Why life’s basic skills are dying

[Gary O']

It is time to pass the torch, and many people hate it.

I welcome the passing of the torch
I jus’ don’t wanna be near it whilst the next gennys wave it around

Yeah, history. Nations having a go at ruling for a couple hundred years, get fat, lazy, lose perspective.
China has the corner on economics now…for a bit.

Wunner what country will be next

 

[StarSong]

Any student of history recognises that mankind has been on the edge of disaster of one kind or another for thousands of years, yet here we are. The average Millenial has far fewer expensive consumer items than their parents or grandparents. For many,

buying a house or a good car is no longer affordable. It may take decades to pay off student loans, and for many, professionals, or in the Trades, wages are no longer keeping pace with cost of living. Also, the young are increasingly

environmentally conscious, embracing a green lifestyle, planting urban gardens, on apt balconies, or allotments. They eat far less red meat than previous generations, are more globally aware than our generation ever was. There is a long standing

tendency for many older folks to embrace pessimism, to slam the young, and look at the past through rosecoloured glasses. The Egyptians did so in their hieroglyphics long ago. I believe much of it comes from an unacknowledged resentment of the limitations of aging and approaching mortality. It is time to pass the torch, and many people hate it. I rejoice in their

committment to improving the lives of all human and animal kind, their view of the planet as our mother, not a resource to be raped. Perhaps they can undo what previous generations have wraught.

Agree with all of the above and would add that part of the resentment may be an angry reaction to subsequent generations questioning, rejecting and often quite vocally disrespecting their elders' values, lifestyles, morality and advice. (The AUDACITY of those whippersnappers who demand to have their own turn in the sun!!!!)

Bob Dylan said it well:

Come mothers and fathers
Throughout the land
And don't criticize
What you can't understand
Your sons and your daughters
Are beyond your command
Your old road is
Rapidly aging
Please get out of the new one
If you can't lend your hand
For the times they are a-changing

 

[Shalimar]

Agree with all of the above and would add that part of the resentment may be an angry reaction to subsequent generations questioning, rejecting and often quite vocally disrespecting their elders' values, lifestyles, morality and advice. (The AUDACITY of those whippersnappers who demand to have their own turn in the sun!!!!)

Bob Dylan said it well:

Come mothers and fathers
Throughout the land
And don't criticize
What you can't understand
Your sons and your daughters
Are beyond your command
Your old road is
Rapidly aging
Please get out of the new one
If you can't lend your hand
For the times they are a-changing

I concur. I was a rebel, marched, lived off the land, supported Greenpeace etc. I still believe in love, peace, and serving your community. I have tried to make a positive difference, however small. I applaud the young who now carry the torch. The chain of hands continues, and it may be the salvation (in a secular sense,) of this planet and all who reside here.

 

[grahamg]

Originally Posted by Shalimar
Any student of history recognises that mankind has been on the edge of disaster of one kind or another for thousands of years, yet here we are.

The average Millennial has far fewer expensive consumer items than their parents or grandparents. For many, buying a house or a good car is no longer affordable. It may take decades to pay off student loans, and for many, professionals, or in the Trades, wages are no longer keeping pace with cost of living. Also, the young are increasingly
environmentally conscious, embracing a green lifestyle, planting urban gardens, on apt balconies, or allotments. They eat far less red meat than previous generations, are more globally aware than our generation ever was.

There is a long standing tendency for many older folks to embrace pessimism, to slam the young, and look at the past through rosecoloured glasses. The Egyptians did so in their hieroglyphics long ago. I believe much of it comes from an unacknowledged resentment of the limitations of aging and approaching mortality. It is time to pass the torch, and many people hate it. I rejoice in their commitment to improving the lives of all human and animal kind, their view of the planet as our mother, not a resource to be raped. Perhaps they can undo what previous generations have wraught.


Starsong wrote:
"Agree with all of the above and would add that part of the resentment may be an angry reaction to subsequent generations questioning, rejecting and often quite vocally disrespecting their elders' values, lifestyles, morality and advice. (The AUDACITY of those whippersnappers who demand to have their own turn in the sun!!!!)

