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I've often wondered that myself......The more you act like a fool,the more kids want to be like you,my kids usually think most in the spotlight are idiots....I have taught my kids to respect others and it's getting harder every day to keep their feet on the ground with everything that is being thrown at them through the media...I hope that my teaching will stick with them!!

We were once a nation "under God," based on basic Judeo-Christian principles. Even if you don't believe in anything religion based, you have to agree that the basic moral tenants of both Christianity and Judiasm are a sound foundation to build a notaion upon.

Now we're a nation under whatever feels good, based on what the media tells us is true, good, and right.  OF COURSE we believe America is the problem!

What happened to our moral compass?

Good question. What is a moral compass?

Main Entry:   moral compass

Part of Speech:   n

Definition:   anything which serves to guide a person's decisions based on morals or virtues

With the decline of morals and/or virtues is what happened to our moral compass.

Take a look at our society today and consider what seems to be morally acceptable. 

Take a look at our society 20, 30, 40, 50 years ago and consider what was morally acceptable.

Sure we've made great strides and changes in some aspects and with some of those changes we've allowed a degenerative force, if you will, to come into our daily lives and take over what was once tabu, or forbidden, according to certain various religious beliefs and customs.

It seems that now we're in a "Feel Good Society" or the "It's All About Me Generation".

Cue music...

Everybody knows when you go to the show,

You can't take the kids along.

You've gotta read the paper and know the codes

Of G, PG and R and X.

And you gotta know what the movie's about

Before you even go.

Tex Ritter's gone and Disney's dead

And the screen is filled with sex.

Whatever happened to Randolph Scott,

Ridin' the Trail alone?

Whatever happened to Gene and Tex

And Roy and Rex the Durango Kid?

Oh, whatever happened to Randolph Scott,

His horse plain as could be?

Whatever happened to Randolph Scott

Has happened to the best of me.

Everybody's tryin' to make a comment

About our doubts and fears.

True Grit's the only movie I've really

Understood in years

You gotta take your analyst along

To see if it's fit to see.

Whatever happened to Randolph Scott

Has happened to the industry.

Whatever happened to Johnny Mack Brown

And Alan Rocky Lane?

Whatever happened to Lash LaRue?

I'd love to see them again.

Whatever happened to Smiley Burnette,

Tim Holt, and Gene Autry?

Whatever happened to all of these

Has happened to the best of me.

Whatever happened to Randolph Scott

Has happened to the industry.

THIRDWATCHNORTH says ...

I work in patrol so I respond to whatever the 911 dispatchers throw down the pipe.  In this area (Northern Nevada) it seems Domestic Disturbances are on the rise.  It used to be the same residences with the same issues over and over.  I'm seeing more new faces lately and calling Child Protective Services to "come get the kids" because Mommy's drunk and Baby's Daddy is going to jail or whatever the case may be.  Child Protective Services is on my speed dial list for cryin out loud!

My point is this... Kids are sponges.  They pattern their behavior after the adult in their life they choose to emulate -whether conscious or subconscious.  They can only model their behavior after the people they are exposed to.  You can blame the media and their peers but I see the break down starting at the home.  I could rattle off a long list of parents who use the Televsion as their primary babysitter and a package of Benedryl as their backup.  I've gone to crazy loud Domestics where the kids sitting in front of "Dora the Explorer" hardly even notices I'm there.  I've seen kids so filthy I swore they had skin disorders only to hear Child Protective Service folks tell me, "Oh that? ..that's just dirt.  The kid probably hasn't seen a bar of soap in 3 weeks". 

Our economy has gotten so weak that it is near impossible for the middle class family to survive economically unless both parents are working.  That being the case, kids are dumped off at daycare as babies and pretty much raised in their formative years by a stranger that is not going to instill a solid value system on them because that is not their job.  When the kid gets into grade school the peer influence starts.  Because Mom and Dad haven't spent the time with the kid there is no respect.  Fast forward to high school years.  All the kid knows is that Mom and Dad don't even know who they are... don't care what they're doing... but their friends do.  Add a party or two in there and before you know it, your 13 year old is smoking pot and drinking Keystone Light on a regular basis.  The kid either runs away on a regular basis, is pregnant (or got their girlfriend you don't even know pregnant), they've wrapped their car around a tree driving drunk, their grades are in the toilet, or name the other teenage tragedies out there that are so common place they are now pretty much rendered acceptable.  I just met a 15 year old girl that has managed three of those examples I've named in the last 6 months.  She's no longer pregnant as she now has a 3 week old baby.  She lives with her Mom, 2 sisters, and 5 nieces/nephews in a 2 bedroom government subsidized housing project... and I found a 1/2 dozen empty 40 oz. malt liquor bottles in her closet that her 13 year old sister showed me.

I blame the Hippies of the 60's!  They now have 2 generations of degenerates under their belts.  The apple doesn't fall far from the tree.  A misguided youth turns into a misguided adult bringing more misguided offspring.  Mix in a few personal tragedies that are tough to overcome... maybe a criminal in the family... an addict... a teenage mother w/o support... and you've got a family that is a prime candidate for the Jerry Springer show.  In all seriousness though -An alarming number of  kids are "surprises" these days.  Fewer couples are married prior to having children, they have jobs-not careers, and haven't stopped to think past tomorrow since they were standing in the lunch line in the 3rd grade reading the lunch menu for the week.  I'm sure there are plenty of exceptions... but nobody blinks an eye the problems I've addressed because those problems are now NORMAL and socially acceptable in their social circles.

Whether we want to realize it or not -This country is in a survival mode right now.  Pretty sad.  Solution?  I hate to say it but Orphanages.  If you took the majority of the Welfare System's budget, state to state, and created a system -one functional facility at a time (ie. competent staff w/ the desire to create and run a stable environment) -we'd give kids a safe environment where they can succeed w/o being subjected to an alcoholic, drug infested, physically abusive, etc etc environment.  If you can't provide for your children then the state should do it for you.... not give you free room and board and a stack of food coupons so you can use your minimum wage earnings to buy booze and weed.  As the bar is dropped lower and lower, as far as an acceptable environment for kids, standards are dropped too far... to where we are. And again, there are exceptions to the rule here.  I'm not talking in color or race (there are probably more white welfare recipients in this area than not).  It just seems odd that we reward the broken home of non working adults with a check every month only to grow larger with the more kids they bring into this world.  Welfare used to be a horrific idea... it used to be humiliating and embarrassing -It's now not only socially acceptable but normal.  The sad part is I probably see more $60,000.00 SUV's on 24" chrome wheels in the housing projects than I do in the well-off neighborhoods.  Go figure. 

As far as America returning to 1950's Mayberry  -It'll never happen.  We're too many generations behind with the "masses".  The idea of "If I can't get it easy than I'll take it" has gone on for too long.  There's no one left in too many homes to instill a solid value system.  The only household you can really impact for more than 30 minutes at a time (my own estimated average time on the scene of a Domestic) is your own. 

Well put....you are correct on your last part, we will never return to 1950's Mayberry, in some regard that is good and some bad of course.

BuffaloSoldier says ...

What is really amazing is when you find a kid that is a throwback, I mean when you realize a kid goes through grade school, middle school, high school and college being force fed liberal feel good, self esteem crap and then every show on TV and every movie seems to have a liberal slant of some kind, and yet sometimes I run into a young kid that is Patriotic, respectful and well mannered.  Thank God there are still a few heroes in our society, not many but a few.

Once again though... the apple doesn't fall far from the tree.  They were raise well.  Cudos to their kin!