The general decline in standards today

[LizzieMaine]

Didn't you know? "Santa" spelled sideways is "Satan."

 

[Marc Chevalier]

Not in Chile, where he's called "El Viejo Pascuero" ... which translates as "The Old Christmasser".

 

[Stray Cat]

Not in Chile, where he's called "El Viejo Pascuero" ... which translates as "The Old Christmasser".

Yeah, and not in here.. here is: "Božić Bata" meaning: "Father Christmas" or "Brother Christmas"

 

[hatophile]

Hi Lizzie

By the way, I WAS wondering why JFK was killed, now I know it was a conspiracy headed by Frank Sinatra, and Joe DiMaggio. Wow, and everyone thought LBJ and the CIA did it so Bell Helicopter could sell more choppers...

Thanks

No, no, no! It was the Mob and the CIA, I'm tellin' ya!

 

[MikePotts]

Yeah, and not in here.. here is: "Božić Bata" meaning: "Father Christmas" or "Brother Christmas"

................same in Arkansas!

 

[Stray Cat]

No, no, no! It was the Mob and the CIA, I'm tellin' ya!

I knew it!
(here goes the EVIL laughter)
Mwahahahaaa... lol

................same in Arkansas!

 

[Steven180]

Didn't you know? "Santa" spelled sideways is "Satan."

LizzieMaine...you will lose heaven points for that!

M.

 

[Pompidou]

We used to teach loyalty to our country.
We said the pledge of allegiance daily in school. We were taught to be patriotic. Imo, today most of Hollywood could care less. Even notice how many fine actors joined the military during WW2? And many more volunteered to work the USO and the Hollywood Canteen to support those troops going off to war. And how many fine war films were made during the WW2 era?

The way I see it, loyalty should never be taught or instilled. If it's deserved, it'll be given. I don't believe a state deserves loyalty simply for existing. The best way to get a better quality of government is to make it earn your loyalty. In regards to the pledge, it always struck me as out of character with the individualistic vibe that's always been a core facet of American culture, from the early pioneers to the lone cowboy to the rampant individualism of today. I'm not sure you could say America was anything but individualistic until WWII. The whole cultish, mass chanting ritual of child indoctrination just doesn't fit.

 

[LizzieMaine]

Classroom flag saluting as a matter of daily routine first became common in the 1910s, and was essentially universal by the 1920s. The generation that fought WW2 was the first to grow up with flag saluting as a common part of their lives, but support for it was by no means universal. Court fights over the legal institution of the practice began in 1935, and the practice of compulsory saluting was declared unconstitutional in 1943, with the Supreme Court noting the parallel with forced saluting in Axis countries, and considering such to be contrary to the American spirit. Americans have had a guaranteed legal right to refuse to salute since then -- it isn't a modern-era innovation.

 

[C-dot]

Classroom flag saluting as a matter of daily routine first became common in the 1910s, and was essentially universal by the 1920s. The generation that fought WW2 was the first to grow up with flag saluting as a common part of their lives, but support for it was by no means universal. Court fights over the legal institution of the practice began in 1935, and the practice of compulsory saluting was declared unconstitutional in 1943, with the Supreme Court noting the parallel with forced saluting in Axis countries, and considering such to be contrary to the American spirit. Americans have had a guaranteed legal right to refuse to salute since then -- it isn't a modern-era innovation.

That's interesting. In my elementary schooling, we were required to sing the Canadian National Anthem every morning (it's considerably longer than the American one.) In high school, though, we didn't have to sing, just stand up and silently listen. Anyone who broke the rule was kicked out of class.

 

[Dennis Young]

That's interesting. In my elementary schooling, we were required to sing the Canadian National Anthem every morning (it's considerably longer than the American one.) In high school, though, we didn't have to sing, just stand up and silently listen. Anyone who broke the rule was kicked out of class.

There ya go. Us too. We should teach kids loyalty, teach them why they should like their country. You have to teach kids to show respect. Parents used to correct children and make them say 'yes sir' or 'yes ma'am'. You teach kids to say 'please' and 'thank you'.

And we did this because kids didnt know better. They didnt know to respect their elders. So we taught em..for awhile.

And if they dont know to show respect for others...why should we expect them to know to respect their nation. As a result...many dont. We rarely show respect for ladies anymore. We dont show respect for ourselves or our peers, or our elders.

As a society, we are sinking into the gutter to swim with the trashiest of sorts.

