Quote Originally Posted by Papasito View Post
Circa 1950's... Men open car doors for women. Children respect their elders. Yes Sir, Yes Ma'am. People wait patiently while others are talking so they won't interrupt someone else's conversation. Teenagers horse around in class but snap to attention and are eager to learn when the teacher barks. Morals and values were taught and instilled into adults and children alike.

Then came the baby boomer anti establishment generation. They wanted to break the status quo. Rise up and defy those before them. Break the rules. Their parents were too "square".
So this generation grew up, protesting, burning American flags, defying and questioning their role models, mentors, and Government. They pioneered in communes, socialism and communism. They put women on the same playing field as men, and took them off the pedestal. They found it invigorating to abandon long standing morals and values. To be insubordinate and question authority.

This generation is now America's retirees and politicians, and they lead following generations by example.
They interrupt each other in places of business, barging in front of others interested in only themselves. Cursing and speaking distastefully is the norm, and they find YOU out of place if you call them out on it. They expect something for nothing and feel entitled to it [[Their parents would have been humiliated!).
They will drive for hours on $50 of gasoline to get a free $5 breakfast. They will cut lines. They will strike the opposite sex [[after all, they're equal now, right?). They will want you to work on Christmas and Thanksgiving for their convenience. They are the last generation to have retirement and benefits at the expense of the following generations for their own financial gain [[retirement and good benefits are essentially extinct). They turned the American household from one that could be supported on one income to a household that requires mom AND dad to bring home the bacon and stuff the kids in child care.

Sounds like you're painting a picture with a broad brush again Papasito.
I have no idea how old you are, but I'm guessing you weren't actually around during the 50's. You sound naive at best.

Men opening car doors for women. Yes that happened. Women being treated poorly by men. Yes that happened. There were a lot of good men that treated women well. But there was a great deal of poor treatment of women during the 50's which I believe exceeds todays standards. Women on a pedestal? I suppose that would have something to do with your position in life at the time. A great deal of women were expected to be at home with dinner on the table when their husband got home. In many households it was, "or else." Most women, I believe were happy to see the changes that took place during the 60's.

Question authority? You bet. Those were tough times and you were generally told what to do and don't ask questions. I taught my son to question authority. Not to defy it, but yes, to question it.

Were we more orderly in school? Yes, we were. I remember when they changed the rules so that teachers and administrators could no longer strike you with wooden paddles with holes drilled in them. They could only use flat wooden paddles with no holes which lessened the damage. I can remember teachers grabbing kids, shoving them against the wall and grabbing them by the throat. Yes, our behavior was better.
I behaved well at home too. My grandmother used to take a lilac switch to me almost on a daily basis. One time I got jumped and pummeled by about five dudes on the way home from school. My pants got ripped during the scuffle and my grandmother took a wooden coat hanger to me when I got home because I ruined my pants. Kids were so well behaved I was shot once in the arm and stabbed or sliced with a knife 5 or 6 times by the time I was 14 years old. I lived in a reasonably decent middle class neighborhood.

We grew up learning how to hide under our desks at school in case the commies attacked us with an atomic weapon. We understood that when we graduated from high school that we'd probably be heading to fight in a jungle half way around the world.
We went to a barbershop for a haircut and pointed at a picture on the wall that showed about five different styles of a haircut and were asked which one we wanted.
We pretty much had the option of leaving high school and ending up wearing a short sleeve white shirt, tie and a pocket pen protector or a blue, grey or tan work shirt with a name tag. I just loved the 50's.
I spent 45 years paying taxes and having social security deducted from my pay check every week. I'm on social security now but I'm still working and still paying into social security. I can't imagine a time when I'll actually be able to fully retire.
I've worked hard my entire life, raised a family, paid taxes and have at least attempted to be a good citizen. I've never asked for much and never really expected much. But to hear some piss ass like you criticize an entire generation makes me sick to my stomach.