So two things became very clear to me today:
1) The rain obviously contains some sort of chemical that when breathed into 99% of people's lungs causes their brains to turn off while driving a car, truck, minivan, bus, SUV, Hybrid, or any other motorized vehicle allowed on the road. Luckily, or possibly unluckily, I belong to the other 1% that seem to be immune to the effect of the rain, and in turn have to suffer at the hands of these people. I am sorry, but just because there is a little bit of water dropping from the sky, does that mean you can not go the speed limit and need to constantly hit your breaks for miles on end???
2) It doesn't really matter what type of car you drive, it means nothing towards the type of person or driver you are. You could be an old man in a convertible sports car, you still drive like an old man. You could be a rich middle-aged woman in a BMW you are still parked in the left lane going 5 miles under the speed limit talking on your cell phone. And you may be a 20-something guy driving a Mustang/Lexus/Camaro/Civic, you are still a meat head who will try and race off the line at a red light only to have to wear out your brakes to stop at the red light at the next intersection.
So yes, even though it was a rather uneventful day, I was still able to observe and learn a few things...
Showing posts with label rants. Show all posts
Showing posts with label rants. Show all posts
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
Thursday, October 13, 2011
All HOPE
You see, no one can complain that Obama isn't doing what he had promised to in his campaign, nor can they say it was false advertising. You see, the bumper sticker slogan says it all, HOPE. When I look at this picture, I see the mindset that is taking us down. What most people who ended up voting for him say in this picture was "I will give you hope for a better future". But what I see, and I think it is becoming the reality as the days go by, is that it means "Let's hope that I can do a better job than the last guy". Unfortunately, not only is he not doing a better job and getting us out of a very troubling situation, but he is actually doing the opposite.
Think back to when you were a child, whether it be at home or school or any organization you were part of, and the meaning of words. When you are in athletics or any competitive activity, do they teach you to "hope" you go out and do well? No, they tell you to believe in yourself and think positively that you can get it done. No one goes out and says "I hope I can win today", or "I hope I can do my job". It is almost as if this slogan gives a built-in excuse, the ability to say "hey, I told you to HOPE I could do it".
The future of this country should not be built on HOPE, it should be built on knowledge and confidence. Hoping that we can get out of the troubles that our country is in is not going to do it. Hoping we can put people back to work and get our of the Middle East and stabilize the economy isn't going to make it happen. The country was convinced by the media and ad campaigns that by voting for Obama this gave you HOPE of a brighter future, but in the end shouldn't we trust our country in the hands of knowledge and confidence instead of HOPE??? so maybe this next election we can vote for someone who isn't HOPING to do a good job...
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Who's Fault?
There was a time, not that long ago as a matter of fact, when our people were held accountable for our actions and mistakes. It seems like so long ago. But today we have become a society not only blames our shortcomings and bad choices on someone else, but where courts and doctors and pretty much everyone accepts these excuses. And I say excuses because that is exactly what they are. Do you remember when you were little and your parents would say to you "I don't want any excuses"? That was because they knew damn well that whatever it was that you did to get yourself in hot water, it was your fault. But today, that statement has been replaced by "Who showed you/taught you/allowed you to do this?". In other words, it's never your fault anymore, it's always someone else's fault. We are no longer held responsible for our actions, our bad decisions are most likely the result of our parents or because we should have never been allowed to have the chance to screw up. It has led us down a path that scares me to death, because if everyone is pointing their finger at someone else eventually we run out of people to blame, and then what?
It can be as simple as someone spilling hot coffee on themselves and suing the fast food joint for it being too hot, AND WINNING A MILLION DOLLARS. Instead of applying the rules of common sense and throwing this case out because the person should have been more careful with an obviously hot beverage, the courts opened up the gate for frivolous lawsuits by setting the precedent that it's not the idiot holding the hot food's fault if they get hurt, it's the supplier for not putting a label on it stating that it is hot. On which planet this makes sense I don't know, but it is now the norm here on earth, or at least in the USA.
Doctors are most guilty of this social epidemic, as they feed into the blame game. If a child is a behavioral problem, they have ADD or ADHD. If you are lazy and have no energy you have chronic fatigue. If you don't know how to cope with problems you have depression. Now these things are all very real and there are people who actually suffer from them, but not at the numbers that are treated today. Today, these are easy explanations and fixes for a much deeper problem. It is easier to say a kid has ADD and shove meds down their throat than it is to actually put the time in with them to teach them how to concentrate and behave. When I was a kid, maybe one child in a class had ADD, now we are looking at a third of them being diagnosed. To me, it is a result of people not putting the time in as parents and expecting the teachers and doctors to deal with it for them. And these kids grow up to be adults who don't know how to cope, except to medicate themselves. Is this really the world we want to create and have to live in?
It's all an endless blame game...when are we going to start taking responsibility for our actions or lack of them. When are we going to revert back to a time where people stood on their own merit, and not blame others for their weaknesses? This country was built and advanced by people who persevered through tough times, yet in modern days we want everything handed to us. We are teaching our kids that they deserve everything their little hearts desire, regardless of if they have earned it. We are raising a generation of people who know that if something goes wrong, they can sue someone over it, take a pill for it, get an exemption for it, or blame someone else for it. I am all for helping someone out who needs a hand, but eventually there will be no one left to give out that helping hand, because we will all be the ones asking for it...
It can be as simple as someone spilling hot coffee on themselves and suing the fast food joint for it being too hot, AND WINNING A MILLION DOLLARS. Instead of applying the rules of common sense and throwing this case out because the person should have been more careful with an obviously hot beverage, the courts opened up the gate for frivolous lawsuits by setting the precedent that it's not the idiot holding the hot food's fault if they get hurt, it's the supplier for not putting a label on it stating that it is hot. On which planet this makes sense I don't know, but it is now the norm here on earth, or at least in the USA.
Doctors are most guilty of this social epidemic, as they feed into the blame game. If a child is a behavioral problem, they have ADD or ADHD. If you are lazy and have no energy you have chronic fatigue. If you don't know how to cope with problems you have depression. Now these things are all very real and there are people who actually suffer from them, but not at the numbers that are treated today. Today, these are easy explanations and fixes for a much deeper problem. It is easier to say a kid has ADD and shove meds down their throat than it is to actually put the time in with them to teach them how to concentrate and behave. When I was a kid, maybe one child in a class had ADD, now we are looking at a third of them being diagnosed. To me, it is a result of people not putting the time in as parents and expecting the teachers and doctors to deal with it for them. And these kids grow up to be adults who don't know how to cope, except to medicate themselves. Is this really the world we want to create and have to live in?
