Does "Where the World is Going" bother you? Do you cope?

I agree with your generalizations.
The culture has changed dramatically over the last 40 yrs.

 

it's going to be ok.

for more on your free will question, read John Calvin. he talked a bunch about the tension between God's omnipotence and your free will.

 

It is the inevitable result of unrestrained Capitalism
Capitalism is a mindset as much as an economic System.
We are Capitalist in every thing we do

Rocket River

 

This is nothing new.

I am older than you are and when I was in 8th grade three of our teachers were attacked, two needing hospitilization. Half (at least) of the students were disrespectful, etc.. The next year a kid was stabbed in the neck with a screwdriver before school and died. So when I hear about trouble at school and how this is all new I have flashbacks.

Violence, crime, etc. is historically cyclical, by the way. I try to temper my current worldview away from nostalgia but not so much that I am blind.

Cultural superficiality is another matter...one that I htink is tied into our hideous education system. I am still a firm believer that education solves or at least lays the foundation to solve nearly all of a society's problems. A more informed and educated populace is one less pacified...which I suppose is part of the problem.

 

I disagree. I believe this is the Capitalists' ploy to solidify their power by removing the entrepenural spirit out of the working class. This way, the working class will never challenge the hegemony that exists. I am a Capitalist.

 

we have to have free will, there is no other choice

"


i dont think being superficial has anything to do with education in a school, or at least not major part. I would lean more towards parents and upbringing as well as how society is these days in general. But i do agree its a really bad problem whatever the reason.


In general, i've seen shifts in attitudes and behaviours (or whatever you want to call it) for a while and to be honest im dont particularly like where its pointing. Whether its the overall lack of testicular fortitude people show now in days, to lawsuit overzealousness, to the whinning, and maybe most importantly a lack of common sense...i dont think these traits lead a country/civilization/world in a good direction.

So how do i cope? well, try to not let others ruin your time. Dont let others bring you down. Is it frustrating at times? yes, but let it effect your overall disposition and move on to things you can control.

 

I hear you crossover and sympathize. I get frustrated with the shallowness of our society every now and then but its people like you who can save society. My advice is don't get caught up in despair but work to make things better. Actively participate in our democracy (not just voting but work on campaigns you believe in or even run for office), teach, participate in your community, and spend your money wisely (vote with your dollars). You might think that as an individual you can't make a difference but every major social change is due to individuals acting to bring about that change.

 

But what is the alternative? Would you rather have government making most of the decisions in the economy? The only thing worse than capitalism is a command economy. Under capitalism you do have the power to vote with your dollars and if you see problems with things like US workers losing their jobs or being paid less make sure you buy from companies that employ US workers and pay them well. Encourage others to do so too.

 

We have a free will but not a completely free will.

Yes, our society is based the notion that consumerism and consumption brings lasting happiness (the main problem). But I would say our schools are a complete reflection of this. When do they teach otherwise? How could they when it is the foundation of our society?

The kids are getting restless.

 

Well I was speaking most specifically to the superficiality mentioned in the first post - politicians, "Jerry Springer-ification" of the network news, etc.. I know Chuck Klosterman says there is no such thing as bad culture in this regard, that culture simply is...but that culture is absolutely dependant upon the lowest common denominator these days. My point is that if you raise that LCD then everybody wins. Keep in mind I also think that proper education and educational opportunity improves economic/class standing and thus improves parents and upbringing.

In this way I fully admit to being an idealist and perhaps a commie because I think people should be able to go to school for free no matter how high the degree (obviously not talking about all schools being free but I know they have crunched the numbers where paying for every child's education through college is actually cheaper than various other things that we either don't need or do too much of - incarceration, for example, which is greatly reduced with education). Wow, that was a long parenthetical statement.

The digits are flowing but the brain is melting? Stop the madness, Ms Powter.

 

imo, schools teach arts, science, history, etc. parents teach life lessons like dont be materialitic, etc.

but it isnt just the LCD with these superficiality issues. Often its very smart people and well educated. i get your point on being more educated can lead to one being a better parent, but again i dont necessarily agree. There are a lot of smart people who are bad parents. I guess i just dont think you have to be educated or particularly smart to teach a kid a few important life lessons.

that is a pretty long one..topped my best.

 

Wow, I need to be more careful with my language (instead of wasting time on parentheticals). I didn't mean to imply that smart people = better parents. Smarter and wealthier parents can sometimes be the worst. I just think with regards to American culture, politics, and economics education is THE foundation. Parenting...not so much.

 

yes, that's why we aren't happy with 1st round exits, we want championships
capitalism is human nature, we always want better

we want steve nash, not rafer alston

 

ok i see what you mean. How would education handle the pussification of america? being overly PC? the lack of common sense?

education may be the foundation, but the parents are the walls..giving the solid base shape. no?

 

back in the day, Maxwell went up in the stands cause someone want a piece of him. no melee ocurred. he got his wish.

now fans want a piece of ron artest and stephen jackson.

we are dumber.

 

I don't even understand what the first two mean and I fear that I am not as manly as you so my parenting would probably be part of your problem.

As to the lack of common sense? Often that is an individual thing and has nothing to do with education level but sometimes what we define as not having common sense is really making wrong choices. This can be somewhat diminished by having or knowing about more and "proper" choices. Common sense is far too nebulous to control, improve, or define so mostly we are left flapping our gums.

 

im not talking about being "manly", i just mean have a little backbone, be able to face and handle reality...and not just the good but especially the bad. Not being so quick to be insulted, which is undoubtedly followed by a lawsuit, etc

then education wouldnt help. I tend to think there is a less common sense now in days.

 

let me also point out that Maxwell complained about his contract extension and that he wanted to stay the starter for the Rockets.

Ron Artest was making a rap album with his truwarrior company, so he wanted to leave the Pacers.

Maxwell never had 'truwarrior' in his hair either.

on the brightside, they are building some sweet casinos in vegas.
CITYCENTER will own all!
http://www.citycenter.com/default.aspx

 

I think we'd be better off if we didn't buy into the whole "everyone must be self interested" for some invisible hand to work. We're coming into an age of numbers and polling that allows people to game the system and abuse the numbers to satisfy their goals.

It was shortsighted when we blamed accounting firms like Arthur Anderson for cooking Enron's books when the Street were hailing them was darlings years before. The whole stock market and performance bonus system is deeply flawed, yet many have the belief that it can magically self correct itself.

Then again, not many Americans deeply trust in the government to do what's right. The No Child Left Behind Act and our poor healthcare system are examples of the numbers being abused without the right intentions being carried out. Yet the people consented to a large government for it to take care of this issue. I don't see deregulation would do any better for the public.

The solution, imo, has to be done in the grassroots. We have to fight the numbers and reassume our complexity in the face of convenience and conformity. One would be to ignore what the prescription industry tells us what mental illness we have in their commercials. Another is to connect outside our local communities so that another person isn't a statistic to be counted and marginalized. Yet another is to realize our individual potential for greed and self interest and whether we're in control of it or if it controls us to grind through the motions.

It is still for our self interest. It's for our freedom and our capacity to live out as complete human beings.