Please don't blame the seniors

[Ron_TN]

 

 

Senior citizens are constantly being criticized for every conceivable deficiency of the modern world real or imaginary.

We know we take responsibility for all we have done and do not blame others. But upon reflection we would like to point
out that it was not the senior citizens who took:

 

The melody out of music,

 

The pride out of appearance,

 

The romance out of love,

 

The commitment out of marriage,

 

The responsibility out of parenthood,

 

The togetherness out of the family,

 

The learning out of education,

 

The service out of patriotism,

 

The religion out of school,

 

The Golden Rule from rulers,

 

The nativity scene out of cities,

 

The civility out of behavior,

 

The refinement out of language,

 

The dedication out of employment,

 

The prudence out of spending, or

The ambition out of achievement,

 

And we certainly are not the ones who eliminated patience and
tolerance from personal relationships and interactions with others!

 

Does anyone under the age of 50 know the lyrics to the Star
Spangled Banner?

 

Just look at those Seniors with tears in their eyes and pride in
their hearts as they stand at attention with their hand over their
hearts!

 

And, unless many of our younger generation learn to count in the absence
of computers and calculators, they will be back to counting on fingers
and toes.

 

Remember.......Inside every older person is a younger person
wondering what in the world happened.

Edited December 25, 2015 by Ron_TN

[Jonnin]

A lot of these (not all, but many ... pride in appearance & hippies?  romance outta love (free love??)?  I could go on..  ) are direct results of the movements of the 60s which, while a small actual percentage of the population, has had long lasting and far reaching consequences.   Those folks who did that were teens and twenties in the 60s.    That put them .... in the seniors category, solidly.    Granted our seniors today span a wide group and the oldest are not the hippies, but the youngest... were.

 

This isn't me blaming anyone for anything ...  again, I recognize that a vocal minority turned the country on its head.   But the TIMEFRAME is without dispute.   And what was started has snowballed ... unintended consequences.    My generation is as bad or worse... because we continued to worsen the mess rather than fix it.  

 

Much as I despise the guy, one quote comes to mind over and over.  America's chickens have come home to roost.

[enfield]

More and more I feel like a stranger in a strange land.

[Murgatroy]

A lot of these (not all, but many ... pride in appearance & hippies?  romance outta love (free love??)?  I could go on..  ) are direct results of the movements of the 60s which, while a small actual percentage of the population, has had long lasting and far reaching consequences.   Those folks who did that were teens and twenties in the 60s.    That put them .... in the seniors category, solidly.    Granted our seniors today span a wide group and the oldest are not the hippies, but the youngest... were.

 

This isn't me blaming anyone for anything ...  again, I recognize that a vocal minority turned the country on its head.   But the TIMEFRAME is without dispute.   And what was started has snowballed ... unintended consequences.    My generation is as bad or worse... because we continued to worsen the mess rather than fix it.  

 

Much as I despise the guy, one quote comes to mind over and over.  America's chickens have come home to roost.

I have mentioned it a time or two when threads like this come up, it is the seniors that raised the current adults of today. 

 

Accepting responsibility is an amazing thing.

 

I understand that there are still a lot of great cats out there of all generations. Thus I hesitate strongly to stand and point and say that one demographic is greater than any other. It is the appreciation of differences that truly shows character and class.

 

EDIT

 

I am in my late 30's. Married once, still married. With a single child that is well rounded and well behaved. Making solid As in school (one B ever, this year) who plays several musical instruments. I am college educated with a home, and food in it. My bills are paid and I appreciate life for what it is.

 

I was birthed to and raised by a drug addicted whore who spat out half a dozen children that were nothing more than paychecks, punching bags and slave labor. My father left when I was young. I never saw him again. Both were born and raised middle/upper middle class by 'The Greatest Generation' and both are well into their senior years now.

 

Now, far be it from me to stand as say that everyone everywhere is the same, but you don't have to walk far to find anyone, of any age who can tell you the same story of their lineage and who turned out 'all right.' You don't even have to walk any further to hear of those with much better lineage who didn't turn out 'all right.'

 

I suppose that having been through the seedy underbelly of the world and emerging with no blinders or preconceived notions of what this world owes anyone has jaded me, or possibly made me bitter. I tend to think of it as seeing more clearly. The greatest thing it has taught me is to accept everyone as they are. From beggars to kings, everyone has good points, as well as their bad.

 

Ultimately I just get tired of hearing that it was better in a different era, which is nothing more than misguided nostalgia. Human beings are the same now as they were when Ogg first rubbed two sticks together and learned that cooked meat tasted pretty good. Everything changes, that is the nature of progress, but humans haven't in thousands of years of evolution.

 

/soapbox

Edited December 25, 2015 by Murgatroy

[TMF]

I have mentioned it a time or two when threads like this come up, it is the seniors that raised the current adults of today.

Accepting responsibility is an amazing thing.

I understand that there are still a lot of great cats out there of all generations. Thus I hesitate strongly to stand and point and say that one demographic is greater than any other. It is the appreciation of differences that truly shows character and class.

EDIT

I am in my late 30's. Married once, still married. With a single child that is well rounded and well behaved. Making solid As in school (one B ever, this year) who plays several musical instruments. I am college educated with a home, and food in it. My bills are paid and I appreciate life for what it is.

I was birthed to and raised by a drug addicted whore who spat out half a dozen children that were nothing more than paychecks, punching bags and slave labor. My father left when I was young. I never saw him again. Both were born and raised middle/upper middle class by 'The Greatest Generation' and both are well into their senior years now.

Now, far be it from me to stand as say that everyone everywhere is the same, but you don't have to walk far to find anyone, of any age who can tell you the same story of their lineage and who turned out 'all right.' You don't even have to walk any further to hear of those with much better lineage who didn't turn out 'all right.'

I suppose that having been through the seedy underbelly of the world and emerging with no blinders or preconceived notions of what this world owes anyone has jaded me, or possibly made me bitter. I tend to think of it as seeing more clearly. The greatest thing it has taught me is to accept everyone as they are. From beggars to kings, everyone has good points, as well as their bad.

Ultimately I just get tired of hearing that it was better in a different era, which is nothing more than misguided nostalgia. Human beings are the same now as they were when Ogg first rubbed two sticks together and learned that cooked meat tasted pretty good. Everything changes, that is the nature of progress, but humans haven't in thousands of years of evolution.

/soapbox