I have been on this earth long enough to have some claim to experiencing some great moments and some not so great moments in life.  It’s probably going to sound old to some younger people but I really don’t care anymore.

Here’s my rant.  Back in the days of our great grandparents, they were taught how to behave and they were raised to know what was expected of them.  The next generation didn’t demand as much as the one before it and each one has degraded to the point that we now have youth of today with zero direction, zero focus, no ambition and they expect rewards for doing nothing. It’s the everybody gets a trophy mentality.  They can’t handle the idea of getting nothing for doing nothing.  They are passed on to the next grade in school even of they don’t understand the class materials.  They certainly won’t be prepared to handle the next grade and it has created a generation of weak minded kids who are growing up thinking that you don’t really have to be productive because someone will give them a free pass anyway. It’s what is being fostered in school!

Kids are learning that you don’t have to do anything, and you will still advance.

The notion of having to do nothing has carried over into daily living too.  People don’t think that they have to be respectful of others because they will still “get a pass” and the disrespectful behavior can’t really all that bad, can it?  There was a time, when one person disrespected another, the disrespectful person could at expect a negative reaction that could in some cases result in a physical response that hurt.  This goes back to the days of the idea that people only seem to respond to and understand a little physical pain.  A punch in the mouth or nose wasn’t as uncommon as it it is these days.  The closest we get now in responding is to to use ALL CAPS and “yell” at someone.  Laughable at best!

Character was something that was also taught, as in how to be of good character.  To have good mental and moral qualities is to have good character.  It’s about having moral guide lines that one can follow so as to affect a positive outcome that is good for all involved.  It’s about doing the right thing, but sadly, the “right thing” isn’t taught much anymore because we as a nation are so busy removing any instance of such guide lines that might actually require an effort.  Otherwise the result in the loss of a “free pass” would be the outcome since free indicates no effort required.  Remember, everybody gets a trophy these days for doing nothing so we can’t have requirements.  Requirements such as being respectful, courteous and exercising the qualities of good character.

Integrity is about doing the right thing even when on one is looking.  Once again, we don’t really teach what is right and hold anyone accountable because it means an effort must be put out.  You have been reading up to this point haven’t you?

It seems that the only guidelines these days are:

Don’t hurt anyone and if it feels good it must be OKAY to do.

Material goods are seen as bad because to gain such things requires effort..unless it’s given to you.

It’s okay to destroy or damage other peoples stuff since it’s bad anyway.

Never apologize since it would mean you did something wrong and doing something wrong would mean there’s a guide line to follow to do the right thing.

Everybody is special.  Doesn’t this contradict the definition of special?

Now that we can kind of see what is happening, don’t you think it’s time to start making a change?

What would you do to make a difference for the better?