Re: What's changed? What went wrong?

Bridie, as far as I read it you put your thoughts and memories very clearly and well, I always try to write in a lighthearted way but have to change the words a little from the way I speak as no one would understand me.

Whilst I agree a lot of respect for the person has gone these days there are however an awful lot of things that have never changed. As kids we had to be polite and well mannered at all times or at the very least a righthander would be the order of the day and my ma and grandma packed a tidy arsenal of persuaders.

That said, I grew up through the war years, survival then and for a long time thereafter was the name of the game and the only real code was don't get caught. One simple aspect back then might highlight the difference in attitude today, jealousy of what others had was never an issue as none of us had anything at all. We enjoyed the fruits of a war that gave the very people in Europe who are presently slagging us off, the freedom to do just that.

Those fruits?, no running water for most of the time, no bathroom at all and an outside khazi. Praying for rain in summer so the wellies one wore all the time were did not look so out of place, for a change. I won't mention how we came by our hand-me-down tatty clothes.

I was however very, very lucky because after a few scrapes here and there I was called upon by the army so they could avail themselves of my talents.
I jest really as it was they who sorted me out good style. Sadly the same regime would not be allowed today and probably we are worse off for the loss of that exact form of correctional facility.

The folks who say things were "not like that in my day" seem to have forgotton about the Teddy boy battles through the 50's and the 'moral panic' that set in when the Mods and Rockers went to war in the early 60's. The newspapers of the day were outraged and called every youngster of a certain age and look, louts, scum, vermin and a good many other derogatory names. The powers that be did not accept that some of us just took the old bikes to places like Margate, Brighton, Bournemouth and Clacton for a breath of sea air and to wave our arms about for some excercise.

Perhaps we need another world war to sort things out, the only drawback is that this time it may well be the 'war to end all wars' for certain.

Re: What's changed? What went wrong?

Was it Wilson who told us the `pound in our pocket`? Was it Thatcher who sold off the family silver?

What went wrong? some wishy washy told teachers they could not apply (reasonable) discipline?

Re: What's changed? What went wrong?

Respect is the name of the game, or was the name of the game, I think it started with TV, we saw things other people did and liked it. Now we have all thisTechnology and every-one is walking about either talking on phones or texting therefore seeing no-one.Its very sad.

Re: What's changed? What went wrong?

I strongly believe that the media have a lot to answer for, they hold themselves up to be some kind of super heros and have promoted a culture of so called celebrities who behave in the most awful way, yet no one complains because they are in front of a camera or microphone, why I confess I don't understand it.

Re: What's changed? What went wrong?

I grew up in a home where my parents were both immigrants from Germany. They spoke no English when they arrived and struggled getting jobs and picking up the language.

As small children my brother & I had simple toys and learned to make things we wanted. We became cowboys and indians & soldiers fighting each other. Christmas brought one nice gift and lots of little ones given by each other with hard earned and saved monies. We got no allowance.

My mom was a stay at home mom that couldn't even drive a car. She worked hard to keep us well fed and clothed. We usually went to school with used clothing purchased at a local thrift store. We got one new pair of shoes a year, Buster Browns.

In the Midwest Summer we seldom wore anything but a pair od shorts and flip-flops. We played baseball and made our toys from scrap wood available at my dad's construction sites. He built homes from the ground up all by himself. When we got older we all pitched in to help where we could.

We were poor but didn't really know it. All our simple needs were being met, even during hard times when my ill father caused us to go on government relief. Back then the government didn't have food stamps but actually gave us surplus food. I think we should return to that practice so that the farmers are helped and people couldn't sell food stamps for drugs & liquor.

I see the greedy banks at fault for the decline of our economy. When I was a child a simple passbook savings account yielded a respectful 5% earnings. Today it's .1%. I feel the drive to make more money forced housewives into the workforce, breaking up family life and leading to generation after generation of dysfunctional families. We need to get back to basics and a decent value system. We need to stop doing business with banks to show them we're still in charge. I do business with credit unions that are member owned. I haven't looked at at bank in 20 years.

Re: What's changed? What went wrong?

Bridie's first two paragraphs sound exactly like my life story. That is so true and so well put!

Re: What's changed? What went wrong?

I blame the government for the way kids today behave. They have have took all the authority, that teachers and parents had.
When we were young, If you did not have the money, you done without. No banks lent you money to go out and buy what you wanted.
People had to make their money last till pay day. If you wanted big money items for children. They had to wait till Birthdays or Christmas.