Why Americans Have Become Spoiled Brats: Blame Mr. Rogers

[Mr. Kotter]

Originally Posted by keg in kc

I wasn't alive in the 60's and 70's (well, okay, I was "alive" but not as it pertains to the discussion), so I have no basis of comparison. But it would be reasonable to expect that the 80's were a product of the 60's and 70's. That's how the world works, after all.

And that wasn't the message *I* got from the 80's. My parents did a better job than that (not that I don't have my own share of issues, particularly the emotional castration...). That is, however, the message I think most of society got. And I think it's only getting progressively worse, in the terms I established. Particularly the concept of absentee parenting.

I understand, that popular culture and the media elite....attempt to portray the 80s in that way. And, I would agree to a point. However, there was a "backlash" of sorts....that lasted from the late 70s to the early 90s, which TRIED to get society back on track. While the S & L debacle, the junk bond scandals, and the who yuppie culture were part of the 80s, there were MUCH LESS a part of the 80s, than the Counter-Culture was a part of the 60s. And to me, the whole "me-me-me" and "self-esteem" issues were, at least to some extent, ostracized by the more "conservative" 80s.

However, the parents of kids....from the mid-90s to today.....largely, "came of age" during the 60s and 70s. While they can rightly claim partial credit for the civil rights and feminists gains of the day, I think they also deserve some significant "blame" for the narcissism of society, at large (but which is seemingly being instilled in the youth of today) that seems increasingly present.

My point is....things started to get better for awhile, but we've since slipped back into the 60s-70s mindset.

I guess this view, according to some.....makes me an "old fogey." But it's one that, in my experiences, does seem to ring true.