It's all an endless blame game...when are we going to start taking responsibility for our actions or lack of them. When are we going to revert back to a time where people stood on their own merit, and not blame others for their weaknesses? This country was built and advanced by people who persevered through tough times, yet in modern days we want everything handed to us. We are teaching our kids that they deserve everything their little hearts desire, regardless of if they have earned it. We are raising a generation of people who know that if something goes wrong, they can sue someone over it, take a pill for it, get an exemption for it, or blame someone else for it. I am all for helping someone out who needs a hand, but eventually there will be no one left to give out that helping hand, because we will all be the ones asking for it...
Thursday, September 2, 2010
Closed Minded or Well Informed?
So a few days ago my wife and I were having a discussion and she called me closed-minded. Now this wasn't a heated discussion or even one of any importance, simply talking about current affairs and the such. So it wasn't that I was hurt or insulted so much as I just didn't agree with her assessment. So of course, being who I am I had to try my best to explain myself (to no avail I am sorry to say).
As anyone who knows me well enough or has read this blog could tell you, I am VERY opinionated. Hell, it is largely because of that trait that I started writing this blog. I don't hide it...in fact I embrace, defend and promote it. To me there is nothing wrong with being opinionated, so long as you are well informed about what it is your opinion is. And that my friends is exactly my defense against my wife's labeling me as "close minded". You see, it's not that I do not listen to or accept other people's theories or opinions. I will listen to any one's side of a particular story, but if I don't agree I will tell you I don't agree, and that disagreement is usually based on some fact.
The other facet of my being opinionated, the part that gets my wife and I'm sure others even more frustrated is that I do not always we things in black and white. To me, you can have differing opinions yet still be right, and I can accept that. You see, I don't ALWAYS have to win in a discussion (I just usually do). For instance, we were discussing charity and my wife's argument was that the particular charity was worth while. I agreed with her, but inserted that in addition to the financial part of the charity they should also be giving the people the tools or information so that they or the people following them would not need the charity going forward (this is a theme that I discussed in my previous post Kick Out the Crutch). Well this frustrated her, because I was not accepting her opinion without adding mine as well. But to me that is the way of the world more times than not. Is there always a right answer? No, there isn't...the right answer is usually a composite of several differing opinions or viewpoints.
You see, I may be opinionated to the highest degree, but I am not closed minded. I am open to many ideas and suggestions. To me, people having differing viewpoints and opinions is what makes this world and especially this country so great. It is what has advanced our society and has gotten us to where we are today. If we all thought the same way and went along with the same ideals, how fun would that be? We all have a mind, and we all think differently based on our life experiences. Now that being said, I know that I am right most of the time. That is not being conceited just confident in myself. I take a great amount of pride in being well informed and well rounded. I like to think that I know a little bit about a lot of things. And bottom line is if I get into a discussion about a certain topic, you can be sure that it is something I know quite a bit about and have studied the facts. And to me, that is the key. If you just go into a discussion half-cocked throwing out statements bases solely on emotion you most likely do not know what the hell you are talking about. But someone who has done their research can hold their own, and will be heard and respected.
So yes, I may be harsh and I may be opinionated, and you may not agree with some of the things that I say, but I am very open to ideas and thoughts. It just so happens that I see things for the bigger picture and have thought of all aspects before entering into a debate. I will respectfully take in differing viewpoints, but at the same time reserve the right to correct anything that is incorrect. But at the same time, and this is very important, I do not hold grudges. just because two people do not agree on something does not mean that they can not be friends or work or live together in harmony. The fact that we all have our own minds and our own beliefs and our own opinions is what makes this world so beautiful. But just be prepare yourself for the fact that I am always right...
As anyone who knows me well enough or has read this blog could tell you, I am VERY opinionated. Hell, it is largely because of that trait that I started writing this blog. I don't hide it...in fact I embrace, defend and promote it. To me there is nothing wrong with being opinionated, so long as you are well informed about what it is your opinion is. And that my friends is exactly my defense against my wife's labeling me as "close minded". You see, it's not that I do not listen to or accept other people's theories or opinions. I will listen to any one's side of a particular story, but if I don't agree I will tell you I don't agree, and that disagreement is usually based on some fact.
The other facet of my being opinionated, the part that gets my wife and I'm sure others even more frustrated is that I do not always we things in black and white. To me, you can have differing opinions yet still be right, and I can accept that. You see, I don't ALWAYS have to win in a discussion (I just usually do). For instance, we were discussing charity and my wife's argument was that the particular charity was worth while. I agreed with her, but inserted that in addition to the financial part of the charity they should also be giving the people the tools or information so that they or the people following them would not need the charity going forward (this is a theme that I discussed in my previous post Kick Out the Crutch). Well this frustrated her, because I was not accepting her opinion without adding mine as well. But to me that is the way of the world more times than not. Is there always a right answer? No, there isn't...the right answer is usually a composite of several differing opinions or viewpoints.
You see, I may be opinionated to the highest degree, but I am not closed minded. I am open to many ideas and suggestions. To me, people having differing viewpoints and opinions is what makes this world and especially this country so great. It is what has advanced our society and has gotten us to where we are today. If we all thought the same way and went along with the same ideals, how fun would that be? We all have a mind, and we all think differently based on our life experiences. Now that being said, I know that I am right most of the time. That is not being conceited just confident in myself. I take a great amount of pride in being well informed and well rounded. I like to think that I know a little bit about a lot of things. And bottom line is if I get into a discussion about a certain topic, you can be sure that it is something I know quite a bit about and have studied the facts. And to me, that is the key. If you just go into a discussion half-cocked throwing out statements bases solely on emotion you most likely do not know what the hell you are talking about. But someone who has done their research can hold their own, and will be heard and respected.
So yes, I may be harsh and I may be opinionated, and you may not agree with some of the things that I say, but I am very open to ideas and thoughts. It just so happens that I see things for the bigger picture and have thought of all aspects before entering into a debate. I will respectfully take in differing viewpoints, but at the same time reserve the right to correct anything that is incorrect. But at the same time, and this is very important, I do not hold grudges. just because two people do not agree on something does not mean that they can not be friends or work or live together in harmony. The fact that we all have our own minds and our own beliefs and our own opinions is what makes this world so beautiful. But just be prepare yourself for the fact that I am always right...
