Communist child raising?

I saw that as the lead-in for a Christmas article. It was on how children shouldnt have to share everything. When I was growing up, we never thought twice about having to share; we were taught it was a value, and a sign of being a good person. But then, our family was poor, with Dad working 2 jobs (3 during the holiday season) and mom also working 2. We shared because...well, thats all there was.

However, today we live in a society where people claim "Afluenza" (being so rich and privileged they never learn right from wrong) Just look at the "Occupy" fools of a few years back; they claimed to hate corporations, yet everything they owned was corporate logo. Protesting was trendy, but they werent about to give up their fashionable name brands.

I understand all to well the desire to want to be different from our parents, to let our children have a better life than we did, and its true that this is how the "experts" (it always gets me how society takes advice on child-raising from shrinks that never had kids) told us to raise them.

Well, except that now, those PhD professors/quacks that told us they were so much better and knew so much more are saying that the kids these days are stupid, self-centered, lacking any sense of responsibility, yada yada yada; in short, most the kids entering college today, raised the way these "experts" said to, are about as useful as tits on a boar hog.

The over-grown children think they should have anything they want, and they should have it now; its "unfair" to expect them to work for it. (That was the real motivator of the Occupy movement; they didnt want to change the system, they were just mad they had to earn their way to the top instead of jumping to it immediately) Basically, you're dealing with toddler mentality in 20 year old bodies.

But I dont actually blame anyone for this. We, parents, educators, "experts", and so on, forgot one of the most basic truths of what it means to be human: You are judged, and given value, by what you endure and overcome, both as a species and individually.

Think about it. Do we care that a skinny 120# man in track shorts can run the 100m dash in under 13 seconds? No. Its expected; the ideal goal is to get under 10 seconds. Do we care when a 300# linebacker in full kit runs the 100m in under 12 seconds? Yes, because that is unusual and challenging. A man bicycling 5 miles isnt impressive, and you wonder why anyone even mentions it. Until you find out the man has no legs. But its not just these sorts of physical contests that win respect. Police daily face danger, putting their lives on the line to enforce the law and protect society. Civilized people respect them for this. Doctors heal the wounded and cure the sick, and so are respected. And so on.

I respect black people of the Baby Boomer generation and before because they actually lived under the sting of government enforced racism; the hatred and bigotry of the Jim Crow laws and the danger from Democrats; publicly during the day, and in their Klan costumes at night. Those that stood up for right truly risked life and limb of themselves and family. And yet, these people braved the dangers, they overcame hate, overcame fear. They won the right to go to public schools, won the right to get college educations, won the right to be equal. And they did it without violence; the black panthers and Malcom X and the rest of the criminals did more to hurt "the cause" than to advance it.

But it is precisely the fact that these citizens - peers and equals to my parents, went on to be doctors, lawyers, judges; Colin Powell rose from a 2nd lieutenant at a time where black lieutenants were killed by their white subordiants, to hold the highest ranks of the armed Forces, both Military and civilian. These brave people rose above the hate, they overcame. They earned respect and honor. And today, too many of their grand children and great grandchildren drop out of school in droves to become criminals, the children claiming they cannot succeed because of the mistreatment of their ancestors.

The children demand respect that no one will grant. They cannot complete basic schooling, act civilized in public, or obey the law. They are considered inferior by many, because they cannot meet these minimum standards society expects of its citizenry; by their choice (though they dont understand it) they are declaring themselves inferior, and then angry that they are treated as such. They endure nothing, they accomplish nothing, they overcome nothing. And so, in the eyes of the world, they are......nothing.

The muslims have an interesting tradition; unfortunately, I never learned its name. But they would take a set time, as much as they could afford (a weekend for the poor, a month for the really rich) and they would walk away from their life. For this time, they would camp, basically; live in tents, carry water and food with them, no electricity, no modern stuff. It was a time to remember how their ancestors lived, get back to nature, and get closer to god. I do believe our society needs something like that.