WHAT'S wrong with our nation?

[gopunk]

all this crap about kids shooting each other, drugs, etc... why?

some people say it's tv, music, lack of religion, etc. but to fix these would be like to trim a thorny bush.

i feel the *real* problem is the parents. why did this just start happeneing 20-30 years ago? because that's when women started working more. kids are not getting the attention they need, and as a result, they act out.

this is not to say that women should not work. this is to say that both parents should be there for their child. if they can find a way to work and still be there whenever their child needs them, great. if not, they need to work less. whether it's the man, woman, or both. otherwise, sh!t like this happens.

of course, just because they stay home doesn't mean the child is better off, the parent has to PAY ATTENTION to the freaking child.

as a society, i really think we need *mandatory* parenting classes, and parenting licenses. there are some people that are just not qualified to parent. for example, i know a kid who's mom was a prostitute... she was "with" clients while he was in the room! i thnk that as a society, we can safely assume that she is not fit to parent.

what do you think?

 

[bigdog1218]

i think its partially parenting, most kids don't learn anything from their parents anymore, i also think this country is going to sh!t the bed and instead of trying to solve the worlds problems and bombing third world nations we should fix some of our problems, like the fact that the us has the highest crime rate of all non third world countries, the us is the #1 importer of most major drugs, and i think one of the sickest things is that people, even kids, actually starve in our country, i mean its disgusting, no one gives a sh!t about anyone, i don't understand how someone can starve in the richest country on earth, wow, what a superpower, you can't even help your own people

edit: sorry that was a little off topic, but i agree with you

 

[NetworkDad]

Parenting is a big part of it. I'm not saying that we can blame our parents for everything, but think about it. Most people shove their kids off to daycare to have another adult raise their children. Why do you even have kids if you don't plan on raising them? I take great pride in that i work hard so my wife can stay home and raise my daughter. Sure, it's taken a lot of work, but it is a far better option.

Oh, and the liberals have invaded our country.

 

[dOrKuS]

i dont think liberals invading the country is relevant.

but i agree with your post gopunk, and it probably doesn't help that the divorce rate has gone up some astronomical number in the last thirty years.

 

[gopunk]

Most people shove their kids off to daycare to have another adult raise their children. Why do you even have kids if you don't plan on raising them?

YES! i totally forgot about my daycare rant. WTF is daycare? it's basically parenting for children who's parents didn't have the foresight, or were too selfish to realize that they didn't have the time to take care of their children. and now it's almost standard! so sad...

i also think this country is going to sh!t the bed and instead of trying to solve the worlds problems and bombing third world nations we should fix some of our problems

i dunno, then you're basically asking the government for help. i don't think that's really necessary... as long as people would get a freaking clue and thought about whether having children was feasible before they had them. i think that this country needs less idiots having children, not the government paying for the idiots' children...

 

[XMan]

Let's not forget punishment.

When I was a kid, if I mouthed off to my parents, they beat my ass.

If you do that now, Social Services comes down on you like the wrath of God.

 

[djheater]

Not much.

I will say that my view of the american psyche right now is of a mob marching through a darkened forest carrying torches and pitchforks....

Other than that god bless America

 

[j0lly]

<< Let's not forget punishment.

When I was a kid, if I mouthed off to my parents, they beat my ass.

If you do that now, Social Services comes down on you like the wrath of God. >>



I was raised in a different country under different circumstances. I am thankful that my parents took me to task when I had done something wrong.

 

[gopunk]

Let's not forget punishment.
When I was a kid, if I mouthed off to my parents, they beat my ass.
If you do that now, Social Services comes down on you like the wrath of God.

i think this is the cause of another problem, which is lack of general courtesy and respect (read: idiots that roar through my neighborhood in riced up civics).

i don't think that is the cause of increased violence however. either method, spoiling the child, or beating the child, can result in a bad child.

 

[djheater]

Hey, do any of you have kids?

It's my experience that each child must be raised according to thier needs. What is right for one may not be right for another. You can't be the same parent for all your kids, you must be the parent of each child individually.

 

[NetworkDad]

<< Let's not forget punishment.

When I was a kid, if I mouthed off to my parents, they beat my ass.

If you do that now, Social Services comes down on you like the wrath of God. >>



Ditto here. My beatings were severe though.

However, i've promised myself i wouldn't beat my kid ever. But i don't let her get away with stuff either....

 

[gopunk]

Hey, do any of you have kids?

i don't, but my mom agrees with me, what's your point?

It's my experience that each child must be raised according to thier needs. What is right for one may not be right for another. You can't be the same parent for all your kids, you must be the parent of each child individually.

well yes, but i can't think of any type of a kid where a prostitute who does her clients in front of you is the right type of a parent. there are clear instances where some people are not fit to parent. i think it's pretty clear that in our society, some people are not able/want to judge/provide what is right for their kid.

