Sunday, February 24, 2008

A generation of brats

I can't help but notice we're being inundated with news coverage concerning the youth of America going off the deep end; those unable to handle the rigors of day-to-day adult life who end up taking it out on innocent men, women and children.

I'm talking about the rise in mall, university and neighborhood shootings resulting from one person's perception of being disenfranchised -- not "loved" enough.

And I can't help but think this is the back end of a decades' long policy to ensure "everyone is equal and accepted." That everyone showing up for class gets a passing grade; that everyone showing up for baseball tryouts makes the team; that everyone is good at everything.

That is, until "everyone" joins the adult world and realizes 95 percent of the population couldn't give a rat's ass about them. It's a shock to a system weened on making every team, getting a trophy just for having a heartbeat, and receiving good grades for showing up. The shock of suddenly being compared to others and, falling short more than not, is too much for many to handle apparently.

Now, had they learned how to compete and lose with grace earlier in life, they'd be better prepared to suffer through life's harsh realities. But that's not the case; instead of a backhand upside the head, it's been a "timeout." Zero discipline has lead to a generation or more that assumes they're entitled to success and don't have to work for it. That it should come without falling square on your face along the way.

The truth is, learning to lose and move on at an early age isn't as harsh, nor as sad as it is to a 20-something who learns much too late about the rules of engagement in the real-world.

Parents aren't doing their children any favors by pampering them ... it leaves them unprepared to enter the civilian workforce or to handle a society that, in all likelihood, couldn't care less if they succeeded or not.

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