Bob Dylan said it well:

Come mothers and fathers
Throughout the land
And don't criticize
What you can't understand
Your sons and your daughters
Are beyond your command
Your old road is
Rapidly aging
Please get out of the new one
If you can't lend your hand
For the times they are a-changing"

Not sure what song to quote back at you but I'm working on it though I would say in response to the comment that mankind has always been on the edge of disaster - not sure if that was really said to school children before the arrival of the nuclear bomb and Oppenheimer's words "We have become the destroyers of worlds" in the wake of having developed the weapons in the 1940s.

Is my daughter, paragon of virtue though she is, likely to leave a smaller footprint on the earth than I have done? Her mother has ensured that she is ambitious, and a high achiever, (not that I wished her to be held back you understand, just that high achievement for its own sake isn't maybe the road to happiness in my view - quote: "What does it profit a man/woman to inherit the earth if they lose their soul?").

Hope you can se my point of view, but if not lets be happy in our disagreement ~

 

[Sunny]

StarSong, you've got it absolutely right. Every generation does seem to resent the innovations and changes of those who are younger. Probably people have been lamenting that "life's basic skills are dying" since
most women lost the knowledge of how to weave fabric, since they didn't have to any more, and men lost the knowledge of how to hitch up a horse to a buggy, for the same reason.

But are all these changes bad?

 

[StarSong]

Not sure what song to quote back at you but I'm working on it though I would say in response to the comment that mankind has always been on the edge of disaster - not sure if that was really said to school children before the arrival of the nuclear bomb and Oppenheimer's words "We have become the destroyers of worlds" in the wake of having developed the weapons in the 1940s.

Is my daughter, paragon of virtue though she is, likely to leave a smaller footprint on the earth than I have done? Her mother has ensured that she is ambitious, and a high achiever, (not that I wished her to be held back you understand, just that high achievement for its own sake isn't maybe the road to happiness in my view - quote: "What does it profit a man/woman to inherit the earth if they lose their soul?").

Hope you can se my point of view, but if not lets be happy in our disagreement ~

We're good, GG. It just bugs me when our generation criticizes and harps on those coming up. Rarely do I quote the Bible, but I offer this bit of timeless wisdom in Matthew:

“Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? [SUP]4 [/SUP]How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? [SUP]5 [/SUP]You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye."

Our generation has no room to talk about anyone else. Under our watch Mother Earth has been raped, pillaged, plundered and all but destroyed - likewise many of the creatures upon this planet. I believe history will judge our era very harshly. Boomers don't have planks in our eyes, we have entire forests there.

 

[fmdog44]

How many kids do you suppose they filmed before they came across three who couldn't think on their feet when a camera was pointed in their direction? What generation do you suppose was responsible for educating them?

Enjoy yourself while feeling smug and believing our generation to be superior to Millennials. Me? I think they're turning out quite well especially considering the mess that we've made of raising them.

You are way off base as usual. Do you think that was a set up from a company or just a guy with a smart phone. I don't see where you actually viewed the piece yet you shoot from your rear.

 

[StarSong]

You are way off base as usual. Do you think that was a set up from a company or just a guy with a smart phone. I don't see where you actually viewed the piece yet you shoot from your rear.

Well aren't you positively charming? If you check your post you might see that You didn't include a link to the referenced video so no, I neither watched nor evaluated it. That said, I've seen plenty of similar videos and don't judge a generation based on that kind of myopic silliness.

 

[Shalimar]

Well aren't you positively charming? If you check your post you might see that You didn't include a link to the referenced video so no, I neither watched nor evaluated it. That said, I've seen plenty of similar videos and don't judge a generation based on that kind of myopic silliness.

Indeed, if one looks for the negative in people, one will always find it. Also, I suspect it is not only the Millennials who would be labeled.

 

[grahamg]

We're good, GG. It just bugs me when our generation criticizes and harps on those coming up. Rarely do I quote the Bible, but I offer this bit of timeless wisdom in Matthew:

“Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? [SUP]4 [/SUP]How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? [SUP]5 [/SUP]You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye."

