differences between young and old (1 Viewer)

The_Doc_Man

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do you think this has to do with globalization, brought on by america a long time ago?

Globalization was brought on by improvements in communication and a widening of commerce after WW II. It was the natural consequence of technological progress. The USA might have a slight claim as a world leader in progress, except that these days we are so overrun by social justice warriors who dumb down the colleges that other nations are surpassing us. Japan and South Korea are technology innovators. Germany has many engineering innovations. So NO, the USA was at most at the front of the pack - but we didn't bring it on. We participated in a global movement.

Your rants are anti-USA, but you appear to be either uncaring or ignorant regarding the natural tendencies of people to evolve and improve when they can. You cannot pin that fact on the USA. It is PEOPLE, not nations, who provide and support these tendencies. You cannot see that it is in the nature of humans to strive in any way that they can. Whether they are respectful of others or they are dismissive of the rights of others, innovation is key. The advent of the global internet allowed such things as world-wide technical forums such as this one, and at the same time allowed the advent of the various internet scams such as the "Nigerian Prince" bank schemes. From the height of altruism to the depths of avarice, the same factor is common to both - better communication via a global method of communication.
 

conception_native_0123

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Your rants are anti-USA, but you appear to be either uncaring or ignorant regarding the natural tendencies of people to evolve and improve when they can. You cannot pin that fact on the USA. It is PEOPLE, not nations, who provide and support these tendencies.

i thought we already established that I am NOT anti-USA. I just am saying, as I always say, that its influence is HUGE. and people FOLLOW the country because it is such a temptation to do what it does. but a lot of that is taken out of context. it is used the wrong way, and you know that. you yourself preach that all the time. so i DO know what you're talking about.
 

conception_native_0123

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just got a pizza delivered to my house and the young kid that delivered it was playing loud ghetto music in his car from 200 feet away. I heard it like it was right next to my ear. talk about the younger generation. =)
 

nortonm

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I don't think the age blame thing really has legs, both old and young have poorly behaved individuals in pretty large numbers. The older people, at least UK side maintain they are much better than young people now, but who were terrorising seaside towns in the 50s and 60s meaning families had to stay away because of the violence? Stabbings etc? Older people are terrible for not clearing up their dog sh*7t, and that's because nobody cleared up that in the 60s and 70s, one used to constantly let her dog defecate right outside the gate to my garden when I had small kids.. Has this forum really become a place for baby boomers to moan about the young?
 

Isaac

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Well, well, well. Here is what I hope and believe is a balanced perspective but one not afraid to say the truth, either. Both young and older have their flaws, for sure. Anyone who doesn't believe the younger generation has some of their own, unique flaws has their eyes closed. You can call that "prejudice" if you want (since speaking truth is commonly labeled "prejudice" these days, as if that makes Truth shiver and be afraid of existing, which it doesn't), or you can just admit that this isn't showing prejudice, it's having the capability to make observations across demographic groups that are often true. Having said that, I'll also admit that the problems aren't limited to the young, and it is also true that sometimes older people will become bitter at younger people for behaving in a way similar to the way the older people behaved when they were young. The mere fact of that, of course, does not necessarily make the behavior in question to be right. Every time you criticize an older person for pointing out bad or lawless behavior on the part of the young and make as your central thesis the claim "But older people did that while they were young, too!" - Ask yourself: Was that behavior punishable by law when the older people were young, too?" If "Yes", then the law should continue to be enforced.
The mere fact that the older people have matured and are no longer doing the behavior - but perhaps some of them once did - does not absolve the person currently doing it from the consequences of enforcement. In fact, it really makes no difference at all to the situation, other than perhaps being expected to generate some empathy, which is different than a free pass or pretending it doesn't exist.
So that takes care of the category of bad behavior that repeats itself in each generation.