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Move to the Right!
So this afternoon on my way into work, I am running late because of traffic of course. It doesn't help that it seems as though every main road and highway in the state of New Jersey is under construction. So even though I have a handful of different routes I can take, none of them are really a safe bet. So I am on the NJ Turnpike and there are 3 lanes of traffic struggling to even go the speed limit. As it turns out, I end up behind a car in the left lane who is doing 65 on the dot with not a care in the world. I flash my high beams just once and the car pulls to the middle lane, and I see what appears to be a middle-aged woman lean her hand down the outside of her door and flip me the bird. She then proceeds to move over to the far right lane (yes, where she should have been in the first place).
Now the reason I was dumbfounded that this woman flipped me the bird, is because she was so obviously in the wrong place doing the wrong speed. What possesses people to park in the far left lane of of of the most highly trafficked roads in the country going exactly the speed limit, and then to actually get pissed of when someone suggests that she move over where she should be to begin with? Did no one ever teach this person the rules of the road, never the less driving etiquette? Are people so petty and full of self-worth these days that the mean idea of being told you need to get over brings out such a reaction? Now I speak from first hand experience when it comes to road rage, because trust me I have a serious case of it. But what angers me when driving is stupidity. I am not one who is always in a hurry and has to be at the front of the line all the time. I do not feel the need for speed, and I do not weave in and out of traffic at high speeds. I simply want to get where I am going at a reasonable pace, without having to deal with idiots who do not know how to get along with others. But that seems to be what this world is becoming more and more full of.
Somewhere along the way people have either forgot or not been taught the rule of the road. the whole idea of "keep right except to pass" is not just a suggestion, but A LAW. Yet it is almost never enforced, and way too many people just don't care to follow it. That someone would feel it is their God given right to park in the left lane and damn everyone else is absurd, ad for that same person to get belligerent when flashed to move over is even more so. This is the kind of person whop ends up causing miles and miles of backups, all because they do not want to be stuck behind a tractor trailer (even though they are going the same speed). These people are also a main cause of accidents. When someone drives slowly in the passing lane it causes others to pass on the right, which is a dicey and dangerous situation, especially when there are 3 lanes and you may have two people trying to use the same middle lane to pass at the same time.
It is time that people start respecting each other on the roadways. There would be little to no road rage if we all started driving with respect (AKA move to the right and get the hell out of the way of those who actually have somewhere to be). And please, if you are not in a hurry and if you are scared of other vehicles and you can't stand the mere suggestion that you need to move over, then please just stay home until a person with a higher driving IQ can come and pick you up...
Now the reason I was dumbfounded that this woman flipped me the bird, is because she was so obviously in the wrong place doing the wrong speed. What possesses people to park in the far left lane of of of the most highly trafficked roads in the country going exactly the speed limit, and then to actually get pissed of when someone suggests that she move over where she should be to begin with? Did no one ever teach this person the rules of the road, never the less driving etiquette? Are people so petty and full of self-worth these days that the mean idea of being told you need to get over brings out such a reaction? Now I speak from first hand experience when it comes to road rage, because trust me I have a serious case of it. But what angers me when driving is stupidity. I am not one who is always in a hurry and has to be at the front of the line all the time. I do not feel the need for speed, and I do not weave in and out of traffic at high speeds. I simply want to get where I am going at a reasonable pace, without having to deal with idiots who do not know how to get along with others. But that seems to be what this world is becoming more and more full of.
Somewhere along the way people have either forgot or not been taught the rule of the road. the whole idea of "keep right except to pass" is not just a suggestion, but A LAW. Yet it is almost never enforced, and way too many people just don't care to follow it. That someone would feel it is their God given right to park in the left lane and damn everyone else is absurd, ad for that same person to get belligerent when flashed to move over is even more so. This is the kind of person whop ends up causing miles and miles of backups, all because they do not want to be stuck behind a tractor trailer (even though they are going the same speed). These people are also a main cause of accidents. When someone drives slowly in the passing lane it causes others to pass on the right, which is a dicey and dangerous situation, especially when there are 3 lanes and you may have two people trying to use the same middle lane to pass at the same time.
It is time that people start respecting each other on the roadways. There would be little to no road rage if we all started driving with respect (AKA move to the right and get the hell out of the way of those who actually have somewhere to be). And please, if you are not in a hurry and if you are scared of other vehicles and you can't stand the mere suggestion that you need to move over, then please just stay home until a person with a higher driving IQ can come and pick you up...
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
The Slippery Slope
The continuation towards a total lack of self-responsibility in this great country of ours is in high gear as we speak. The latest, and one of the most absurd, examples is in a potential lawsuit against McDonald's. No, it's not about people spilling shockingly hot coffee on themselves again, but this time over the inclusion of toys in their Happy Meals. Seems as though the CSPI, which claims to be a public watchdog group, is threatening a lawsuit claiming that including toys with Happy Meals is a marketing ploy to lure children into their store and to consume less than healthy foods. As I heard about this lawsuit and read more about it, the more infuriated I got. It seems as though this "free country" of ours is slowly becoming one where parents no longer have the right, or responsibility to raise their children the way they seem fit. If this lawsuit is heard in court, and especially if it is upheld, I am afraid to think of what will be next.
It seems that if it's not the government telling us how we should raise our children, it is the court system allowing lawsuits that basically accomplish the same thing to be heard. We not only live in a country where more and more people are passing the blame of their own bad parenting on to everyone and everything else, but we are allowing the dilution of our legal system by allowing so many frivolous lawsuits to be heard. This nutritional watchdog group that is filing the lawsuit against McDonald's should be spending their time and resources on making sure that businesses are following nutritional guidelines, maintaining healthy facilities, etc. They should not be deciding that it is a restaurant's job to play the role of parent to all American children. And when a suit like this is heard, and worse than that won or settled, it created a domino effect that shifts blame from consumers to the businesses. Was it really McDonald's fault that a woman spilled coffee on herself? And now every take out cup of coffee you get from any fast food joint has a message on it telling you that it's contents are hot. That is like Dairy Queen being forced to print on their cups "Contents are extremely cold". Makes no sense. Yet here we are, wanting to tell McDonald's that they can't include toys in their Happy Meals because it creates childhood obesity. And I still don't see how not including a toy in the meal is going to deter people from feeding their kids fast food. The smaller portions are most likely more of an attraction to parents than the toy is.