Our generation has no room to talk about anyone else. Under our watch Mother Earth has been raped, pillaged, plundered and all but destroyed - likewise many of the creatures upon this planet. I believe history will judge our era very harshly. Boomers don't have planks in our eyes, we have entire forests there.

Not all criticism is bad is it, just bare that in mind (?).

Obviously nit picking, and nagging will stunt your growth, if not physically then mentally, if it is bad enough (I think I can say I've suffered my fair share from all kinds of sources, BUT I'm a harder nut to crack these days!).

Thanks for good wishes, or goodwill, and here are some song lyrics for you as promised (though whether they support your position or mine I'm not sure myself):


"A change is going to come" (Sam Cooke).

Lyrics
I was born by the river in a little tent
Oh and just like the river I've been running ev'r since
It's been a long time, a long time coming
But I know a change gonna come, oh yes it will…
I was born by the river in a little tent
Oh and just like the river I've been running ev'r since
It's been a long time, a long time coming
But I know a change gonna come, oh yes it will

It's been too hard living, but I'm afraid to die
'Cause I don't know what's up there, beyond the sky
It's been a long, a long time coming
But I know a change gonna come, oh yes it will

I go to the movie and I go downtown
Somebody keep tellin' me don't hang around
It's been a long, a long time coming
But I know a change gonna come, oh yes it will

Then I go to my brother
And I say brother help me please
But he winds up knockin' me
Back down on my knees, oh

There have been times that I thought I couldn't last for long
But now I think I'm able to carry on
It's been a long, a long time coming
But I know a change is gonna come, oh yes it will

 

[StarSong]

GG - since the late, great Sam Cooke wrote this song specifically about his experiences with American racism, I'd say it supports my point. Younger people brought about civil rights changes (which were largely resisted by their elders), just as ensuing younger generations continue to push that envelope forward, often against the wishes of their elders.

Thanks for the reminder about a terrific song and extremely talented artist who left a marvelous body of work before tragically dying at only 33.

 

[grahamg]

I'll grant you the racism point, absolutely you are correct there undoubtedly, lets hope most people have moved away from that kind of thing now.

However, just because such a great injustice as racism was successfully turned back by campaigning etc. it doesn't mean whatever is being suggested is progress today is necessarily so.

 

[Sunny]

It seems to be a basic thing of human nature to start complaining and lamenting every time any little thing gets changed in our lives. I'm constantly hearing people in an apparent state of grief over
the fact that schools aren't teaching cursive writing any more. Why that is so dadgummed important beats me. It's been many years since elegant, lovely handwriting was practiced by anyone, and I think most people find it much easier to read other people's printing. Though who knows, that may soon disappear also, as technology is making it less necessary all the time. Even typing. Most devices are voice activated now. Even my car is trying to get me to talk to it!

 

[grahamg]

Did I say I might be able to come up with a link to a "Beverley sisters" track from the 1950s/1960s, and how good they are or how much better the world might be if more people heard their songs, on this thread or another one( ?).

Not to worry if its the wrong place, "I'm not perfect!"

https://youtu.be/oQbxhtgsLtM

 

[StarSong]

I'll grant you the racism point, absolutely you are correct there undoubtedly, lets hope most people have moved away from that kind of thing now.

However, just because such a great injustice as racism was successfully turned back by campaigning etc. it doesn't mean whatever is being suggested is progress today is necessarily so.

Absolutely true, GG. And as Sunny said, there is often a lot of hue and cry over minor issues like schools teaching cursive (while ignoring the fact that American students are falling behind the world's children in the core subjects of math and science). BTW, parents and grandparents are free to teach their little darlings cursive writing. Thanks to the wonders of the Internet we can print out free practice sheets and drill kids on it to our heart's content.

I've seen a lot of backward social movement over the past 40 years. As a whole our culture has drifted angrier, cruder, more violent and less tolerant. The microcosm of this forum - our generation - proves that to be true.

To what progress are you referring? And are you willingly avoiding it or giving it up?

