There was an old English saying, “A mayde schuld be seen, but not herd” which has since morphed into ‘Children should be seen and not heard’. The latter was the world I grew up in, and as one finds as one grows up, there is wisdom in old sayings.
I remember being with my father and his friends as a child, and that saying was the rule, because of course, I had very little to offer an adult conversation. That was then.
I also remember the Bill Clinton/Whitney Houston 80s and 90s. Bill Clinton for coining the phrase “for the children” and Whitney Houston for that sappy song “The Greatest Love Of All’ with what we thought were harmless lyrics….
I believe the children are our are future
Teach them well and let them lead the way
Show them all the beauty they possess inside
Give them a sense of pride to make it easier
Between the two of them, talk about the makings of the big head.
Let me preface the remainder of this column by saying that when I refer to young people, I don’t mean all. Some of them get it. Obviously, most of them don’t.
Those kids grew up with progressive teachers who, because of the power of the grading system (which can make or break futures), told them they knew more than their ignorant parents; they knew more than simpleton adults. They’re opinions, despite the lack of life experience, were equal, important, if not superior, to adults. We gave them the technological means for self-expression which they now use to bully themselves and others.
They now believe they know everything because of what they were taught by educational authority figures. They believed in recycling, came home and told us we should too. They believed in the Palestinians, and came home and told us we should too.
Think about this: do you think young teen-aged girls, yapping away on cellphones about themselves and boys at the mall would soon be ready to place themselves between an Army bulldozer and a suspected terrorist hideout on the West bank without a little prodding from some opinionated college professors?
They now believe in global warming caused by evil corporations and our lust for the very fossil fuels that enabled us to take their lazy butts to the mall, came home and told us we should too. Then they believed in a man named Barack Obama for all the wonderful things he would do to fix this imperialist, racist, homophobic society that enabled them to live relatively carefree lives.
They came to our homes; they came to our schools; they came to our workplaces; they came via our television shows; they came to our websites and demanded we think like they wanted us to think, vote like they wanted us to vote, or else.
Now, they roam the streets when we have party conventions, destroy public and private property, wearing black masks in full view seemingly to give us all the middle finger of defiance while they intentionally break the law.
What else did that “or else” entail?
They got in our faces. They called us names when they couldn’t debate the realities of what Obama’s policies could cost us all, which was not big deal to them because most of them still live at home, don’t pay rent, don’t pay for food, don’t pay for their cellphone bill (and bitch when they exceed their text limits), don’t pay for the Internet bill, don’t pay for power, don’t do dishes, and many don’t even wash their own clothes, yet THEY KNOW what’s best for the nation.
THEY KNOW that Cap-and-Trade will be good for the economy and will create “green jobs” although they can’t tell us what specifically they’ll be.
THEY KNOW that universal health care is something they all want, although probably none of them could define it two years ago.
Personally, I’m tired of having arrogant, narcissistic children question my intelligence publicly online while they can’t even accurately spell their insults. I’m tired of being told my opinion on foreign affairs don’t matter because I never served (even though I am a Navy veteran). I’m tired of hearing Bill Clinton and Whitney Houston’s voices every time I’m told that my opinions don’t count because I won’t be around much longer, the world belongs to them, and they’ll show us with their soon-to-be-served Coffee Parties.
I plan of being around (as I’m not THAT old) when the social utopia they insisted would come about doesn’t and they whine because we saw this coming and didn’t warn them. I plan on being around watching them bitch and moan when they have to pay 80 cents on every dollar they earn because of socialist policies their president imposed on the rest of us that limits their freedoms. And they thought a grounding was bad. Soon they’ll have to pay for the privilege and it’ll be their own damn fault.
The very young people we sacrificed decades of our lives feeding, clothing, and housing have declared war on the rest of us. If you think I’m being sensational, ask yourselves this: where would we be today had those young people listened to the advise of those who’ve seen and experienced more? Would we be talking about “reconciliation” or “carbon credits” or “death panels”? Would our entertainment and education industrial complexes have had the power to turn the very children we supported with our unconditional love and toil against us?
Maybe, maybe not, but much of the youth of America has declared war on the rest of us and we all need to decide what we’re going to do about it.
Personally, with the coming midterm and presidential elections looming, I think I may offer what my father would’ve said.
Children should be seen and not heard.
And if that doesn’t work, “Shut up!”
Ya gotta punctuate that STFU by slappin’ upside the head…
After the in-your-face bullshit punks are anonymously writing on my YouTube site and here, I had to vent.
“..I had to vent.”
and DESERVEDLY so! Hell, vent whenever! it makes for an excellent read, and quite frankly, I could mentally see this as a B&R segment on the show (one can hope)
I too get pissed when people bad mouth you on youtube, here on the homepage, etc. I just think “Damn it……REALLY? REALLY guys……….c’mon. This is Bob freakin’ PARKS you’re badmouthing..what the hell is WRONG with you?!”
it’s just not right, pardon the pun…
Bob I agree with you in every respect & add that these “Kids” haven’t been alive to know anything yet. Most are not like your Son Corey & have very little to none in common sense. I can see it in my own 22 yr old Grandson. They think the world owes them a high paying job, free health care, Internet Access, Cell Phone & HDTV. They “borrow” money from wherever & have no thought about a responsibility to pay it back. My Grandson thinks Banks should let you borrow money without paying any interest !? He has no sense that the Banks have people to pay, a building to pay for & thinks they are just greedy. I give up trying to explain “LIFE” to kids like him. I have repaired & maintained his car since he got it & not once has he offered to pay for the parts for which I wouldn’t charge for anyway. The offer to pay for them would be thanks enough. I think he thinks the Easter Bunny pays for them. They need to get their butts out of their parents house, get an apartment & find out about life before they will age enough to gain some “COMMON SENSE”.