So the whole premise is that by including toys in the Happy Meals, and by advertising such (the nerve of a retail company to advertise a product), they are pushing young children to pressure their parents in to buying them these meals. And the implication is that this is fast food, so it is promoting unhealthy eating habits. Now as much as I agree that eating a lot of fast food is unhealthy, for adults as well as children, there are several issues with this thought process. First of all, if a parent is going to buy an extreme amount of Happy Meals for their child simply because the child is begging for the toys, then that is just bad parenting and I would be afraid to know what else their children are allowing them to do. Second, this is a free country, so no one should be forced not to feed their kid something that they want to. It is not the government's or the court's job to parent our children. The "slippery slope" that is so often spoken about is show quite clearly just in these two examples of cases with McDonald's...the allowing of the case of hot coffee eventually leads to the bringing of this lawsuit concerning Happy Meal toys. We allow the courts to tell us we can not make decisions for ourselves. We become a lazy society who sits back and lets the government tell us how to parent our children. These frivolous lawsuit should never be heard by any court.
The sad reality is that it is likely McDonald's will reach a settlement with this organization, where they will change their marketing strategy or the things that they include in the Happy Meals. They will do this in order to prevent possible bad publicity. But I say they should fight it with every bit of resources they have. The fact that something so simple and silly can be made such a big deal, all because we are afraid to stand up and take responsibility for raising our own children. It is as if they are saying "we can not raise our children right in a world with such bad options available", instead of TEACHING our kids how to live a balanced and healthy life. It reminds me of how several years back Camel cigarettes were told they could no longer use Joe Camel in their advertising, because it was construed as marketing smoking to minors. The fact that the caricature of a camel was going to make kids want to smoke any more than the fact that their own parents smoked is absurd, yet no one found that frightening. And the numbers relating to childhood smoking today don't really show that the ban was a success, do they?
There needs to be a movement in this country towards taking back responsibility for our parenting choices. We need to stop blaming everyone else for our children's problem, such as food chains, musicians, actors, medications, the rich, the poor, and the video games. If you are a responsible and engaged parent, you will know what your child is eating, drinking, playing with, listening to...and if it is the wrong thing than it is YOUR FAULT. But even if your kids are doing the wrong thing, it should not be against the law. We are free, and that means free to even make bad choices...
It seems that if it's not the government telling us how we should raise our children, it is the court system allowing lawsuits that basically accomplish the same thing to be heard. We not only live in a country where more and more people are passing the blame of their own bad parenting on to everyone and everything else, but we are allowing the dilution of our legal system by allowing so many frivolous lawsuits to be heard. This nutritional watchdog group that is filing the lawsuit against McDonald's should be spending their time and resources on making sure that businesses are following nutritional guidelines, maintaining healthy facilities, etc. They should not be deciding that it is a restaurant's job to play the role of parent to all American children. And when a suit like this is heard, and worse than that won or settled, it created a domino effect that shifts blame from consumers to the businesses. Was it really McDonald's fault that a woman spilled coffee on herself? And now every take out cup of coffee you get from any fast food joint has a message on it telling you that it's contents are hot. That is like Dairy Queen being forced to print on their cups "Contents are extremely cold". Makes no sense. Yet here we are, wanting to tell McDonald's that they can't include toys in their Happy Meals because it creates childhood obesity. And I still don't see how not including a toy in the meal is going to deter people from feeding their kids fast food. The smaller portions are most likely more of an attraction to parents than the toy is.
So the whole premise is that by including toys in the Happy Meals, and by advertising such (the nerve of a retail company to advertise a product), they are pushing young children to pressure their parents in to buying them these meals. And the implication is that this is fast food, so it is promoting unhealthy eating habits. Now as much as I agree that eating a lot of fast food is unhealthy, for adults as well as children, there are several issues with this thought process. First of all, if a parent is going to buy an extreme amount of Happy Meals for their child simply because the child is begging for the toys, then that is just bad parenting and I would be afraid to know what else their children are allowing them to do. Second, this is a free country, so no one should be forced not to feed their kid something that they want to. It is not the government's or the court's job to parent our children. The "slippery slope" that is so often spoken about is show quite clearly just in these two examples of cases with McDonald's...the allowing of the case of hot coffee eventually leads to the bringing of this lawsuit concerning Happy Meal toys. We allow the courts to tell us we can not make decisions for ourselves. We become a lazy society who sits back and lets the government tell us how to parent our children. These frivolous lawsuit should never be heard by any court.
The sad reality is that it is likely McDonald's will reach a settlement with this organization, where they will change their marketing strategy or the things that they include in the Happy Meals. They will do this in order to prevent possible bad publicity. But I say they should fight it with every bit of resources they have. The fact that something so simple and silly can be made such a big deal, all because we are afraid to stand up and take responsibility for raising our own children. It is as if they are saying "we can not raise our children right in a world with such bad options available", instead of TEACHING our kids how to live a balanced and healthy life. It reminds me of how several years back Camel cigarettes were told they could no longer use Joe Camel in their advertising, because it was construed as marketing smoking to minors. The fact that the caricature of a camel was going to make kids want to smoke any more than the fact that their own parents smoked is absurd, yet no one found that frightening. And the numbers relating to childhood smoking today don't really show that the ban was a success, do they?
There needs to be a movement in this country towards taking back responsibility for our parenting choices. We need to stop blaming everyone else for our children's problem, such as food chains, musicians, actors, medications, the rich, the poor, and the video games. If you are a responsible and engaged parent, you will know what your child is eating, drinking, playing with, listening to...and if it is the wrong thing than it is YOUR FAULT. But even if your kids are doing the wrong thing, it should not be against the law. We are free, and that means free to even make bad choices...
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Illegal is Illegal
Several days ago the state of Arizona passed a law authorizing police to request proof of residence from anyone have a reasonable suspicion of being in the country illegally. This has since sparked the latest protests from immigrants and their supporters, claiming civil rights abuse and the legalization of racial profiling. It is reminiscent of the "Day Without an Immigrant" movement several years ago, where illegal immigrants tried to band together and not work for a day to show the country their value to the economy of America. The problem with that movement was that in turn it caused more outrage from legal Americans and has since made people in this country more focused on fixing the immigration problems we are facing. So in other words, it backfired. The outcries against this Arizona law are just as misguided, and I believe will further demonstrate the people of this country's desire to expand such laws nationwide.
