The meaning of life is to give life meaning.

An old man can't understand a young person. It's a problem that's old as time itself.

Young people aspire to do great things. Dull, practical realities don't factor into their view of the world. Anyone who doesn't know this is dead in the water when it comes to solving problems with them.

V.

Maslow described the hierarchy of needs, the most basic being physiological needs (food, shelter, water, etc), progressing to the higher needs of self esteem and ultimately self actualization. This model always made sense to me, when I consider that our predecessors had to scratch and fight for the most basic needs and were happy to meet them. Because the road was paved by previous generations each successive generation has to strive less to have their needs met. Young folks expect instant gratification and often get it. So where is the satisfaction of accomplishment and accompanying self esteem in that? The 12 year-old kid who mows lawns for money to buy school clothes is on the right track for being a well adjusted young adult as opposed to the one who has everything handed to him.

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Originally posted by BBMW:

So kids essentially are raised by day, care, they public school system, and themselves. And we're now seeing the results.

True. In the past, in other countries, older relatives assumed the position of daycare for children , and even to an extent in the USA.

Most of those cases, the older relative, probably grandparents instilled a sense of self pride in the children and had the time and knowledge to bring out each child's best quality.

I really think now, in public schools, it gets demeaning to kids, no self respect.

Advance the age to early 20's, the kids simply do not understand the most importnt person there is...Themselves.

Because of lack of self-esteem.If you aren't happy with yourself or understand what inflicts your life, it's never going to change.

quote:

Originally posted by White Phosphorus:
An old man can't understand a young person. It's a problem that's old as time itself.

Young people aspire to do great things. Dull, practical realities don't factor into their view of the world. Anyone who doesn't know this is dead in the water when it comes to solving problems with them.

V.

I find this to be complete and utter bullshit...

Sorry to be so blunt...

They are told that they are either victims, owed something or some how got short changed in life. Actually comes down to having no God in their lives. Our education system (especially colleges) is a complete disgrace. That's where they are truly being short changed.

A) They are, mostly, institutionalized. Especially, the brighter ones.
13 years of enforced tedium, hearing mediocrity praised, and spending thousands of hours in the presence of failures*, is a path to destruction.

B) They have not been given the tools to fight. The see the destruction all around them - entropy is a stone cold bitch - but they don’t seem to understand the concept of “Get up, do what you can, that day, to make the world a little better, even if it’s just being kind to strangers - and to treat yourself as kindly as you treat others.”

C) They’ve been actively indoctrinated against free markets. I talk to kids working for me, about all manner of irrelevant topics. One of them is a great person, very idealistic. I mentioned, “if you want to change the world, use the free market,” and she almost looked shocked. We went into a long conversation about how you can’t herd cats but you can lure them, etc.

*I have a great deal of respect for the “true believers” in teaching. I have yet to have a teacher dispute that a significant percentage of them are too lazy/incompetent to do anything else.

The realization that they have to work hard for years and save to achieve their material goals. Nothing is ever really 'free' as they've been promised recently.

I think student debt is a big part of it. 4 years room and board, at a good, public school, has gone from a lower mid level car to a mid level house.

^^^ Yeah... But every campus looks like a country club!
It's too easy to borrow federally guaranteed money which drives up the cost.
There's also too much federal money in healthcare. Guess what else has gone up way more than the overall inflation rate?
If the government would stay out of it prices would seek a sustainable level.

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Originally posted by chellim1:
It's too easy to borrow federally guaranteed money which drives up the cost.

Of course it does.

Although he warned about similar loans for people to buy houses rather than to attend college, Henry Hazlitt described exactly what would happen in his 1947 book Economics in One Lesson. What is amazing to me is how few people recognized, or recognize, what should be a glaringly obvious fact: Nothing else drives inflation as fast as when people have lots of money to spend that they got for no effort on their part. And that’s extra true when the people who are given the money are immature with no real life experiences or thought for the future.

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Originally posted by Micropterus:
His last comment, "There is always Instagram" is profound. Social media, IMO, is the biggest contributor to and enabler of narcissism, emptiness, loneliness, divisiveness, incivility, misunderstanding, envy and countless other problems. Social media is no substitute for normal gregariousness.

