The general decline in standards today

[dh66]

Well, we'll just have to have a friendly disagreement. I blame the hippie culture for nearly all the ills of society today (excluding terrorism from other parts of the world that is).

I can't agree to this, but as a fellow resident of the great state of Alabama, I'd like to at least tip my hat to you for NOT blaming blacks, illegal immigrants, homosexuals, gambling proponents, higher education, or carpetbaggers.


Well...... maybe we can blame the carpetbaggers.

 

[jamespowers]

I can't agree to this, but as a fellow resident of the great state of Alabama, I'd like to at least tip my hat to you for NOT blaming blacks, illegal immigrants, homosexuals, gambling proponents, higher education, or carpetbaggers.


Well...... maybe we can blame the carpetbaggers.

 

[LizzieMaine]

The 1972 Democratic candidate, George McGovern, was painted as a pinko by the Nixon administration- but had served 26 combat missions over occupied Europe as a B-24 Liberator pilot in the Eighth Air Force.

I had always thought it was interesting in that election that the "dove" candidate was the one who had seen actual combat service -- and the "hawk" was the one who'd fought the war with a clipboard.

 

[dh66]

I had always thought it was interesting in that election that the "dove" candidate was the one who had seen actual combat service -- and the "hawk" was the one who'd fought the war with a clipboard.

'Interesting' perhaps, but not at all surprising.

 

[Gregg Axley]

I can't agree to this, but as a fellow resident of the great state of Alabama, I'd like to at least tip my hat to you for NOT blaming blacks, illegal immigrants, homosexuals, gambling proponents, higher education, or carpetbaggers.


Well...... maybe we can blame the carpetbaggers.

Wait, what kind of carpet baggers?
Shag, medium shag, or low pile?
If it's shag, I just can't see how this is possible. :cool2:

 

[Stearmen]

Ah hell, just include everyone born between 1946 and 1964. That way we don't miss anyone's contributions.

At first I was offended by that comment, but then I remember the look my Mother would give me when I did something wrong. Apparently, I was to blame for all the ills in the world!

 

[Stearmen]

Agreed. I'd like to think that a serious discussion of what is then vs. what is now could offer more substance than what Grandpa Abe usually musters:

View attachment 25719

[video=youtube;z7X2_V60YK8]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z7X2_V60YK8[/video]

 

[Stearmen]

I had always thought it was interesting in that election that the "dove" candidate was the one who had seen actual combat service -- and the "hawk" was the one who'd fought the war with a clipboard.

Nothing new there!

 

[Stearmen]

Agreed! That wasn’t the point. It was also not the point that helping people is a fine thing. The thing was that hippies are a drag on society when they do not work, smoke dope all day, do not wash etc. etc. If the people you think are hippies do not fit in that group then they aren’t hippies. They are something else.
Come out here. I will SHOW you hippies. What you have there that is functional is not hippiedom.

Where do all the hippies meet? James place, James place!

 

[jamespowers]

Where do all the hippies meet? James place, James place!

You live in Colorado and you don't know?

 

[Dennis Young]

You can be a radical and not like Janis at all. You can be a radical and be militantly opposed to drugs and alcohol. You can be a radical and work hard for a living. You can be a radical and love your country.

Not the radicals I’m talking about.

 

[Dennis Young]

I’d say that if your fervent wish is that you could weed out and round up all those Undesirables you’ve personally identified as an insidious wrecker of good society, you may want to better identify which traditional Era values you’re actually reenacting.

I don’t think anyone was suggesting that.

 

[Dennis Young]

Agreed.

Possibly the most dangerous man in America today.

 

[Dennis Young]

I can't agree to this, but as a fellow resident of the great state of Alabama, I'd like to at least tip my hat to you for NOT blaming blacks, illegal immigrants, homosexuals, gambling proponents, higher education, or carpetbaggers.


Well...... maybe we can blame the carpetbaggers.

Aw I just havent gotten around to them yet.
Course I get the distinct impression I’m probably gonna get a nasty letter pretty soon since I don’t go along with the group.

 

[V.C. Brunswick]

You live in Colorado and you don't know?