Machine, you may have a vary valid point there, they need something to rattle their brains.
also, Bob, you might want to think about MODERATING your channel comments, maybe only letting FRIENDS comment on your channel like I do?
might bring you some piece of mind
just a thought..
Well, me own dear departed daddy certainly was not one to let a chance to whap his son upside the head when deserved, I can tell you that.
Like on my 18th birthday, pop was sittin’ in his easy chair with his pipe and newspaper, he looked up at me when I walked through the livin’ room and said, “Yer a man now, get outta my house and get a job…”
Brings a tear to me eye, just talkin’ about it, it does.
Part of the problem was that they weren’t slapped up side the head enough, when they were younger. Or had a foot put in their ass. I remember when I was about 16 or 17 and thought I could take the old man…… It was a good thing my mother was there or I wouldn’t be writing this today. I was always told if I wanted something, I had to earn the money to get it. Doing “extra” stuff around the house when I was younger, to going out and getting job when I was old enough. I didn’t have to leave, but I did have to get a job. Or get out! Then pay rent or go find my own place. But, I didn’t have to get out! I had a choice. LOL!!
“They’re opinions, despite the lack of life experience” – Their
The children should lead because they are so easily led….
/leftist
As a 27 year old, I apologize for my generation.
same here, 26 years old (in april)..I too apologize for the this bonehead generation and the bonehead generation BEHIND us
Pingback: The Youth War On US | Bob Parks: Black & Right 2010 | the world cares.com
As with chrisbg99 and Nicholas, I apologize for my generation as well (I’m 27). Looking back, those backhands upside the head and the whoopings I got with Mr. Belt did me a world of good. I think another part of the problem is with parents trying to be their children’s BFF instead of being a true parent. They want to be seen as the “cool parent.” Not to mention letting the television be the sole babysitter of their kids.
People, no apologies from this crowd here was sought.
On my 16th birthday, my mother handed me the local paper opened to the want ads and I was told to find a part-time job. Horrors — she expected me to pay for my own prom dress, graduation ring, graduation photos, movie tickets, etc. When I got my real job two years later, she made me pay room and board!Even though I didn’t like it one bit at the time, I perpetuated the exact scenario with my daughter. The result? Today she runs her own graphics business and she and her husband have paid off two houses in less than 15 years. “Leading” children can be very, very fulfilling. Liberal parents should try it.
29 here. I didn’t realize there were so many 20-somethings reading. Doesn’t it just give you warm fuzzies that there’s some hope?
@Machine & Bobkatow – My mom gave me a set of inexpensive luggage for my high school graduation and started reading the job classifieds out loud. I think I got the hint in, oh, 10 minutes or so. I had a job that afternoon.
Fortunately, my mom was like Bobkatow’s, I was allowed to stay at the house as I was in school and working full time, paying my own way through school, gas, insurance, etc. Even so, I moved out that next November. I WANTED to be on my own, to take the opportunities and knocks myself, as opposed to many today.
OldnyFirefighter, my kids ALWAYS had to pay for their parts, it made them realize how much it cost to fix and maintain stuff. To make it even more fun, they had to be the “tool monkey” that handed me the tools I needed when I was under the car! THAT was the price for my knowledge and labor. Guess what? They appreciate Dad even more now that they are on their own and “Mike the Mechanic” is no longer available…
Palmetto, when the kids graduated from High School, the rule was: If you’re not going to school (and you have to pay for it or get a scholarship), you have to pay rent! Otherwise, out you go! My wife and I even went so far as to buy another house, fix it up, and had the unmitigated gall to charge two of our daughters rent for living in it! We sold it after they moved out of the area… Would you believe I had somebody in my church say that that was a very cruel thing to do to my daughters? Sheesh!!
Kids today have it waaaaaay too easy. America is headed for a fall, we’ve had it too soft for too long and don’t appreciate what we have done or what we have gotten due to good old-fashioned values, which may be old-fashioned but have WORKED for centuries!
Just watch. “Me! Me! Me!” is shortly going to turn into “WHY me?”.
…and they’ll still be clueless…
Igor
My nephew was telling me today that he overheard a conversation between a 10 year-old girl and her parents at McDonalds. The girl was telling her parents how the US was an evil country because of slavery and the Indians and our evil wars, etc. The parents disagreed but were actually trying to argue with her–and losing. She’s TEN, she has no reasoning skills. You don’t argue, you tell her that she is wrong and that her teachers are idiots. And if she keeps thinking that way, she will grow up to be an idiot as well. Arguing with little kids–what has happened to parents?
As for the commentors on YouTube, turn off your comments if you can. That has to be the most brain-dead pool of people on the planet. I stopped reading all comments–even on the most innocuous videos. They’re morons, Bob. They think they are experts on everything. They are too stupid to know they are stupid!I just can’t read YouTube comments any more, it just makes me crazy.
28 and as well surprised so many from my generation are here and daily readers! This post gave me so much more hope for the future of my generation. I wanted to apologize as well for our generation, as I know most of them and don’t understand the lazy life they all lead…
Keep speaking truth Bob, the word is getting out, the more resistance the bigger the voice you have, and I love seeing your voice get louder and louder… Keep up all the good work!!!!!!
understood, Bob. I just feel bad that my generation is so bad
“29 here. I didn’t realize there were so many 20-somethings reading. Doesn’t it just give you warm fuzzies that there’s some hope?”
LOL Brandon!
Hey Bob, from the intelligence I see here in our youngins, it isn’t as bad as we thought. There is some hope after all. Now if you guys could just convince the Morons, this could be a great Country again.
Sorry guys but this putting an almost impossible chore on your shoulders. I still think Liberals are brain dead, so it might be an impossible task to ask of you. You guys have put a smile & some hope in an old guy (69 years young).