 

[LuDaCriS66]

It's cuz there are so many bad parents out there.

Bad parents = bad kids = wave after wave of Jerry Springer type shows

 

[djheater]

When I ask a question gopunk, I have no hidden agenda. I ask it to get a response.

You're using an extreme case to make a point. A "prostitute who does her john's in front of her kid" is not the norm and is outside the boundaries of this discussion. There are agencies within our culture dedicated to handling those cases, if you'd like to discuss those start a new thread.

to make my point more clear:
America is the land of the free, the opportunities availble to people here far oustrip any available anywhere else in the world. Try raising a kid in sub-saharan Africa. Two hundred years ago things were much worse, two hundred years from now things may be (will probably be) much better. This thread needs a little perspective.

 

[mrCide]

<< It's cuz there are so many bad parents out there.

Bad parents = bad kids = wave after wave of Jerry Springer type shows >>



yes. bad parenting.. i mean jesus parents don't give a crap about how their kids act.. for me it was ok in middle school.. couple class clowns no big deal, middle school it got a little worse.. lots of punks.. high school? like 80% if not more of the school were piece of crap kids.. i mean it blew my mind..

its bad parenting or non existant parenting, period..

 

[gopunk]

You're using an extreme case to make a point. A "prostitute who does her john's in front of her kid" is not the norm and is outside the boundaries of this discussion. There are agencies within our culture dedicated to handling those cases, if you'd like to discuss those start a new thread.

yes there are agencies to handle those cases, but it's already too late by that point. the kid is already born. there are no agencies to prevent this.

btw, the extreme cases are what i am talking about. i don't care if the children are just a little screwed up, it's the really screwed up ones i'm worried about.

and this is *my* thread, so i'll discuss what i please.

America is the land of the free, the opportunities availble to people here far oustrip any available anywhere else in the world. Try raising a kid in sub-saharan Africa. Two hundred years ago things were much worse, two hundred years from now things may be (will probably be) much better. This thread needs a little perspective.

just because kids in another country, or another time have it worse off, doesn't mean that this society doesn't need improvement.

 

[BlackSoul]

I think it is a result of the PC, touchy-feely crap, and the inability of people to take responsibility for thier actions. God forbid if a child has to have ANY hardship in their life, most parents feel they need to placate their children at any cost. I think their is really a general lack of respect among the kids of today. I would have NEVER thought of not responding with "Yes or no Sir or Ma'am" when responding to my parents. If I screwed up when younger I got smacked, and you know what, *gasp* I usually learned my lesson. If I didn't learn my lesson, my parents would be more then happy to give me a "reminder" if I tried the same crap again. Then we have this "timeout" crap, "Jimmy, did you just crack your sisters skull with that bat? Go sit in that chair and think about what you did. You have a 5 minute timeout." Timeout? Fvck that, how bout a knockout?! They need to bring back corporal punishment also. I had to "assume the postition" ONE time in 7th grade, and I NEVER acted up in school again!



Sorry about the rambling, but damn if I don't get fired up on this subject.

 

[Vadatajs]

I'm taking a Sociology class this semister called Social Problems. One of the underlying causes of many of the social problems we see today is a breakdown of the family unit. Traditionally the family has been responsible for every aspect of life (take a look at other cultures, and pigmy's for proof). The family was responsible for the procreation, education and perpetuation of a society. In our country the family is breaking down, and there aren't adequate institutions in place to take over the functions that the family once held. This leads to a state of anomie in some of the population, which would account in most of the problems we have today.

In my opinion, the best solutions to all of the problems we face today is education. Our educational system is not the best in the world, and with all the school and workplace shootings (they shouldn't happen at all, one is too many), prostitution, teen pregnancy, biggotry, hypocracy...etc, is proof that we are not instilling the youth of today with a clear picture of what our society should be. This doesn't necessarily equate to brainwashing the younger generations. Currently, our educational system can be compared to a factory. We need to make students apply the knowledge they gain in their individual classes to other subjects. They need to be able to think and develop their own conclusions about the world. Right now, power rangers and Xbox are too important. Education is not just rote memorization of boring history, it is our one chace at succeeding in the world. Every aspect of our lives depends on every other aspect, whether we like it or not. Read Distant Mirrors sometime. It is a collection of essays by foreign people who lived in the united states about their experiences here. It is very enlightening.

I hope that all makes sense, I'm pretty tired now and I think I'm going to go to bed now, or at least stick to topics that aren't quite so serious in nature.

Edit: sorry Mr. Ron Bacardi and analytical thinking and I don't really get along.