Generally speaking, it does seem to me that - housing and education costs aside for a moment - it seems like the younger generation experiences a lot more of (quoting from a famous book): Genuine alarm at the prospect of work. Where I came from, it was common to accept that as a 17 yr old looking for a job, you would start out flipping burgers and work your way up from there - or work for a couple years, then go to college, and still expect to come out lower on the totem pole (so to speak) at the beginning, working your way up. Nowadays I hear almost exclusively younger people are expecting to come out on top from the beginning, rather than making the sacrifice of hard work needed to earn the reputation and job history that leads to higher paying situations. This classic, well-proven method of "be willing to be diligent and hard working and consistent at the lower levels, and you will move up through the ranks of life", still works just fine. My brother diligently flipped burgers starting at age 16 and slowly worked his way up. He now oversees approximately 500 stores. Chipotle was just reminding its American youth in a marketing campaign a few weeks ago that they start at $15/hr, have a clear 3-year path to General Manager for anyone willing to work hard and be consistent, and GM's make on average $100,000 - a VERY respectable, upper middle class salary for perhaps 90% of the United States. Some younger people claim this is no longer possible, but that's untrue. This path to success is very much still possible, and open for the taking. And there are still MANY places in the United States that have VERY affordable housing. You just have to be willing to put your possessions in the back of a rental truck and drive over there and settle in. Nothing is stopping you from doing so - and nobody is forcing you to try to live in San Francisco, New York or New Jersey.

Obviously, though, I can't speak for the whole world. I don't know what @Galaxiom or @The_Doc_Man see in their region of the world, I can only speak to what I have seen a lot of in my family, friends, neighborhoods, colleges, and what young people in my little visible world seem to be saying/doing. However, there is nothing wrong with pointing it out, and I find it disingenuous and perhaps a bit silly for those who would deny any existence of generational flaws of any kind, preferring to chalk the whole thing up to prejudice and an over-active imagination on the part of those pointing it out. Obviously, every generation is, in fact, a bit different from the others, which leads to the conclusion that every generation does, in fact, have strengths and weaknesses. Self examination is a good thing, but since being honest with ourselves is one of the biggest challenges of life, most of our self discovery is inspired the old fashioned way - from outward criticism that is well received.

Thus I am open to hearing what my generation needs to do a better job of, too. 3rd party observers (i.e., those from different generations), actually have the BEST perspective, since they are detached and less invested, ego-wise, in such a thing.

Perhaps older generations complain a bit too much - wanting to see all generational differences as flaws on the part of the younger.
Perhaps BOTH generations refuse to accept their weaknesses when pointed out, instead of admitting it and trying to improve.

(PS: I haven't even dealt with the issue of Education Costs. While many young people today point to the rising cost of higher education, they are making the mistake of using a metric that isn't the only one which matters, and isn't the only way to do it. When I went to college, I used a strategy that was a mixture of: Community colleges (which were dirt-cheap and still are, working full time, and going to school part-time at state-subsidized universities, which still exist in most every state, as well as some scholarship for getting good grades. Guess what? This strategy is still ENTIRELY AVAILABLE TO EVERYONE - and will result in your higher education costing perhaps 1/20th the cost of the oft-quoted expense of going to a top tier university in your area, full retail price, on campus living - which is, of course, financially the dumbest way to do it).
 
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Isaac

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One of my few talents is knowing a waste of time when I see it. You remind me of someone else that I have placed on my ignore list...as a matter of fact, I suspect you may even BE that person.

I will not add you to that list (I am bored with working from home and need some entertainment) but I will do what most have already done and simply not respond to you.
I like your signature. It doesn't go out of its way to be cute/poetic, but it's SO profound. I've pondered that a lot.

For some reason, one of the things I often wonder about is how I would perform in the case of a midnight home invasion type of scenario.

Of course, as men, we all picture that we would be awake in a flash, on-time to whatever defense system we might have, and take that sucker out like there was no tomorrow--or perhaps make some even higher-level, more complex choice, laden with good judgment & unselfishness. But do I actually have any CLUE what would come over me, were I to be unexpectedly face to face with a strange intruder(s) in a dark corner of my home at 3 AM? I really don't, I can only hope. And then there are so many other possible situations in life ... ranging from cases of violence, tragedy, betrayal, disease, starvation/catastrophic events. It's one of those odd topics I think about for no particular reason sometimes. Worrying, I guess. That someday my luck in life, generally speaking + as an American, might just run out and my mettle be tested in a once-in-a-lifetime way.
 

NauticalGent

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It's from the Mighty Mighty Bosstones, "The Impression That I Get". I went through a Ska phase about 20 years ago...

I read and heed your words and have felt the same way...but, the fact that we feel them means we would probably be OK and maybe even rise to the occasion. As Billy Joel sang: "...the only people I fear are those who never have doubts"
 

Isaac

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It's from the Mighty Mighty Bosstones, "The Impression That I Get". I went through a Ska phase about 20 years ago...

I read and heed your words and have felt the same way...but, the fact that we feel them means we would probably be OK and maybe even rise to the occasion. As Billy Joel sang: "...the only people I fear are those who never have doubts"
That's encouraging and well put!
 

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