 

[Edward]

That's interesting. In my elementary schooling, we were required to sing the Canadian National Anthem every morning (it's considerably longer than the American one.) In high school, though, we didn't have to sing, just stand up and silently listen. Anyone who broke the rule was kicked out of class.

Eeep, that sounds horrific. I was delighted when my employer dropped the anthem from graduation ceremonies. We're a university: our business is education, not indoctrination.

 

[Flat Foot Floey]

If you do a bit of websearching, there are certain places on the internet where some of the very pictures people post on the Lounge are subjected to the most vicious mockery you can imagine. Nothing our Marc could do would even approach it. Don't search unless you can take it.

Wow. Didn't knew about this. Some nasty comments. :eusa_doh:

 

[LizzieMaine]

There ya go. Us too. We should teach kids loyalty, teach them why they should like their country. You have to teach kids to show respect. Parents used to correct children and make them say 'yes sir' or 'yes ma'am'. You teach kids to say 'please' and 'thank you'.

And we did this because kids didnt know better. They didnt know to respect their elders. So we taught em..for awhile.

And if they dont know to show respect for others...why should we expect them to know to respect their nation. As a result...many dont. We rarely show respect for ladies anymore. We dont show respect for ourselves or our peers, or our elders.

As a society, we are sinking into the gutter to swim with the trashiest of sorts.

The problem is that adults don't show any respect to anything themselves. Flip around the TV dial some night, tune in daytime radio, or read comments on blog sites, and you'll find things that would have appalled the America of 75 years ago, often coming from the very people who claim to bemoan the decline of respect in modern society. The most outrageous crackpots of 1937 would have been repelled by a lot of today's discourse.

Respect isn't something deserved only by people who agree with us. That's a lesson an awful lot of adults never learned, and it's a major contributor to the poisonous culture of the modern era.

 

[Undertow]

I hadn't brought this up yet, and I don't think anyone has, but are any of you familiar with such "shock" videos circulating the internet with titles like "Chechcle*" or "3guys1hamm*". (I've purposely removed some letters to avoid links to the FL for this garbage)

Please, please, please do not look those up. If you are already familiar, than I need not say more. They're not funny. They're not cool. They're sickening, and that's a flowery word for what I'd rather type (but won't on the FL).

Do these types of recordings signify a decline at all? Sure, the Romans were a sick bunch, but they didn't have video cameras to film their murder. I think the availability of electronic devices, coupled with the internet and the strange "car wreck" effect are starting kids down a path of utter desensitization.

Any comments on this?

 

[LizzieMaine]

Somebody once showed me a website devoted entirely to people squeezing huge festering boils and lovingly filming the pus as it spurted out. If that's not a perfect metaphor for modern culture, I dunno what would be.

 

[rue]

Somebody once showed me a website devoted entirely to people squeezing huge festering boils and lovingly filming the pus as it spurted out. If that's not a perfect metaphor for modern culture, I dunno what would be.

Really? The video part doesn't shock me, because people in general are gross. It's the fact that someone showed it to you. Just knowing you from here tells me it's not something you would want to watch.....

 

[LizzieMaine]

One of the kids at work was chortling over it one night -- what shocked me is that someone went to all the trouble making it into a full blown website. If they're looking for a hobby, what ever happened to collecting stamps?

 

[rue]

Well, I have to say that if that's what kids today like, I think it's definitely a sign of decline in our society. That is really disgusting.

 

[bunnyb.gal]

I hadn't brought this up yet, and I don't think anyone has, but are any of you familiar with such "shock" videos circulating the internet with titles like "Chechcle*" or "3guys1hamm*". (I've purposely removed some letters to avoid links to the FL for this garbage)

Please, please, please do not look those up. If you are already familiar, than I need not say more. They're not funny. They're not cool. They're sickening, and that's a flowery word for what I'd rather type (but won't on the FL).

Do these types of recordings signify a decline at all? Sure, the Romans were a sick bunch, but they didn't have video cameras to film their murder. I think the availability of electronic devices, coupled with the internet and the strange "car wreck" effect are starting kids down a path of utter desensitization.

Any comments on this?

Yes, but only recently via some comments on Regretsy, actually. The first thing I asked myself was,"Why?". Why would someone bother to film or photograph this kind of thing? It made me think of this G G Allin documentary I saw once, same kinds of stuff just 20 years or so earlier...I can't say I'm shocked by these things, but they do make me really want to shower after seeing them...

I definitely think it's a sign of decline - what, besides fear of prosecution (if that), is going to stop the pushing of the envelope, the one-upmanship in the gross-me-out/shock me stakes?