 

[rgp]

GG - since the late, great Sam Cooke wrote this song specifically about his experiences with American racism, I'd say it supports my point. Younger people brought about civil rights changes (which were largely resisted by their elders), just as ensuing younger generations continue to push that envelope forward, often against the wishes of their elders.

Thanks for the reminder about a terrific song and extremely talented artist who left a marvelous body of work before tragically dying at only 33.

Late-Great..? Wasn't he shot, after a reported attempted rape, and an assault ?

"[FONT=&quot]Sam Cooke dead on the office floor, shot three times in the chest by the motel’s manager, Bertha Franklin. The authorities ruled Cooke’s death a case of justifiable homicide, based on the testimony of Ms. Franklin, who claimed that Cooke had threatened her life after attempting to rape a young woman with whom he had earlier checked in."

[/FONT]Late - Great?...really?

 

[StarSong]

Late-Great..? Wasn't he shot, after a reported attempted rape, and an assault ?

"Sam Cooke dead on the office floor, shot three times in the chest by the motel’s manager, Bertha Franklin. The authorities ruled Cooke’s death a case of justifiable homicide, based on the testimony of Ms. Franklin, who claimed that Cooke had threatened her life after attempting to rape a young woman with whom he had earlier checked in."

Late - Great?...really?

First of all, I was referring to his talent and body of work. Secondly, the story of his death was suspicious from the get-go. He died in 1964, a time when justice rarely smiled on African-American men.

 

[grahamg]

Absolutely true, GG. And as Sunny said, there is often a lot of hue and cry over minor issues like schools teaching cursive (while ignoring the fact that American students are falling behind the world's children in the core subjects of math and science). BTW, parents and grandparents are free to teach their little darlings cursive writing. Thanks to the wonders of the Internet we can print out free practice sheets and drill kids on it to our heart's content.

I've seen a lot of backward social movement over the past 40 years. As a whole our culture has drifted angrier, cruder, more violent and less tolerant. The microcosm of this forum - our generation - proves that to be true.

To what progress are you referring? And are you willingly avoiding it or giving it up?

I think the "progress" I'm objecting to is maybe summed up by the term "political correctness", which in itself must be an attack on free speech mustn't it.

I don't want to be politically correct, though I do accept "societal norms" and terms once deemed acceptable are no longer so (am I splitting hairs there?).

Yes, we agree on the need for movement over racism, but a whole raft of other viewpoints are being rammed down our throats, and maybe more importantly down the throats of our children (where some of us know we don't have any say). A lot of what I might say I think I've covered to some extent in my previous posts and in answer to your question do I actively avoid progress, yes maybe I do - fashion doesn't have a big impact on me anyway, so old fashioned scruffy may sum me up sartorially, but in the farming world I'm far from the worst around my area south of Manchester, UK.

I do far prefer older styles of music and the great stage performers of the past undoubtedly, and avoid almost all music released since the early 1990s (Tracy Chapman being one of the ones releasing music then who I like very much).

Maybe my attitude would be different if I were permitted contact with my children/grandchildren, as children or grandchildren keep you young perhaps. However parental alienation orchestrated by the mother has put paid to that for the foreseeable future, though there is no attempt on my part to take the topic away from the OPs intentions by mentioning my own situation here.

 

[grahamg]

First of all, I was referring to his talent and body of work. Secondly, the story of his death was suspicious from the get-go. He died in 1964, a time when justice rarely smiled on African-American men.

The documentary I saw on the shooting left me in no doubt this brilliant man was the victim, and the motivation for the woman shooting him is beyond rationalisation in my view, if she thought she might get raped by him, well lets say it didn't look likely, and its too late to change so I'll happily listen to such a singer from a great era in US popular music.

 

[StarSong]

I think the "progress" I'm objecting to is maybe summed up by the term "political correctness", which in itself must be an attack on free speech mustn't it.

I don't want to be politically correct, though I do accept "societal norms" and terms once deemed acceptable are no longer so (am I splitting hairs there?).