What no one in the mass media seems to be bringing up or emphasizing in this whole debate is the fact that we are talking about people who are in this country ILLEGALLY. By definition these are people who should not be in the country, and therefor they do not have the same rights as American citizens do. The President can try to change the wording of what he calls these people, but it doesn't change the fact that they came here without proper permission or background checks, and the majority are living under the radar and not paying into our tax system.
My other issue with this is also tied into the whole "Immigration Reform" debate that has been talked about for the last several years, where certain groups want to give amnesty to those here illegally. Most people, including the media and special interest groups assume when talking about illegal immigrants we are automatically talking about Hispanic people. But that simply is not the case as a whole. An illegal immigrant can be from Mexico as well as Russia, Pakistan, China, or anywhere else in the world. The majority of the men that hijacked the planes on September 11th were here illegally from countries in the Middle East. So think about it, any amnesty that is given to illegals not only allows Hispanics (which we assume are hard working, harmless people) but also any possible terrorists that may be here also. Do we really want to have an open door policy for anyone who wants to come into this country? We can not pick and choose who are the good immigrants and who are the bad ones, it's all or nothing. That is the basic reason why we have a process to enter the country and to become a citizen. I understand the desire for those who are struggling in other countries to come to America to make a new start, but how fair is it to those who go through the proper channels when there are so many that bypass the law and then cry for rights?
As far as the Arizona law, the one thing that I keep going back to is how outraged people are that the police now have the right to demand proof of residence. To me, the only ones who would feel threatened by this would be those who have something to hide and are actually here illegally. If you have nothing to hide, why would you care? So that is like saying "I am a criminal, but you can not ask me if I am a criminal". How much sense does that make? And so if you are here legally and are asked to show proof, you should have no problem showing proof. My wife is of Hispanic descent but was born here, so if we were driving through Arizona and pulled over and she was asked for proof of residence, she has her driver's licence and Social Security card. No harm, no foul. So I do not understand how we somehow have gotten to the point in this country where we have laws yet are guilted into not enforcing them, as to not hurt anyone's feelings. I am in no way against anyone from any country coming to America to start a new and better life. But there is a process and if you don't follow it you might possibly be caught and sent back to the country where you belong. I do not find that nasty or cruel, it is only following the law. So please, think about the term Illegal Immigrant and then tell me what Arizona has done that is so wrong...
What no one in the mass media seems to be bringing up or emphasizing in this whole debate is the fact that we are talking about people who are in this country ILLEGALLY. By definition these are people who should not be in the country, and therefor they do not have the same rights as American citizens do. The President can try to change the wording of what he calls these people, but it doesn't change the fact that they came here without proper permission or background checks, and the majority are living under the radar and not paying into our tax system.
My other issue with this is also tied into the whole "Immigration Reform" debate that has been talked about for the last several years, where certain groups want to give amnesty to those here illegally. Most people, including the media and special interest groups assume when talking about illegal immigrants we are automatically talking about Hispanic people. But that simply is not the case as a whole. An illegal immigrant can be from Mexico as well as Russia, Pakistan, China, or anywhere else in the world. The majority of the men that hijacked the planes on September 11th were here illegally from countries in the Middle East. So think about it, any amnesty that is given to illegals not only allows Hispanics (which we assume are hard working, harmless people) but also any possible terrorists that may be here also. Do we really want to have an open door policy for anyone who wants to come into this country? We can not pick and choose who are the good immigrants and who are the bad ones, it's all or nothing. That is the basic reason why we have a process to enter the country and to become a citizen. I understand the desire for those who are struggling in other countries to come to America to make a new start, but how fair is it to those who go through the proper channels when there are so many that bypass the law and then cry for rights?
As far as the Arizona law, the one thing that I keep going back to is how outraged people are that the police now have the right to demand proof of residence. To me, the only ones who would feel threatened by this would be those who have something to hide and are actually here illegally. If you have nothing to hide, why would you care? So that is like saying "I am a criminal, but you can not ask me if I am a criminal". How much sense does that make? And so if you are here legally and are asked to show proof, you should have no problem showing proof. My wife is of Hispanic descent but was born here, so if we were driving through Arizona and pulled over and she was asked for proof of residence, she has her driver's licence and Social Security card. No harm, no foul. So I do not understand how we somehow have gotten to the point in this country where we have laws yet are guilted into not enforcing them, as to not hurt anyone's feelings. I am in no way against anyone from any country coming to America to start a new and better life. But there is a process and if you don't follow it you might possibly be caught and sent back to the country where you belong. I do not find that nasty or cruel, it is only following the law. So please, think about the term Illegal Immigrant and then tell me what Arizona has done that is so wrong...
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Let Kids be Kids
Okay, so is it just me or are kids being raised these days with absolutely no skills that are going to help them become well adjusted adults in the future? I see it and hear it every day. It's like we are so afraid to upset our children or have them suffer or want for everything, that they are growing up not knowing the facts of life and hard realities. My fear is that these children that are growing up today have no idea how to get along in the real world, and they are the ones who will be taking care of my generation when we get older. We are raising a generation of children who are coddled so much and we shield them from disappointment. I have my suspicions on why we are doing this, but I am also afraid of the direction it is leading us in.
I saw a disturbing segment several months ago on HBO's Real Sports with Bryant Gumble. In the piece, they highlighted how schools across the country are starting to ban activities such as Tag and Dodgeball. These are games that go back decades; who doesn't recall playing these at school and/or summer camp when they were younger? Well it seems as though certain educators feel that these games are a danger to our children, both physically and mentally. There is the danger of a child tripping and falling during a violent game of Tag, or a possible welt from a well directed ball during a heated round of Dodgeball. But besides the physical hard, we are told of the mental scars a game such as Dodgeball can inflict on our precious little angels. The fear is that a child is being taught that if you get hit with the ball you are out and you lose. The fear of intimidation. All these things that I must have somehow blocked out of my conscious mind, because I took out of it that Dodgeball was a fun activity that promoted competition, physical movement and coordination. I must have been one of the lucky ones that escaped my years of Dodgeball hell without any mental scars.
