Why is everything shit these days?

[vortexring 0]

I didn't think you were 40 - I thought you were in your early 20's. Or d'you reckon I'm 40?

1968 then. Now:

My point remains; why are things so shit these days?

Why are social values in decline?

Why is my country facing demoralisation?

Why are so many consumer items far more expensive in my country, in comparison to other EU countries?

Why are our hospitals and transport systems becoming so much worse?

Why is my country experiencing a greater breakdown in marriages, with more single parents struggling to bringup their children?

Why is there less repect for authority?

Why do so many political leaders lead so badly and set such bad examples?

Why do we have more celebrity cults?

Why are cases of truency increasing?

Why are more and more teenagers becoming more feral?

Why are more and more people taking drugs?

Why do more and more people no longer give a fuck?

You don't have that in your country? Egypt, right? I've been there a few times; for work and leisure, and it didn't seem all that wonderful to me. Well, apart from the coral reefs, but they're on their way out too....

'for it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' "chuck 'im out, the brute!" But it's "saviour of 'is country" when the guns begin to shoot.'

[nerdgirl 0]

Quote

Why do more and more people no longer give a fuck?

As to this one I would speculate a part of the reason is that caring about something is regarded as a weakness, a la those who taunt merely to ‘get a rise’ out of another, or being genuinely serious is regarded as uncool.

I’ve wondered about that one a few times, in a slightly different form: the shift to a “punk’d” culture.

Humans have been making fun of, ridiculing, & bullying each other as far as written history goes back. Shakespeare was a master of acerbic wit.

When did being a ‘jerk’ become something at which to excel & the ‘cool’ thing to do?

VR/Marg

Act as if everything you do matters, while laughing at yourself for thinking anything you do matters.
Tibetan Buddhist saying

[thirdworld19 0]

My point remains; why are things so shit these days?

Why are social values in decline?

I believe that social values historically swing from one extreme to the other. Decline is a perception based on a set of expectations, which are often debatable as real and true values.

(If you are speaking of British society and its decline, that happened when it allowed its empire to collapse due mostly to its fiscal irresponsibility. No money to replace its outdated wooden ships as the rest of the naval powers moved to iron and steel. From that point on Britain was a reflection of divergent outside interests with old internal power centers attempting to hold sway at the cost of "traditional" values. Not a decline - just a shift.)

Why is my country facing demoralisation?

Please explain what you mean - specifically.

Why are so many consumer items far more expensive in my country, in comparison to other EU countries?

Simple, protectionist taxation to start and now that the taxation is no longer protectionist because the industry has actually moved, it has become taxation without a purpose other than to carry on the programs it
once benefited. You welcome the bulk of the third world and ask nothing from them other than to stand in line for their checks and the smartest of the influx use the system to enrich themselves and give little if
anything back. (Again, a shift, not a decline.)

Why are our hospitals and transport systems becoming so much worse?

Be happy that you have them. Not only that, but I'll bet your hospitals are capable of far more now than 20-40 years ago due to advancements in science. People are living longer and longer than they ever have. (Maybe that's not such a good thing)

Why is my country experiencing a greater breakdown in marriages, with more single parents struggling to bringup their children?

You see many women realizing they don't have to be stuck in shit marriages anymore. They are able to get jobs themselves - as opposed to 20-40 years ago. Women are not completely reliant on men nowadays.

Why is there less repect for authority?

Respect has never been all that important, fear has, and people do not fear authority as they had.

Why do so many political leaders lead so badly and set such bad examples?

We allow them to. However, political leaders of the past have just as many fuck-ups, only the media was not right there to capture everything and report it as they do now.

Why do we have more celebrity cults?

It is the nature of celebrity, it has never been any different be it an artist of some sort, a politician, or a religion. Again, we just hear about them now - the media is a wonderful thing?

Why are cases of truency increasing?

Because there is no fear of reprisal and the whole intent of compulsory education does not exist anymore. Factory workers skilled enough to do their jobs are not necessary on the same level that brought compulsory education and you actually pay people not to work.

Why are more and more teenagers becoming more feral?

You mean like the mother of Christ who birthed the son of man at 15? In the US, the number of teen pregnancies has actually been going down over the past 15-20 years - better birth control.

Why are more and more people taking drugs?

Do you mean illegal drugs? Drugs have always been used: alcohol, caffeine, tobacco, pot, cocaine, you name it - it's just that now, some of those are illegal. Marijuana for instance was made illegal in 1970 (in the US). And there has been a push by some to make certain drugs socially unacceptable. Partaking of (these certain) drugs was accepted 20-40 years ago, but no longer. So their use becomes a "problem" now.