Yes, we agree on the need for movement over racism, but a whole raft of other viewpoints are being rammed down our throats, and maybe more importantly down the throats of our children (where some of us know we don't have any say). A lot of what I might say I think I've covered to some extent in my previous posts and in answer to your question do I actively avoid progress, yes maybe I do - fashion doesn't have a big impact on me anyway, so old fashioned scruffy may sum me up sartorially, but in the farming world I'm far from the worst around my area south of Manchester, UK.

I do far prefer older styles of music and the great stage performers of the past undoubtedly, and avoid almost all music released since the early 1990s (Tracy Chapman being one of the ones releasing music then who I like very much).

Maybe my attitude would be different if I were permitted contact with my children/grandchildren, as children or grandchildren keep you young perhaps. However parental alienation orchestrated by the mother has put paid to that for the foreseeable future, though there is no attempt on my part to take the topic away from the OPs intentions by mentioning my own situation here.

I think the pendulum will swing back a bit on political correctness. Still, if terms are offensive to a group of people why would anyone want to use them? Other words can convey our meaning without injuring the sensibilities of fellow humans. It takes little effort to change certain parts of our vocabulary after learning it is hurtful. Truly, to do otherwise would be cruel, don't you think?

Societal norms change with time and exposure to people who think and live differently. My parents' "mixed marriage" in the early 1940s was a bit of a scandal because one was raised Roman Catholics and the other Protestant. Gasp! Then came the late 60s when interracial marriages were becoming widespread and high profile. In the 2000s same-sex marriages gained a foothold. Despite all the clutching of pearls and forecasts of doom we've managed to survive each of these dramatic changes to that institution.

I'm so sorry about your lack of relationship with your children and grandchildren. One of the reasons I have so heartily embraced technology is my acceptance that I must meet them where they are if I want to be close to my kids and grands. They prefer to phone conversation so I text them, and I do so without whining.

I'm enjoying getting to know you a bit, GG.

 

[Lin]

I love technology. I took a computer course in 1994 to learn how to operate windows 3.1. Have been on different versions of windows since and now even and starting to learn iOs on my iPad. But I sort of agree with the original poster because technology can fail and,wow, is it better to know how to do basic skills then. No disrespect to millennials,have one of my own, but he knows how to add and subtract without a calculator and how to make change without a computer telling him what the change should be. Sadly I have run into a power outage in a supermarket where no one could figure that out. So bless their attitude and abilities and knowledge of the tech which hopefully will be all they ever need.

 

[grahamg]

Likewise

I think the pendulum will swing back a bit on political correctness. Still, if terms are offensive to a group of people why would anyone want to use them? Other words can convey our meaning without injuring the sensibilities of fellow humans. It takes little effort to change certain parts of our vocabulary after learning it is hurtful. Truly, to do otherwise would be cruel, don't you think?

Societal norms change with time and exposure to people who think and live differently. My parents' "mixed marriage" in the early 1940s was a bit of a scandal because one was raised Roman Catholics and the other Protestant. Gasp! Then came the late 60s when interracial marriages were becoming widespread and high profile. In the 2000s same-sex marriages gained a foothold. Despite all the clutching of pearls and forecasts of doom we've managed to survive each of these dramatic changes to that institution.

I'm so sorry about your lack of relationship with your children and grandchildren. One of the reasons I have so heartily embraced technology is my acceptance that I must meet them where they are if I want to be close to my kids and grands. They prefer to phone conversation so I text them, and I do so without whining.

I'm enjoying getting to know you a bit, GG.

Likewise, and I still find it quite amazing that conversations such as the one we're having are so easy with someone half a world away (where technology has really come to the fore obviously ).

 

[Sunny]

To get back to the cursive writing matter, I wonder if doctors will still use the same scribbles in signing prescriptions.

 

[StarSong]

To get back to the cursive writing matter, I wonder if doctors will still use the same scribbles in signing prescriptions.

My doctors send the prescriptions to the pharmacy electronically.

 

[grahamg]

I read in one of the UK national newspapers this week that a third of young children (5-11 yrs old), have not learned to ride a bicycle (or when they go to school at least).

That's a bit of a shock isn't it !