Also in the segment on HBO was a Phys Ed teacher who instead of having his students jump rope, he had they go through the motions without actually using a rope. The whole point was that they can skip the imaginary rope as little or as much as they desire without having the failure of tripping on the rope. I suppose somewhere hiding among us are people just stewing inside because of the shame and disappointment of getting their feet caught up in a jump rope when they were children, right? Once again I was one of the lucky few who escaped only taking out of if hand to eye coordination and the art of exercise. In addition, there was a woman who I wanted to jump through the TV screen and strangle. She was a principle at a school in Arizona who declared her elementary school a "no touch zone". In other words, no child is allowed to touch another student AT ALL. This means hugging, high fives, whatever. They play "shadow tag", where instead of tagging each other they tag one's shadow, and give each other "air five". And the way the woman smirked and giggled when asked about the insanity of these rules, it just made me sick to my stomach.
We are creating an entire generation of sissies...children who experience no failure and do not know what it feels like to have their feelings hurt. Many schools around the country now forbid teachers from grading papers with red ink. The reason for this is because the color red supposedly relays anger and is intimidating. So God forbid children get upset when they read the corrections on a paper they turn in. Supposedly we all grew up bitter and shameful because whenever we got a paper back with red corrections on it we shuttered and hid in shame. This also goes along with many youth athletics in where the games or competitions end without a winner or a loser. And in the rare cases where they do declare a victor, the losers are also given an award or are said to have come in "second" as opposed to being labeled the loser. Somehow we have lost our competitive edge in this country. No wonder other countries around the world have closed the gap, if not taken over the lead when it comes to sports and industry. We are so afraid of hurting our kids feelings that we are holding them back.
My suspicion as to why we are doing this to our children today is because of the old adage "give your children a better life than you had". Now I am all for that simple desire, to try and give your kids every opportunity you didn't have, to instill in them the wisdom you gained from your experiences both positive and negative. But are people, especially educators and lawmakers not going overboard in order to shield our youth from any possible negative experience? After all, has anyone not heard the adage "what doesn't kill you makes you stronger" or "learn from your mistakes"? We are bastardizing life so as to take away any chance at our kids failing, so that when they are in the real world and have to deal with failure they do not know what to do. I am all for giving our children a better life, but we can not take away the possibilities of the disappointments we endured in our youth from them. Kids need to live life, they need to be kids, they need to get bumps and bruises and get their feelings hurt, so that they can learn how to deal with it. Because God knows that as adults they will have plenty of disappointments and hurt, and if they don't know how to cope they will end up the ones shooting up a school or hurting themselves because they have no other outlet.
So please, let's not continue on this ridiculous path we are going down when it comes to the sheltering of our children. Yes, we all cherish our kids and want what's best for them. But by holding them back and not teaching them how to deal with losing and disappointment and shame, we are raising a generation who knows not emotion. We do not want a nation of robots, so please allow our kids to be kids...
I saw a disturbing segment several months ago on HBO's Real Sports with Bryant Gumble. In the piece, they highlighted how schools across the country are starting to ban activities such as Tag and Dodgeball. These are games that go back decades; who doesn't recall playing these at school and/or summer camp when they were younger? Well it seems as though certain educators feel that these games are a danger to our children, both physically and mentally. There is the danger of a child tripping and falling during a violent game of Tag, or a possible welt from a well directed ball during a heated round of Dodgeball. But besides the physical hard, we are told of the mental scars a game such as Dodgeball can inflict on our precious little angels. The fear is that a child is being taught that if you get hit with the ball you are out and you lose. The fear of intimidation. All these things that I must have somehow blocked out of my conscious mind, because I took out of it that Dodgeball was a fun activity that promoted competition, physical movement and coordination. I must have been one of the lucky ones that escaped my years of Dodgeball hell without any mental scars.
Also in the segment on HBO was a Phys Ed teacher who instead of having his students jump rope, he had they go through the motions without actually using a rope. The whole point was that they can skip the imaginary rope as little or as much as they desire without having the failure of tripping on the rope. I suppose somewhere hiding among us are people just stewing inside because of the shame and disappointment of getting their feet caught up in a jump rope when they were children, right? Once again I was one of the lucky few who escaped only taking out of if hand to eye coordination and the art of exercise. In addition, there was a woman who I wanted to jump through the TV screen and strangle. She was a principle at a school in Arizona who declared her elementary school a "no touch zone". In other words, no child is allowed to touch another student AT ALL. This means hugging, high fives, whatever. They play "shadow tag", where instead of tagging each other they tag one's shadow, and give each other "air five". And the way the woman smirked and giggled when asked about the insanity of these rules, it just made me sick to my stomach.
We are creating an entire generation of sissies...children who experience no failure and do not know what it feels like to have their feelings hurt. Many schools around the country now forbid teachers from grading papers with red ink. The reason for this is because the color red supposedly relays anger and is intimidating. So God forbid children get upset when they read the corrections on a paper they turn in. Supposedly we all grew up bitter and shameful because whenever we got a paper back with red corrections on it we shuttered and hid in shame. This also goes along with many youth athletics in where the games or competitions end without a winner or a loser. And in the rare cases where they do declare a victor, the losers are also given an award or are said to have come in "second" as opposed to being labeled the loser. Somehow we have lost our competitive edge in this country. No wonder other countries around the world have closed the gap, if not taken over the lead when it comes to sports and industry. We are so afraid of hurting our kids feelings that we are holding them back.
My suspicion as to why we are doing this to our children today is because of the old adage "give your children a better life than you had". Now I am all for that simple desire, to try and give your kids every opportunity you didn't have, to instill in them the wisdom you gained from your experiences both positive and negative. But are people, especially educators and lawmakers not going overboard in order to shield our youth from any possible negative experience? After all, has anyone not heard the adage "what doesn't kill you makes you stronger" or "learn from your mistakes"? We are bastardizing life so as to take away any chance at our kids failing, so that when they are in the real world and have to deal with failure they do not know what to do. I am all for giving our children a better life, but we can not take away the possibilities of the disappointments we endured in our youth from them. Kids need to live life, they need to be kids, they need to get bumps and bruises and get their feelings hurt, so that they can learn how to deal with it. Because God knows that as adults they will have plenty of disappointments and hurt, and if they don't know how to cope they will end up the ones shooting up a school or hurting themselves because they have no other outlet.
So please, let's not continue on this ridiculous path we are going down when it comes to the sheltering of our children. Yes, we all cherish our kids and want what's best for them. But by holding them back and not teaching them how to deal with losing and disappointment and shame, we are raising a generation who knows not emotion. We do not want a nation of robots, so please allow our kids to be kids...
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
A Second Chance?