I'd worry more about an entire generation that has drugged their children just to have them not act like children. (ADHD - Ritalin)

Why do more and more people no longer give a fuck?

They don't have to when everything is done for them. "Give me convenience or give me death." Well, you get convenience and loss of care.

You don't have that in your country? Egypt, right? I've been there a few times; for work and leisure, and it didn't seem all that wonderful to me. Well, apart from the coral reefs, but they're on their way out too....

I'm from America - just posted here in Egypt for a few years. And it's because of my experience here that I have really learned to appreciate just how good I have it in the States.

Again, I'm sorry you see things as such shit. Maybe you should start using Ecstasy and things will be all better.

[vortexring 0]

That's something I'm trying to figure out.

Is it a product produced by a dysfunctional society?

What makes it worse is that it isn't only young people where such an attitude can be commonly found.

A poll conducted from around 3500 people concluded that today's 10 evils were:

"The decline of community, individualism, consumerism and greed, a decline of values, the decline of the family, young people as both victims and perpetrators, drugs and alcohol, poverty and inequality, immigration and responses to it, and crime and violence. Among those to blame were big business, religion and the media. 'People are concerned about the way our society has become more individualistic, greedy and selfish, seemingly at a cost to our sense of community,' said the report. 'The focus on greed as an issue reflects concern about the growing gulf between the rich and poor. Connected to all of these issues was the perception that we no longer share a set of common values and that we have lost our "moral compass".

'for it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' "chuck 'im out, the brute!" But it's "saviour of 'is country" when the guns begin to shoot.'

[vortexring 0]

For clarity I've put your answers to my questions in italics whilst my reply to your answers I've made bold.


My point remains; why are things so shit these days?

Why are social values in decline?

I believe that social values historically swing from one extreme to the other. Decline is a perception based on a set of expectations, which are often debatable as real and true values.

A nonspecific answer if ever there was one. They are in decline.

(If you are speaking of British society and its decline, that happened when it allowed its empire to collapse due mostly to its fiscal irresponsibility. No money to replace its outdated wooden ships as the rest of the naval powers moved to iron and steel. From that point on Britain was a reflection of divergent outside interests with old internal power centers attempting to hold sway at the cost of "traditional" values. Not a decline - just a shift.)

The Empire collapsed after WWII - is it relevant? How does this answer such issues I'm trying to address?

Why is my country facing demoralisation?

Please explain what you mean - specifically.

Try a dictionary?

Why are so many consumer items far more expensive in my country, in comparison to other EU countries?

Simple, protectionist taxation to start and now that the taxation is no longer protectionist because the industry has actually moved, it has become taxation without a purpose other than to carry on the programs it
once benefited. You welcome the bulk of the third world and ask nothing from them other than to stand in line for their checks and the smartest of the influx use the system to enrich themselves and give little if
anything back. (Again, a shift, not a decline.)

But in your answer, surely this is a decline in moral values - a key issue to my rant.

Why are our hospitals and transport systems becoming so much worse?

Be happy that you have them. Not only that, but I'll bet your hospitals are capable of far more now than 20-40 years ago due to advancements in science. People are living longer and longer than they ever have. (Maybe that's not such a good thing)

I am happy to have them. I'm unhappy at how they're operated, and how much they cost - and how much money is wasted. Also, what's medical advancement if there is a very real chance of contracting MRSA whilst under going invasive surgery?

Why is my country experiencing a greater breakdown in marriages, with more single parents struggling to bringup their children?

You see many women realizing they don't have to be stuck in shit marriages anymore. They are able to get jobs themselves - as opposed to 20-40 years ago. Women are not completely reliant on men nowadays.

So the increased divorce rates is only through women realizing they no longer have to remain in shit marriages? Only partly true.

Why is there less repect for authority?

Respect has never been all that important, fear has, and people do not fear authority as they had.

Respect is very important. You cannot have respect through fear. This isn't a particularly good answer.

Why do so many political leaders lead so badly and set such bad examples?

We allow them to. However, political leaders of the past have just as many fuck-ups, only the media was not right there to capture everything and report it as they do now.

Fair enough. An area requiring change. Lack of leadership, erosion of responsibility, exposure to deceit and the breakdown of honesty and integrity by politicians and business leaders is another key issue.

Why do we have more celebrity cults?

It is the nature of celebrity, it has never been any different be it an artist of some sort, a politician, or a religion. Again, we just hear about them now - the media is a wonderful thing?

