But you did mention the role of parents, though I'm not sure that's any different. — EricL

I believe that most baby boomers would agree that their parents were the first parental generation to really spoil their kids en masse because to the post WWII economic boom in the U.S. Baby boomers being raised on corporate television, took the ball, sprinted down the field and spiked it in the end-zone as they become the worst parents imaginable.

Perhaps you can help me out here. Why is it when a fair number of people on this forum disagree in a conversation, they assume that it must be the other person's fault? Can it not be that two people simply disagree?

Why is it when a fair number of people on this forum disagree in a conversation, they assume that it must be the other person's fault? — synthesis

In my last post, I tried to be careful not to place the fault on either of us.

I really enjoy chatting with different folks but not with people who believe that they know and it's their job to spread the word. That gets old really quickly (which is my main beef with people on the left). Ideology aside, leftists really believe they are right!

I really enjoy chatting with different folks but not with people who believe that they know and it's their job to spread the word. That gets old really quickly (which is my main beef with people on the left). Ideology aside, leftists really believe they are right! — synthesis

Am I one of those people who "believe that they know and it's their job to spread the word?" You're the one who started this thread. You're the one spreading the word. You're the one who seems to know you are right. I have only responded to question some of the things you wrote. I gave very specific examples. I think I expressed my thoughts clearly. What's your beef?

Am I one of those people who "believe that they know and it's their job to spread the word?" You're the one who started this thread. You're the one spreading the word. You're the one who seems to know you are right. I have only responded to question some of the things you wrote. I gave very specific examples. I think I expressed my thoughts clearly. What's your beef? — T Clark

It's just my opinion. Being right (except in cases of morality) is purely conditional.

Perhaps you are around the wrong kind of people. — synthesis

Your idea of "learning from experience" has some major lacks.

Old people used to be more respected when they were seen as more useful for the larger community and frankly, there were less of them. Today in atomized, resource hungry, quickly changing society they are less help than they have ever been and the means needed to keep them involved in the community need to be rather extensive.

I agree that learning by practice is very good, do you mean that as learning by experience? It is rather troublesome though to organize practice for children if the parents work and the school system is suboptimally built. I think organizing partial employment for children from the age of 12 could be useful in that regard.

As for rights and responsibilities, they aren't from the same narrow category at all, I don't see a good use for a word for the sum of those sets. Both rights and responsibilities are granted by the ones that wield power, but they don't need to inherently balance each other out. It's true that most productive societies do have some partial balance between the rights and responsibilities, so it seems to be useful for the benefit of the societies. And if the US falls behind because of unbalance of rights and responsibilities, other societies with better structures will come ahead and your society will have an opportunity to correct itself and the humanity will learn a lesson.

You say that young people (that you know) goaded by fools grew demanding and stupid? Well it's real pity that the previous generations haven't fulfilled their responsibility to bring the new generation up to par. I don't know young Americans, but why in your opinion the older generations failed them?