So I keep hearing something over and over on TV, radio, the internet, work, and anywhere else people communicate..."Everyone deserves a second chance". It's not in relation to a child who made a mistake and was suspended from school, not about an addict who lost it all and can't get back on their feet. The person who brings up this comment so frequently is Michale Vick, who plead guilty to and served jail time for charges related to running a dog fighting operation and animal cruelty. The man organized and financially sponsored the ring, as well as helped first hand in the execution of several dogs, and went away to do hard time because of it. In the fallout, he lost a good portion of the record $125,000,000 contract he had signed a few years prior to this coming out.
So now Vick has finished serving his time and people are stewing about his future. You have those who are staunch animal rights activists that feel he should not be anywhere in the public eye and will protest anywhere they can be seen. You have current and former players who are 100% behind his return to football. You have such a mixed bag of feelings about this topic, because it touches on so many levels of our being: animals, sports, money, ethics, racial tension. But from those who back Mike Vick and his return to the NFL, you hear over and over the catchphrase "everyone deserves a second chance". As much as I believe this statement to be true, and also third and fourth chances, it is greatly flawed as it pertains to this situation.
Along with the statement "everyone deserves a second chance", you almost always hear it followed by "he has a right to make a living". Now as true as this statement is also, again it is flawed as it pertains to Mike Vick and the NFL. A second chance means the opportunity to prove you belong as part of free society, and earning a living means to be able to be employed and make money for it. But nowhere in the Constitution does it say that once you are an NFL player, or a professional athlete in general, that you have the RIGHT to make your living in the same manor once you have fallen from grace. And that is where our social conscience has taken a turn for the worse.
We see these athletes and celebrities and think that is what they were born to do, that it is the only thing they can and should do. And so when they break the law and get in trouble we feel it is a natural thing for them to go right back to doing what they were before, because it is what we associate them with. But tell me this: if you were arrested and serve jail time for what Michael Vick did, would your employer bring you back in the same capacity once you were released? Chances are they wouldn't. Chances are it would be extremely hard to find employment with a criminal record, especially with several felony charges that you fled guilty to. and if you were able to find employment, the choices would be limited and you would have to start at the bottom and work your way up the food chain. So why is it so many people just like you and I feel that it is Mike Vick's God given right to be offered a position on an NFL team now that he has served his time?
Okay, so the Philadelphia Eagles signed Vick to a one year deal paying about $1.6 million, of which reportedly he will pocket $750,000 once he pays back prior debts, and that is a huge step down from the money he was making before his transgressions. But at the same time, $1.6 million, or even $750,000 is more than 75% of us will ever make in a year. So forget if it is fair or not, because it is a free world and employers can hire who they want at their own risk. My problem is with average, everyday citizens of this country that are struggling with their own bills, having a hard time in today's tough financial situation, yet they feel that Mike Vick has the right to play football for a living. Are we that hard up for entertainment these days that even when we don't have money in our savings accounts we still want criminals to get rich so that we can be entertained for 3 hours each Sunday? I sure hope not...
So now Vick has finished serving his time and people are stewing about his future. You have those who are staunch animal rights activists that feel he should not be anywhere in the public eye and will protest anywhere they can be seen. You have current and former players who are 100% behind his return to football. You have such a mixed bag of feelings about this topic, because it touches on so many levels of our being: animals, sports, money, ethics, racial tension. But from those who back Mike Vick and his return to the NFL, you hear over and over the catchphrase "everyone deserves a second chance". As much as I believe this statement to be true, and also third and fourth chances, it is greatly flawed as it pertains to this situation.
Along with the statement "everyone deserves a second chance", you almost always hear it followed by "he has a right to make a living". Now as true as this statement is also, again it is flawed as it pertains to Mike Vick and the NFL. A second chance means the opportunity to prove you belong as part of free society, and earning a living means to be able to be employed and make money for it. But nowhere in the Constitution does it say that once you are an NFL player, or a professional athlete in general, that you have the RIGHT to make your living in the same manor once you have fallen from grace. And that is where our social conscience has taken a turn for the worse.
We see these athletes and celebrities and think that is what they were born to do, that it is the only thing they can and should do. And so when they break the law and get in trouble we feel it is a natural thing for them to go right back to doing what they were before, because it is what we associate them with. But tell me this: if you were arrested and serve jail time for what Michael Vick did, would your employer bring you back in the same capacity once you were released? Chances are they wouldn't. Chances are it would be extremely hard to find employment with a criminal record, especially with several felony charges that you fled guilty to. and if you were able to find employment, the choices would be limited and you would have to start at the bottom and work your way up the food chain. So why is it so many people just like you and I feel that it is Mike Vick's God given right to be offered a position on an NFL team now that he has served his time?
Okay, so the Philadelphia Eagles signed Vick to a one year deal paying about $1.6 million, of which reportedly he will pocket $750,000 once he pays back prior debts, and that is a huge step down from the money he was making before his transgressions. But at the same time, $1.6 million, or even $750,000 is more than 75% of us will ever make in a year. So forget if it is fair or not, because it is a free world and employers can hire who they want at their own risk. My problem is with average, everyday citizens of this country that are struggling with their own bills, having a hard time in today's tough financial situation, yet they feel that Mike Vick has the right to play football for a living. Are we that hard up for entertainment these days that even when we don't have money in our savings accounts we still want criminals to get rich so that we can be entertained for 3 hours each Sunday? I sure hope not...
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
What Road Rage?
So, I have been told on many occasions that I have Road Rage. My answer is always that I don't have Road Rage, I just have very little tolerance for stupidity. I very rarely am in a hurry to go anywhere, I just feel like we all took a test on how to drive and are supposed to understand the basic rules of the road. In addition there is such a thing as driving etiquette, which seems to have been lost some time ago.
Take, for instance, the simple act of staying to the right except to pass. This not only is something you are taught in driving school, something you sometimes see posted on highways, but it is also a law in most if not all states. Yet you do not see this ever being enforced. I can not tell you how many times I have been driving on the New Jersey Turnpike and hit a log-jam across three lanes of traffic, only to find out in time that it was someone parked in the far left lane doing 60 when the speed limit is 65. And chances are it is either someone who is driving totally scared to death or someone on their cellphone having the conversation of their life. This is not my problem, this is not Road Rage, this is just people being plain stupid and not respecting those around them.
Another thing that drives me nuts is people who are going along at a certain pace, then when you go to pass them they decide at that time they are going to speed up. I don't know if this is some macho game, some sense of pride that "I can not allow you to pass me", but whatever the reason it is plain stupidity. So yes, I want to (and most of the time do) curse at you when I finally get to pass. Call it Road Rage if you want, but to me I am not the one with the problem, it is the pinhead in the other car with the issues.
