Those who refuse to learn and understand history are destined to repeat it.
But remember this . . . in the words of the great John Belushi, “It aint over until WE say it is over.”

Why Democracies Fail

A Democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of Government.
It can only exist until the voters discover they can vote themselves largess out of the public treasury.
From that moment on the majority always votes for the candidate promising the most benefits from the public treasury with the result that Democracy always collapses over a loose fiscal policy, always to be followed by a Dictatorship.
(Written by Professor Alexander Fraser Tytler, over two centuries ago while our thirteen original states were still colonies of Great Britain. At the time he was writing of the decline and fall of the Athenian Republic over two thousand years before.)

 

Geezer,

I raised one son and he is a good one. Most of my friends have done the same, some haven’t.

We grew up in hellacious times and most made it out ok. But here is the real difference – and problem.

Virtually ALL of our manufacturing jobs have been exported to China and now Mexico. Those are the jobs that semi-skilled people could and did make a decent living. Now you are either a professional or flipping burgers.

The middle class is shrinking. It CAN still be fixed but if we don’t it will bite us in the a$$ . . . very hard!

 

This same assessment was assigned to us specifically at about the same time, by Alexis DeTocqueville in "Democracy in America", he was a Frenchman curious about our new form of government. In a nutshell, he loved the U.S., but was pretty grim about our long term outlook. To our credit the republic has lasted longer than they thought, though we can now see huge cracks. With an Imperial president and a cowardly congress it won't last much longer.

 

Steve365


You know your WDF!


I knew that too but couldn't find a way to say it without confusion.

 

Amen! I have noticed the same. Upon retirement in 8 years I'm outta here for the Carribean.

 

Agreed. I've come to the conclusion our country has two groups of people, givers and takers, and we've filled our allotment of takers...

 

I raised an *******.

I did my level best by imparting knowledge and wisdom, and setting the example for him. I never demanded from him what I was not willing to do, or had already done myself. My rules were pretty simple, but I expected and enforced compliance. As soon as he turned 18 he decided he didn't have to live by my rules anymore, and he dropped out of highschool and moved in with his girlfriend.

For the last three years he has floated from girlfriend to girlfriend or crashing on friend's couches until he wears out his welcome. He is now 21 and has his very first job. He is 5 years behind the curve, and is just now coming to grips with the fact that the world does not actually owe him anything. He doesn't have a pot to **** in or a window to throw it out of, and I won't give him anything. I've offered him many opportunities to help himself.

I offered him a car, free and clear. I had just paid it off and was going to trade it in when I bought my Jeep. I told him if he got a job, and started working on his GED, I would give him the car, and pay for the insurance for the first year. He didn't do it because at that time, his girlfriend had a car, but had lost her license...so essentially, he had car and had to do nothing for it.

I traded in the car, and a week later he comes to me (I only hear from him if he needs something) and asks to use the car. He had been dumped by the girl and no longer had wheels. I told him I no longer had it, he waited too long and missed another opportunity. He won't bother to ask to use the Jeep since he didn't want to learn how to drive a stick when I offered.

So yeah, I get the lazy mentality of the gimme gimme generation. When I came home from Iraq, I realized that the country for which I fought, no longer exists. I've long since disconnected from it.

 

If treatment is started early there is a cure

 

Unfortunately, your actions don't guarantee results.

While I believe that the parents who put in the efforts, are fair but a little demanding, etc. will produce kids that "Get it" and do well most times, but it also depends on the kid. We only provide half the input, the kids that turn out well (Or the opposite.) are equally responsible for their outcome.

I've certainly seen my share of kids that had all the right inputs but fail miserably at life, and I've seen many who pretty much raised themselves in truly dysfunctional environments that are outstanding adults. It happens.

FWIW, some kids kick in at a much later age than we expect. Don't coddle, but don't give up either. You may be surprised down the road, good luck.