Quote:
Originally Posted by hedbonker
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Yeah that whole "Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness" bullshit has been fucking this country over for over 240 years.
Bear in mind that Ben Stein was Nixon's speechwriter. And he will defend that criminal to the death even today. Fuck him.
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there is a huge difference between having an inalienable right to pursue happiness, and having a cultural mantra of "only do what makes you feel good."
instilling hard work ethic, responsibility, sacrifice, duty, delayed gratification, etc. are social ideals that, in my opinion, have been slowly squeezed from out society. they are replaced by influences that bombard us constantly into telling our young people that "if it makes you happy it is good" and "only do what make you feel good right now."
i don't mean to exaggerate or play chicken little saying the sky is falling on our society, but i do think there has been a subtle shift in the younger generations view towards the pursuit of happiness and what exactly that means for them.
by the time my father was 26 he had been through high school, college, officer in marine corp, married, one son, divorced, taught high school, taught college, bought a home, remarried, had another son, and worked in a corporate environment. for his generation this was a "normal" experience to have by one's mid 20s...he was a man.
when i look at most people my age (myself included) i feel like i am part of a generation of "man-children." we are adults, but few of us are married, fewer have children, fewer own homes, fewer stay in the same job for long, fewer save money for things we "need", etc.
the expectations of my generation are very different from those my parents or grandparents. maybe it isn't "better" or "worse". i think there is real cause for examining the situation in our society though, because if it is a turn for the worse we will see real problems in the very basic levels of our nation before long.