I try to avoid the “when I was a kid” posts because they don’t really serve much purpose outside of illustrating that time does indeed pass.
But on my walk over to the local mall this morning and looking at the dismal state of things in my four-years-ago-this-was-an-upscale-neighborhood; graffiti, piles of trash everywhere, freshly broken windows in one of the stores – and then watching a roving herd of kids toss leftover McDonalds all over the parking lot while I was waiting for my breakfast burrito, it got me thinking…
Back in my school days, which for those keeping score at home was the mid 70’s to mid 80’s, a lot of the time we spent at school was instilling a sense of there being a world full of people outside of ourselves – and that we were, in part, responsible for their lot as much as our own. And there were things like civics classes, which were a requirement, and those introduced us kids to the social aspects and obligations of living in a country full of other people.
I get the impression this doesn’t happen anymore, or if it does the scope has turned inward.
In my “old man yells at cloud” point of view, pretty much anyone under the age of 20-something is a narcissistic prick who’s entire universe ends about three inches past their fingertips… Everything is about ‘me’, ‘do what makes me happy’, and ‘what the world owes me because I exist’.
An entire generation of self-centered assholes.
Where we used to get constant admonishments of “think of how that appears to other people”, now seems to be “do whatever you want, everyone else’s opinion doesn’t matter”. Where we used to have a sense of community, we now have kids tearing stuff up because “they have insurance right?”
There’s also the lack of accountability thing… Back in my day we were taught that we were responsible for our actions and how they impact other people. Now it’s all about how nothing is your fault, it’s always the fault of some nebulous group of others so you’re automatically absolved of any responsibility.
It all makes me glad I grew up when I did, and somewhat explains why the 80’s and 90’s were so awesome I guess.
Listening to "Sunset Paradise" by Killstarr