This + the phone explains it all. Instacrap is not reality. It’s that human’s “avatar” and all anyone does is front on there. Make their life look like some magic fairy dust life. Others read it then get depressed because they believe it’s all real when it isn’t. Take the reality tv they all want to get on, + you-boob star, + instacrap. It’s a hot mess. They’d be happy if they just shut all that shit off. Quit worrying about what anyone else is doing, and focus on yourself. Quit watching so much media or learn to see through the entire facade.

They are the most marketed to generation ever and they are too dumb to see through it. It’s the Joneses on steroids. You throw in the everyone gets a trophy parenting and teaching they have received...that they are so “spethial” and “unique” well that’s why they are all buttercups, have paper think skin, can’t handle differing opinions, want everything to be free, and believe everything in the entire world should cater to them. Many of them have parents that are the same way. Neck deep into the game of competing with strangers with the domicile, vehicles, clothes, i-devices, you name it.

I have no empathy for them. None. As Para as coined, it’s their pacifier. I’m sick of dealing with them and their pacifier everywhere I go. They are all hooked on convenience as well. I’ve never seen so many lazy ass people who can’t do anything for themselves. Their narcissistic behavior anywhere in public, especially the gym, the movie theater, restaurants, name it, has driven me or is driving me away from those establishments. Just sick of the poor behavior and overall stupidity. It’s like they don’t want to get any smarter or learn, and grow as a human. They just want to live in that got damn phone and in those apps. Reminds me of Idiocracy with the lawyer sitting on a toilet lazy-boy hooked up to a hose for drinking.

It’s not entirely their fault, though. They had, possibly, the most spineless parents in history. How many children really buy their first cell phone?

They’ve all gotten gold stars in mediocrity and participation trophy’s.

None of them have what it takes to be productive citizens.

And the scary thing is that it’s most likely going to be these bastard looking after us in our dying days.

My perspective is that despite all the “socialism” advocacy in schools and especially colleges, as others have mentioned is that they are sort of set up for failure with the media in all forms pushing a lavish lifestyle as some sort of standard.
I recall my hard working father telling me, in his later years he felt he was a success. His realization of this was due to: I loved a great woman, kept food on the table clothes on our backs and a roof over our head. As long as he did that he was winning.
These days young people are programmed for excess.
A house isn’t good enough it must be a mansion. A reliable car is not good enough it must be a ( fill in luxury brand name here) and so on.
When unrealistic expectations are set so high that not achieving them is pretty much a foregone conclusion, it would be easy to be unhappy.
When I was young and decided to pursue a healthcare career, I easily accepted it would not be an easy road. Full time college while working full time at night plus military reserve duty. There was no partying and “fast times” as college.
It was simply a mission to accomplish,and never did I think at the time I was suffering in any way or “missing out” on anything. When I tell young people how I got through college they look at me like I am crazy.

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Originally posted by Aglifter:
It’s not entirely their fault, though. They had, possibly, the most spineless parents in history. How many children really buy their first cell phone?

To be fair, I'm nearly 40 and was far from coddled/spoiled, yet my first cell phone was given to me by my parents when I was 17. (It was a Nokia 638... It made phone calls. That's it.)

Same with my first car. But both were inexpensive ones, and the expectation was that every subsequent one was my responsibility.

Well, I'm 82 and there were no cell phones when I was young. I bought my own first car with redeemed US Savings bonds (a used 6-year-old Ford); I bought my first new car (1960 Falcon) on credit through my father's CU (I sent the money to him).

Persons are in control of their own happiness. Happiness is not based on wealth, possessions, or status in life -- it is a state of mind. One can be happy if one wants to be, even during harsh times. OTOH, one can be very well off in all ways, yet unhappy. It is all in how one looks at life. My life has had its share of tribulations (none overly serious, I admit), yet I have remained a happy person. I choose to be happy, and it works. I look for things to be happy about -- and find them.

Going to God with gratitude is very helpful, too. Grateful for His love, and that you have another day to experience life.

flashguy