that "the greatest generation" wasn't so great. They did GREAT things (like win the freakin' war(s)) but they then came home to a robust economy and indulged their kids to an extent such that the kids never had to know sacrifice or want. These kids are the ones who became the hippies and slackers. THEY are the ones infesting our universities, government and institutions preaching socialist principals and government largesse.

This greatest generation put into place 40 years of democrat control over congress and the senate, (not capitalized as they currently lack any semblance of honor) and ushered in the "great society" and the "war on pverty" which served to do nothing but enslave an entire race and change the very fabric of our Nation.

As to our kids of today ? Not sure I see them as "great"; especially when you see that only a tenth of 1% of kids serve their country. THESE kids are - indeed - great and do wonderful things. I suspect it is THESE kids with whom we come in contact (we are producers and tend to hang/be around the same). The kids i see in the military today are wonderful. Unfortunately our 'sample" is rather highly gerrymandered.

[ZonieDiver]

...especially when you see that only a tenth of 1% of kids serve their country.

If Congress passes the Achieve Act proposed by Senators Hutchison (R-TX) and Kyl (R-AZ), you'll see a great many more young people - most in good physical condition and very patriotic to the USofA - enlisting in the US military!

[Dozer523]

Originally Posted by JimP

. . . I have a working thesis that "the greatest generation" wasn't so great. They did GREAT things (like win the freakin' war(s)) but they then came home to . . .

so close the Third Rail of American Modern History I bet you can hear the humming.

[Trapper John]

Originally Posted by ZonieDiver

Well said, Richard! (I'd say "spot on" but it's been done to death.)

In the six years immediately prior to my retirement from teaching, I worked with well over 2,000 young people (discounting 'repeats'). Almost all of them arose prior to 0700 to be at school by 0730-0800. My classes ended at 2030. That is a 12 hour school day. Many were making up for lost time due to youthful stupidity. Some were trying to graduate early so they could get a jump-start on college or careeer.

Almost all worked hard. Many overcame great obstacles - language, culture, geography, prejudice, poverty, etc. Few were ever rude or ill-behaved. When those few were, most of them quickly apologized and amended their behavior. Sometimes, their words or actions could bring you to the verge of tears - of joy and admiration.

I just don't understand all the negative crap I see about "youth" in this forum. Are your images of youth formed by the numbnuts you see on the street corners and at the malls? If so, I challenge you. Sign-up to work in your neighborhood school. Coach, or assist in coaching, a sports team. Work at the YMCA. Volunteer somewhere with youth, but for God's sake don't just judge a whole generation by the actions of a very few.

I know we in SF in particular, or the military in general, do NOT wish to be judged by the few asswipes who stain our image and honor.

Nor do the bulk of our 'youth'!

Thanks for this perspective - it gives me hope for their future. You and the other professional educators are sharing a "ground-truth" reality with the rest of us.

I think Billy L-bach has a point {I gotta say, it seems like it has been the 'boomers' and 'hippies' that have been fucking up the gub-mint for the last few decades.
...not the X-Boxers

The boomers and the hipppies are the ones that preached that we needed to let the x-boxers have their individuality. Its the boomers and the hippies that used TV and Atari to RAISE the X-Box generation. Boomers and hippies are the ones that helped solidify the entitlement society we are fighting right now.
The "lamest generation" can hardly be blamed for the problems that we face as a society. The boomers and the hippies are the ones that raised and empowered the x-box generation. (see post #15 in this Thread].

As a Baby Boomer I have often wondered if it is our generation that is the lamest. It seems to me that we created the entitlement society and the "it's all about what I can get" conspicuous consumption mentality (remember the Yuppies). Well, maybe Pogo is right "We have met the enemy and they is us!"

After reading the posts in this thread, I have hope. Maybe our kids are smarter than we think and they will prevail in spite of us.

Thank a teacher...I do every day and as I told Richard in another thread...sometimes she THANKS me too

[PedOncoDoc]

Originally Posted by Trapper John

The boomers and the hipppies are the ones that preached that we needed to let the x-boxers have their individuality.

I have always felt that indiviuality and a strive for personal excellence should be encouraged, but those qualities should be cultivated in the context of how they contribute to a productive community (not a host/parasite community). Wealth, prosperity and comfort are the perks of -- not the reason for -- pushing one's self.

After reading the posts in this thread, I have hope. Maybe our kids are smarter than we think and they will prevail in spite of us.

I definitely see kids at both ends of the spectrum, both in my children's school and at work - those that don't ask for that which they haven't earned, and those that expect everything to be given to them.

Something tells me this has been the case for longer than any of us have been around.

My $.02...

[medic&commo]

Looking from my small sphere of influence, the upcoming generation will do well, if given the opportunity, not hindered by circumstances they had no control over.
m&c

[Mikhail167]

It's funny around the time this thread was created my ideals on life and work would fall under those such kids who would ask "why would I work for more than 8 hours a day?". But over the years my views and ideals did a 180 due to the people who helped kick my ass and pull my head out of my ass, so to speak.

Seeing this here makes me happy, due to the fact that my mentor, father, grandparents, and myself cant quite understand why "my" generation cant become a more hardworking, grateful, and compassionate/empathic group of individuals. We've seen a lot of narcissism, and entitleness now a days. Granted, there are those few who have been raised up right and had to go through the mill to understand things aren't free.

Justin Bieber isn't the ideal man that kids should be aspiring to, and we're getting pissed to see people talk about him as if he is.

I'm asking you for "my" generation's sake and for those who really want to see us step up: What do we need to do better and how can we help pull some of these kids heads out of there ass's?