I'm sorry, but I do have to address this. While I will wholeheartedly agree that respect is earned, not just given, I have to disagree about the rest of it. These so-called "ideals" that you speak of....let's have a bit of a look at some of those.

The crime rate is higher today than any time in history.
The divorce rate is higher today than any time in history.
Court battles (people suing, as well as being sued) are higher today than any point in history.
Jails and prisons are overcrowded, more than any time in history.
Gays are coming out of the woodwork, looking for their piece of the "equality" pie, more than any time in history.
Gangs and violence are more prevalent today than any time in history.
Juvenile delinquency is higher today than any point in history.
Inflation is higher today than any point in history.
Plain old stupidity has consistently increased to an all-time high.
Education is at an all-time LOW.
Personal accountability is at an all-time low.

The list is endless.

My point is, up until the point when all of these "ideals" started to be questioned, the problems we face today didn't exist. Sure, there were SOME problems, but certainly not to the extent they've become in today's world. Now, we're all hip-deep in sh!t, and people are wondering what went wrong, what happened.

NOTE: This is NOT directed at you personally, just to the topic in general.

A lot of that can be associated with the economy, I will admit the 90's saw a spike of a lot of that. But again, there is no use in blaming one side or the other as that won't solve the problem.

But that's exactly my point....nothing WILL solve the problem. Not anymore. We've wandered too far into unfamiliar territory, we've gotten a taste of it, and too many people have embraced it. Wrong or right, there's no going back anymore. Nobody's at fault, it's just the way that it is.

You have GOT to be kdding me.

Not really ... the things Mr_Music (Keith, right?) mentioned have been declining pretty rapidly since at least the '60s, no matter the state of the economy, no matter who was (allegedly) "in charge", etc. Not saying that everything was perfect and idyllic before then, but not all "change" is good, either. [I think we've seen some major examples of that here very recently.]

And you didn't see kids when we were in school in the 60's walk into a school and open fire on classmates, teachers, etc. That is because there WAS discipline. Hell you would get in trouble for walking out of line, chewing gum or talking. But oh boy, all the parents/teachers were trying to do was to "keep us down".

and sooo politics were bornnnn.

To be older today is tough, to be young is twice as bleak. I was an angry teen and harnessed my energy in sports (wrestling) and in the military. Did it work? kinda.

cos ya know the world doesnt have enough groups of angry a**hol*s.

How often in the '60's did you see kids walking around with trench coats and sawed-off shotguns? How often were folks who commited petty crimes (such as being intoxicated in public) taken into custody, usually with all but brute force, and charged as though they had just murdered a family of six? How often did people meddle in other peoples' personal affairs, such as how they should raise their children?

You rarely, if ever, saw things like this, because the respect factor was entirely different than it is today. Common sense was totally different than it is today. People minded their own business. There was really no name for "political correctness", and it certainly wasn't abused and overused to the extent it is today. People took responsibility for their actions. They didn't look for a patsy or a crutch to blame it on. Not every kid got a trophy.

Yes, times have changed, but not for the better.

The problem is, the people who are now at the forefront of those issues are behaving as if nothing has ever gotten any better, when that is just so clearly not the case. Not saying that all the problems have completely gone away, but to act as if we're still in the antebellum days is ridiculous. The only logical reason for those specific people to be ginning up the hatred and envy that they do is because if they admit that their issues have improved by leaps and bounds, their lives might not have as much meaning anymore - or at least, their "life's work"!

You mean band together a bunch of rebels without a clue about what they are rebelling against?

Great! Should be like watching a herd of Lemmings stormtrooping off a cliff...

let me know when this happens so I can set my Tivo!

The computer age had all the intentions of making the world more convenient, and to some extent, it has. By the same token, for all the people who are supposedly so much "smarter" now because of computers, people sure are dumb. They don't have to do anything anymore, except tell the computer what to do, and the computer takes over and does all the work for them....including education! Why should people learn anymore? The computer will tell them what they need to know.

It's a Catch-22. You have all the information in the world right at your fingertips, but it's dumbing down society.

An uprising collectively geared in one direction with one goal, sound like a hitler agenda to me. You will never get a bunch of dissatisfied people to focus on one goal here. jmo, so many agendas. you see my point? the democrats can not unite all of their supporters and the republicans can not identify their supporters. The disgruntled here will never unite to one force.

The dis-gruntled ones ....probably not...

But, us gruntled ones...maybe.

Okay you two! STOP posting right together!! Both from WI, both wearing sleeveless shirts and similar in appearance. I can't keep up with who is who!!!

I'm me.

You 'tard! I am from Texas!

I wasn't talking to you. You just posted before I did.

I know....that was supposed to make it funny...

Hello..is this thing on?