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Replies to '08/15 Rude and Crude People'
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January 25, 2007, 3:34 pm PST
 Quote From: blondebeauty I believe "self-centeredness" is getting more and more common. Kids think that they are owed something. Like that show "sweet 16" on MTV... those kids are rediculous. They throw a fit if they don't get exactly what they want. Years ago, even when my parents were growing up, kids realized they have to work for what they want and it doesn't just magically appear infront of you when you throw a fit. Parents don't always teach their children that. They are too worried about not making their children mad or being their child's friend, instead of disipline and showing them the way the world is...instead of the way they want it to be. It's not just the parents fault either...it's society. We as a country...as a world... are materialistic and self centered. People worry too much about themselves and not what they can do to make the world a little nicer. Holding doors...saying hello to people passing you on the street...helping the older woman walk up the steps...JUST COMMON RESPECT!!! Kids do not have different DNA nowadays. If we think they are more self-centered, it's only because they are raised differently. Adults are more materialistic, because we live in a consumer culture. Children reflect the culture, without having the maturity to smooth out the more obnoxious edges. I never want to be the type of adult who criticizes younger people (I'm 51 years old), as if my generation was somehow nicer and wiser when we were kids (LOL!).
We long ago threw off the formalities of a more Victorian age. We went from 'never wear white after Labor Day' to 'If it feels good, do it.' Our society prides itself on being independent. Most parents work, and most children end up fending for themselves a great deal of the time. The consequence of that is evident in the self-absorption of individuals all around us.
I am most often struck by the rudeness of middle-aged adults, rather than the cluelessness of teenagers. It's the middle-aged adults who are bombarding me with their inane cell phone conversations in every store I enter, their off-topic chatter at the movie theaters, their blocking my view at concerts, their lighting up cigarettes in public places, their drunken arguments with their spouses, their blocking of aisles in grocery stores, and their verbal abuse of sales clerks and waitresses (who are usually teenagers). I think we, as adults, need to get the logs out of our own eyes before we start worrying about the specks in the youngsters' eyes.
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