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At least one of Plato's dialogues had to do with the laziness and corruption of the youth at that time, so this has been going on for quite some time now. Remem

by olefoo 17y ago

At least one of Plato's dialogues had to do with the laziness and corruption of the youth at that time, so this has been going on for quite some time now. Remember that the Boomer generation were once shiftless hippies who had nothing better to do than smoke pot and weaken Americas moral fiber.

grellas 17y ago
While it is true that (broadly speaking) nothing is ever really new under the sun, I believe an important shift did occur in America concerning entitlement thinking, and it did occur with the boomer generation (of which I am a part). When I grew up as a kid in the 1950s, there was a huge emphasis on making sure that kids, unlike their parents and grandparents who had grown up on farms or had come to America as poor immigrants or had endured the privations of the Great Depression or the horrors of watching millions die and suffer in WWII, would get the very best education and all the modern conveniences. Even more important, theories about child-rearing changed dramatically in America from about 1950 on. Dr. Benjamin Spock (http://www.answers.com/topic/benjamin-spock http://www.answers.com/topic/benjamin-spock) became wildly popular with his ideas promoting "permissive" child-rearing and eschewing discipline. This meant treating kids like little adults, seeking their consent, and never using a switch on them when they misbehaved. Everybody was to cater to "little Johnny." Of course, the kids grew up feeling they were supposed to be catered to, and, voila, you have the hippie generation - the "me" generation, as in "it's all about me." There is no doubt that the Spock babies marked a turning point in kids having strong entitlement expectations and this has led to such things as heavy emphasis on self-esteem (which the WWII generation would have laughed at), grade inflation ("all A's"), denigration of honors programs or anything else that makes some feel less recognized than others, indiscriminate showering of trophies on kids for mere participation, and the like. Of course, every generation eventually grows up and matures through life experiences. But the broad change in American culture since the 1950s is unmistakable and has carried through to this day in a form that earlier generations had never known.

by olefoo 17y ago

grellas 17y ago

While it is true that (broadly speaking) nothing is ever really new under the sun, I believe an important shift did occur in America concerning entitlement thinking, and it did occur with the boomer generation (of which I am a part). When I grew up as a kid in the 1950s, there was a huge emphasis on making sure that kids, unlike their parents and grandparents who had grown up on farms or had come to America as poor immigrants or had endured the privations of the Great Depression or the horrors of watching millions die and suffer in WWII, would get the very best education and all the modern conveniences. Even more important, theories about child-rearing changed dramatically in America from about 1950 on. Dr. Benjamin Spock (http://www.answers.com/topic/benjamin-spock http://www.answers.com/topic/benjamin-spock) became wildly popular with his ideas promoting "permissive" child-rearing and eschewing discipline. This meant treating kids like little adults, seeking their consent, and never using a switch on them when they misbehaved. Everybody was to cater to "little Johnny." Of course, the kids grew up feeling they were supposed to be catered to, and, voila, you have the hippie generation - the "me" generation, as in "it's all about me." There is no doubt that the Spock babies marked a turning point in kids having strong entitlement expectations and this has led to such things as heavy emphasis on self-esteem (which the WWII generation would have laughed at), grade inflation ("all A's"), denigration of honors programs or anything else that makes some feel less recognized than others, indiscriminate showering of trophies on kids for mere participation, and the like. Of course, every generation eventually grows up and matures through life experiences. But the broad change in American culture since the 1950s is unmistakable and has carried through to this day in a form that earlier generations had never known.