Been thinking about this a lot, and just don't know....are we the first generation, outside of wartime, to see this much violence toward the elderly and defenseless in our society??
To hear about robberies is one thing, but to beat and kill people because you're bored?? That would never have occurred to any one of us here; what has gone wrong??
I do believe it started way before our time, but I noticed changes in the '60's; tho when you have a child, you become more wary, I think. Somewhere along the line, it was decided there was no God, and even if there was some higher being, we didn't need him or it...we were much smarter than to be dependent on anything but ourselves.
The women's lib movement was meant to bring respect to women; better wages, more chances in life - but some of those of us who decided to stay home while our children were growing up, were looked down upon...we had no 'careers'; we were lazy, and dependent upon men for a living, and motherhood was not something to be desired.
Then, spanking your child was suddenly 'child abuse'. Didn't matter what they had done wrong, or that spanking was a last resort...it was abuse; always. Don't hurt them, or their feelings under any circumstance. They just changed the definition of 'discipline' to 'abuse'. Most of us were never guilty of that.
Wasn't many years afher that, when children could call the cops and report that they were being abused, and they were swooped up and moved elsewhere with strangers - sometimes to a much worse world than the one they left.
I've read that it only takes a generation or two, to completely turn things around, and indoctrinate society to a new way of thinking. I can't help but think this is what has been happening these past few decades...children have and will always push their limits, but with parents feeling so helpless to do anything, it seems kids just go their way with no guidelines whatsoever. Children need limits; they have to have a way to know right from wrong, and understand why they should respect others. I know that in my generation, many parents thought they should be friends with their children, not act as parents; that just didn't work.
Sorry I'm rambling...I just know that I was taught religion, respect, and the golden rule, most of all. I tried to bring up my daughter with those values, and I am immensely proud of how she's brought up her own children, and how they are turning out. It puzzles me no end how our society got so messed up, and backwards, and where the heck did common sense go in the meantime??? Doesn't everyone have a degree of common sense, or did that go out the window with the rest of it??
How can people not realize when they are being downright evil, and not recognize it, or even care??? This is what I mean when I say some people seem to have no soul.
Are there that many real sociopaths walking among us?? It's scary as hell, if that's true. Are they made, not born that way???