Driving should be a pleasant experience, a scenic ride from one place to another, in the comfort of a climate controlled vehicle. Instead, it is becoming more and more of a headache. Cops should start writing tickets for "Stupid Behavior While Driving a Vehicle"...just imagine how much money this could bring in and possibly help our economy!
So please, when you are out there on the roads think of me next time you encounter someone parked in the left lane, talking on their cell phone at a green light instead of moving, speeding up when you try to pass them, put on their hazard lights and slow down to 30 mph when it starts to sprinkle, and things of the sort...and tell me that I am wrong for having Road Rage.
Take, for instance, the simple act of staying to the right except to pass. This not only is something you are taught in driving school, something you sometimes see posted on highways, but it is also a law in most if not all states. Yet you do not see this ever being enforced. I can not tell you how many times I have been driving on the New Jersey Turnpike and hit a log-jam across three lanes of traffic, only to find out in time that it was someone parked in the far left lane doing 60 when the speed limit is 65. And chances are it is either someone who is driving totally scared to death or someone on their cellphone having the conversation of their life. This is not my problem, this is not Road Rage, this is just people being plain stupid and not respecting those around them.
Another thing that drives me nuts is people who are going along at a certain pace, then when you go to pass them they decide at that time they are going to speed up. I don't know if this is some macho game, some sense of pride that "I can not allow you to pass me", but whatever the reason it is plain stupidity. So yes, I want to (and most of the time do) curse at you when I finally get to pass. Call it Road Rage if you want, but to me I am not the one with the problem, it is the pinhead in the other car with the issues.
Driving should be a pleasant experience, a scenic ride from one place to another, in the comfort of a climate controlled vehicle. Instead, it is becoming more and more of a headache. Cops should start writing tickets for "Stupid Behavior While Driving a Vehicle"...just imagine how much money this could bring in and possibly help our economy!
So please, when you are out there on the roads think of me next time you encounter someone parked in the left lane, talking on their cell phone at a green light instead of moving, speeding up when you try to pass them, put on their hazard lights and slow down to 30 mph when it starts to sprinkle, and things of the sort...and tell me that I am wrong for having Road Rage.
What is this World Coming To?
Can someone please tell me what the hell our society is becoming? The things that you see on TV today, the clothes that young kids are wearing, the language that is becoming a regular part of our accepted vocabulary, it is all decaying at a rapid pace.
Now do not for a second take me for a do-gooder or an extreme right-wing conservative, I take pride in being very much middle of the road on my views. I am just looking around all the time and thinking "what is this world coming to?" Things are becoming downright scary, and we are all at fault.
You need look no further than the Teen Choice Awards that were on earlier this week. On a show that is aimed at young teens, you had the queen of teen imagery, Miley Cyrus, in a skimpy outfit swinging around on a stripper pole. Now I enjoy watching a stripper as much as the next guy, but there is something fundamentally wrong with a society that feels it is okay for a 16 year old to act that way in from of a targeted teenage audience. But this is just the latest in young girls being exploited for money and fame. And the thing is, it is more common and ingrained into our pop culture that it seems to be less shocking anymore. I have a 16 month old daughter, and the last thing I want when she grows up is for her to think that kind of behavior is acceptable for a child.
It's also the language and content that we hear and see on TV shows these days. I remember growing up the most risque show in TV was Threes Company. These days that show wouldn't even get aired because it would be considered too corny. Today you see more and more flesh, sexual innuendo and foul language, and it is on DURING DINNER TIME! As an adult in my 30's, I curse as much as the next guy and don't mind seeing nudity. But there is a time and a place, and our society and the regulators seem to have forgotten about a little thing called TACT. Again, I am far from being a prude, I just feel there is a time and place for everything.
And the effects all come to a head when you take a walk in your local shopping mall. When you walk around, you see young girls wearing less and less. Teenagers who are following the people they see on TV, prancing around half naked because "it is the style". It seems our generation figures we didn't like being told what to do, and hated being told NO, so in turn we are allowing our kids to do what they want so that they "like us" more than we liked our parents. Well guess what? You are a parent, NOT A FRIEND! As a parent you don't always have to be liked, most important is that you are RESPECTED. We need to stop trying to be our kids' buddies and start teaching them how to be respectful and how to be respected.
Hopefully I am not the only one who feels this way, because if I am we are in for a lot more trouble in the coming years...
Now do not for a second take me for a do-gooder or an extreme right-wing conservative, I take pride in being very much middle of the road on my views. I am just looking around all the time and thinking "what is this world coming to?" Things are becoming downright scary, and we are all at fault.
You need look no further than the Teen Choice Awards that were on earlier this week. On a show that is aimed at young teens, you had the queen of teen imagery, Miley Cyrus, in a skimpy outfit swinging around on a stripper pole. Now I enjoy watching a stripper as much as the next guy, but there is something fundamentally wrong with a society that feels it is okay for a 16 year old to act that way in from of a targeted teenage audience. But this is just the latest in young girls being exploited for money and fame. And the thing is, it is more common and ingrained into our pop culture that it seems to be less shocking anymore. I have a 16 month old daughter, and the last thing I want when she grows up is for her to think that kind of behavior is acceptable for a child.
It's also the language and content that we hear and see on TV shows these days. I remember growing up the most risque show in TV was Threes Company. These days that show wouldn't even get aired because it would be considered too corny. Today you see more and more flesh, sexual innuendo and foul language, and it is on DURING DINNER TIME! As an adult in my 30's, I curse as much as the next guy and don't mind seeing nudity. But there is a time and a place, and our society and the regulators seem to have forgotten about a little thing called TACT. Again, I am far from being a prude, I just feel there is a time and place for everything.
And the effects all come to a head when you take a walk in your local shopping mall. When you walk around, you see young girls wearing less and less. Teenagers who are following the people they see on TV, prancing around half naked because "it is the style". It seems our generation figures we didn't like being told what to do, and hated being told NO, so in turn we are allowing our kids to do what they want so that they "like us" more than we liked our parents. Well guess what? You are a parent, NOT A FRIEND! As a parent you don't always have to be liked, most important is that you are RESPECTED. We need to stop trying to be our kids' buddies and start teaching them how to be respectful and how to be respected.
Hopefully I am not the only one who feels this way, because if I am we are in for a lot more trouble in the coming years...
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