I agree - the media are often a cause of problems through ignorant, misleading, dramatized and often; purely dishonest articles. A reflection....?

Why are cases of truency increasing?

Because there is no fear of reprisal and the whole intent of compulsory education does not exist anymore. Factory workers skilled enough to do their jobs are not necessary on the same level that brought compulsory education and you actually pay people not to work.

I agree - again it's a decline in standards. This problem happened when the welfare state stopped being a safety net to temporarily help those in distress and became a life style choice for every chancer and low life.

Why are more and more teenagers becoming more feral?

You mean like the mother of Christ who birthed the son of man at 15? In the US, the number of teen pregnancies has actually been going down over the past 15-20 years - better birth control.

Then why is it rising so fast here? We have the same birth control means - they are easily available? But there is far more to this problem than teenage pregnancies.

Why are more and more people taking drugs?

Do you mean illegal drugs? Drugs have always been used: alcohol, caffeine, tobacco, pot, cocaine, you name it - it's just that now, some of those are illegal. Marijuana for instance was made illegal in 1970 (in the US). And there has been a push by some to make certain drugs socially unacceptable. Partaking of (these certain) drugs was accepted 20-40 years ago, but no longer. So their use becomes a "problem" now.

I mean illegal drugs - being 'illegal' doesn't explain the problems surrounding them, and caused by them.

I'd worry more about an entire generation that has drugged their children just to have them not act like children. (ADHD - Ritalin)

I worry very much about this.

Why do more and more people no longer give a fuck?

They don't have to when everything is done for them. "Give me convenience or give me death." Well, you get convenience and loss of care.

I agree. It's a shit attitude to have.

You don't have that in your country? Egypt, right? I've been there a few times; for work and leisure, and it didn't seem all that wonderful to me. Well, apart from the coral reefs, but they're on their way out too....

I'm from America - just posted here in Egypt for a few years. And it's because of my experience here that I have really learned to appreciate just how good I have it in the States.

I'm aware of how good I have things in the UK in comparison to some other countries and places I've been to, other than Egypt: every continent at least twice, excluding Antartica. But this is a non - issue. It isn't answering my questions.

Again, I'm sorry you see things as such shit. Maybe you should start using Ecstasy and things will be all better.

Haha! Maybe I did - and now it's sent me mad!? Seriously though - this original post started off originally as a bit of a rant - but apart from the ranting side, it's something I'm interested in finding the answers to. So thanks for your input; whether I agree with you or not, it is appreciated.

It seems there are so many,many possible answers to all the numerous problems.

And I somehow think they're all related too.

"One ought never to turn one's back on a threatened danger and try to run away from it. If you do that, you will double the danger. But if you meet it promptly and without flinching, you will reduce the danger by half." Sir Winston Churchill

'for it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' "chuck 'im out, the brute!" But it's "saviour of 'is country" when the guns begin to shoot.'

[vortexring 0]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=561440&in_page_id=1770

'for it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' "chuck 'im out, the brute!" But it's "saviour of 'is country" when the guns begin to shoot.'

[vortexring 0]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/tayside_and_central/7350523.stm

'for it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' "chuck 'im out, the brute!" But it's "saviour of 'is country" when the guns begin to shoot.'

[vortexring 0]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7301530.stm

'for it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' "chuck 'im out, the brute!" But it's "saviour of 'is country" when the guns begin to shoot.'

[vortexring 0]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/02/23/npregnant23.xml

'for it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' "chuck 'im out, the brute!" But it's "saviour of 'is country" when the guns begin to shoot.'

[vortexring 0]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2008/03/25/nmuslims125.xml

'for it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' "chuck 'im out, the brute!" But it's "saviour of 'is country" when the guns begin to shoot.'

[vortexring 0]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2008/03/28/ntime128.xml

'for it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' "chuck 'im out, the brute!" But it's "saviour of 'is country" when the guns begin to shoot.'

[vortexring 0]

Just a few articles of varying severity to support my issue. The list could go on and on - as it could be said such crimes have been committed through time eternal in some similiar form or other.

My point is the increasing frequency of such matters. I've asked the question why a number of days ago -
any explanations?

This is only going one way.

'for it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' "chuck 'im out, the brute!" But it's "saviour of 'is country" when the guns begin to shoot.'

[SpeedRacer 1]

There's this genetic technology called siRNA in which a particular gene can be prevented from being transcribed.

So just locate the "Chav Gene" and use siRNA to eliminate its expression. Problem solved.

Speed Racer
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