There are many who think the current state of affairs is a payback for the years of neglect we have given to everything from the way we live to the world we live in. The generation that grew up during the Great Depression knew what it was like to struggle and barely get by and how a treat like a piece of candy was something to be savored and appreciated. You flash forward to today and see a generation that too often expected the good things in life as what was due them and their families. Small treats like candy or a new pair of shoes were replaced by luxury items that were often unnecessary and unappreciated.
Some of us like to say that really all we wanted was a better life for our children but for too many the truth is we never learned had to say the word “no.” When kids turned 17 and got their drivers license it used to mean borrowing the family car or if you were lucky you were the owner of the quintessential first car……several years old with a lot of mileage. Today it’s not unusual for a 17-year old to get a brand new car as their first which makes you wonder what they have to aim for as they get older. Families would work all year to take a week’s vacation and go the beach or lake….now if you don’t get away every few months you complain about being trapped at home.
We’re responsible for a generation that not only laughs at hand-me-downs but also names they don’t recognize as being “with it” or chic. I’m not just talking about teen-agers but their parents….those in their 40’s and 50’s who could not imagine that what their parents lived through would ever happen again.
However the one lesson we should have learned is that history has a way of repeating itself and it is right now. Hopefully we’ll learn from our mistakes but if I were a betting man I’d bet against that.
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