[video=youtube;L0PZ6UWItk4]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L0PZ6UWItk4[/video]

 

[Dennis Young]

It is interesting that many agree about the decline of standards, but once someone offers a potential reason, we’re accused of whining or rounding up undesirables. Comments that imply that we’re on the verge of blaming homosexuals, blacks and whoever. Ignoring the heart of the issue and keying in on the word ‘hippie’. When asked for a possible solution, we only get ‘shovel your neighbor’s driveway’, as if that would solve the nation’s decline in standards. It’s a start, but you’d probably be the only one doing it because its too much like real work and things would go along as always. In fact, you just might get mugged while doing the good deed.



This is very unfortunate as I had hoped to have a serious discussion. Maybe that’s too much to ask though and we will only get more acrid comments.
Now, if we can get back to the issue:


The original post mentioned that standards have declined because these days both parents have to work so leaving kids unsupervised and allowed generally to roam around on their own sometimes unchecked.


Also that in schools the teachers have to spend more time doing reports, and less time teaching the kids and that now days there does not seem to be any way to keep order.


While this may be part of the problem, I suspect that a big part is that today you would most likely get sued if you tried to discipline a school kid. I like the idea of detention, but also corporal punishment. Try detention first. That would have broken me, I’ll tell you. But with some, that may not be enough. Almost immediately one member here took offense and said words to the effect that if someone paddled their kid they would (whatever). Never mind the fact that practically every public school in the country has a student handbook with rules that specify what is allowed, how students are to behave and the punishment that may occur. But then that guy sent his kids to private school.


The original also post lamented that perhaps a return to some of the old ways would not be a bad thing. I don’t disagree at all with this last point. Many of you seem to though. ‘Some’ of the ways we used to do things were a good idea. Ok, so maybe you think its too much or too insulting to tip your hat to a lady, or hold a door for her. Again, 1 person doing this would solve nothing.


So what about solutions? Years ago our society was taught etiquette and good citizenship. Yes, in school. In a best case scenario this was reinforced at home. Teach good citizenship, respect for one another AND for ourselves. I think if our schools did this k-12 it would have ‘some’ positive impact. (Hey, it worked on ‘To Sir with Love’). J


You see, although the Hollywood execs and college professors would continue to ridicule people with those ethics the whole time, eventually those people would move on, retire or whatever. Then the new crop of people would take their place and they would have this solid background in ethics to rely on. It wouldn’t change overnight, but it should change things.
　

 

[STEVIEBOY1]

Here here! I got a couple of swats too. And I wasn't the only one. But in my day, though we had the occasional teacher we didn't like, we would NEVER have done some of the things I see happing to teachers now. I recently saw one kid body slam a substitute teacher to the floor...a man in his 70s (I think). Also heard of another 1st grader headbutting a teacher.

The sad fact is that you cannot rely on 'Good parenting' to keep kids in line because so many just dont get good parenting. They know nothing of discipline or respect for any authority figure. All to often you have parents who take attitude 'don't you touch MY baby'.

Thus often their kids are wild and don't know how to act.

This is always going to be a controversial subject.

When I was at school in the UK IN 1960s and 1970s we were still punished, by having to write out large quantities of lines, which I hated, they were very tedious, or do detentions, or perhaps get the cane.

I heard of someone recently complaining that he had been given detention, but it was just for 10 minutes, for more serious matters they have to stay back for 20 minutes.

Neither of those to me seem very long. The minimum length of detention in our school was 30 minutes, but more usual was one or two hours, even longer sometimes, or worse still was a Saturday morning detention. We had to either write lines, do hard maths, (without calculators), or do a very long essay about why we were in detention. Sometimes too we had to run around our very large playing fields several times.

Just knowing these methods were available usually acted as a deterrent.

 

[Edward]

I remember back in the old days when this place hadca "no politics" rule. It was a good rule.

 

[HudsonHawk]

I remember back in the old days when this place hadca "no politics" rule. It was a good rule.

Well, a "carpetbagger" isn't really so much a politician, he's really more of an economic parasite...

 

[HudsonHawk]

This is very unfortunate as I had hoped to have a serious discussion. Maybe that’s too much to ask though and we will only get more acrid comments.

If there were "12 Steps To Being and Internet Troll", you'd be on Step 11.