Respect

[puffy]

I tread lightly here beacuse I don't want to offend anyone..I know the we here give each other a great deal of respect.I think that as a rule all pipe smokers respect each other.Though we differ on other things we have pipe smoking in common.That acts in a way as a bond.I feel that in the past the public at large also respected pipe smokers.We all know the examples of it.The reason folks don't give us that respect these days is they have been taught that we are bad folks doing harmful things.Not deserving of anyone's respect..Folks the real danger here in my opinion is that kids growing up are being taught that it's ok not to respect other people.What effect is that going to have on society in the future? My grand father was an invidualist and a dedicated pipe smoker.He would be in total shock if he could see how society treats us pipe smokers now.

 

[sparroa]

Puffy a lack of respect - for life or learning or tradition or history etc - is responsible for the decline we are facing today...
I am of a different generation than you but I am not blind and I can see we are headed down a dark road.
From the dawn of man, the older generations have always bemoaned the decline and the decadence of the younger generations but we are getting pretty close to "sinking the ship" so there might be some substance to it this time...

 

[mrgunnar177]

agreed, I see it happening around me...

 

[mustanggt]

The insideous evil that has crept into our society that respects nothing or anyone but it's own desires for what it wants is going to be our undoing. The past is not respected, our history, our older folk, our babies, our traditions, our most vaunted institutions are all being cast aside for "forward." What the hell is "forward" you say? It's forward into the gates of hell all for the pleasure of absolute power of a small minority of the ruling class. They only believe in "the ends justify the means." If you believe in that credo doing whatever it takes to get what you want or is politically correct is ok.

 

[dragonslayer]

It’s the continuation of the stripping of person rights and freedoms that has been going on for a hundred years now. The educational system has been bent by the DoE to more of an indoctrination then education, are kids today have slipped below some third world nations in basic education. I could go on but I don’t think I’m allowed here.

 

[sparroa]

All I can say to everyone is to keep your own house in order.
Instill your own values in your children and make sure that THEY do not rely upon any Department of Education for their knowledge of lack thereof...
If you do that, you will be doing more to stem the tide of decline than 99% of people out there. Which is sad in and of itself...

 

[pstlpkr]

Good discussion,guys.
Everyone remember....
No politics please.
::

 

[dragonslayer]

You got it, half of what my children have learned is from what I've taught them and had them read after thier so called "school education". I know we're going to get jambed for this thread. lols

 

[bigboi]

I am a strong believer in that school education should supplement what kids are being taught at home or if something different parents should teach their kids the difference and the ability to know difference. I think society at large is trying to teach kids to think on their own, but only to think how they think. I don't know maybe I am wrong. But, I do know there was a lot more respect given in generations past than there is in the one's coming up now.

 

[anthonyrosenthal74]

I'm only 38 years old. That's not "old" by any means. I listen to a lot of the same music as the younger generation (teens through late twenties)I play the same video games. Lol had a lengthy conversation with a young lady about 19 years old about my Alienware laptop at Starbucks the other day... she was so jealous lol. But being only 38 years old, I have seen America change drastically. Some of the older gentlemen might say it's not the same country as it was in the 50's, or the 60's, or the 70's and so on. Well I grew up mainly in the 80's and 90's and it's not the same country it was then. Shoot... it's not the same country it was 10 years ago. And it sure isn't the same country we had before 9/11. It seems to be becoming a country ruled by the minority. At least it seems that way in my humble opinion. What the few want, happens. Whether the majority of us want it or not. Doesn't seem to make any sense does it? I better stop there... I don't want to turn this into a political argument or anything like that.
The fact of the matter is, we have turned from a society that cared about our fellow man into a me, me, me society. This is what I want and the hell with everyone else. When we care only about ourselves and our own wants, how can we respect others and their wants and their needs? Kids being raised these days get what they want when they want. It's like the parents are afraid to say no. The parents are afraid their child might be 'upset'. The parents are afraid to discipline their children. Basically the parents these days have no backbone, because their parents were too high or drunk to care, and the kids now are all spoiled brats (well perhaps not all, but a good number of them are)or thugs, or punks, or gang members. If the parents did not teach the kids to respect them, why would the kids respect anyone else? They don't know what the word means.

 

[pitchfork]

The OP makes some good points. Lawrence's admonition aside, it's got nothing to do with party politics. I've never thought about the problem in terms of respect, but that's a good way of thinking about it. It's certainly a problem of me-centeredness, though, which manifests itself often in the form of disrespect for others. Without getting "political," so many of the problems we face as a society are the result of people who only want to do well for themselves, climb higher in terms of power and prestige, morality and duty be damned. You see it in politics, in business and in academia (my field). When was the last time someone prominent in govt. or business resigned because they screwed up, or allowed those below them to screw up? It happens all too rarely. The old sense of noblesse oblige really is dead...
OK, I'll stop before I get going. But some good points being made in the OP and the otherr posts.

 

[bobpnm]

We are assaulted by information every waking hour. Ironically, we probably know less about important things than ever before. On the whole we know what the shapers of messaging want us to know. And, our opinions on important things are formed accordingly. As a culture we are more rude. When Human interaction was more personal, most of us would never say the kinds of things to someone that are unfortunately all to common in technology based interaction. My Grandfather was an intelligent man. He was not an educated man. Every evening he sat on his front porch with a pot of coffee and his pipe. As a child I couldn't understand how he could sit there for hours apparently doing nothing. I asked him once if he didn't get bored doing nothing. He told me he was doing something. He was thinking about every thing he had learned that day. His exact words to me were "How else will I know what I think?"
To all of you - ladies and gentlemen all, this forum is a good place.

 

[pitchfork]

Nice anecdote about your grandfather, Bob. Clearly the world needs more pipe smokers. ::

 

[captainsousie]

Respect has declined markedly in many areas in my short lifetime. However, blaming it on one thing is truly naive.
Before throwing stones at teachers and schools, spend a week doing my job. I have 26 kids in a class from different backgrounds and parenting styles and I have to try to get several concepts into their brains. All this while trying to avoid being sued by parents who are just looking to make a quick buck and could care less about how their kid actually grows up. Add to that bosses who haven't actually worked with kids for many years and come up with about 15 hours a week of make-work to justify their jobs. If I wanted to get political I could detail political pressures from both sides who use education as a cheap way to buy votes and d*mn the consequences to our kids. Are schools perfect? NO! They are what we make of them and it's not getting any better in the near future.
If "it takes a village" to raise kids right, then it takes a village to screw them up and society along with it. Pitchfork and Anthony hit it right with self-interest/selfishness being a major part of the problem.
Sorry if I offended, it just bugs me when anyone looks to point the finger and don't realize that there are just as many fingers pointing back at all of us.

 

[bobpnm]

I agree pitchfork! More Grandfathers sitting on the porch with their grandchildren probably wouldn't hurt either!

 

[sparroa]

Captainsousie, no offence to you or your profession but if I had my time back I would quit school at 14.
It was all downhill from there...
I don't blame teachers, because I had plenty of good ones, but most of them are hamstrung and limited with what they can do.
Nevermind that the gifted students are weighed down and the poor students are pushed ahead.
Anyway I am not trying to start a row, just calling it like I see it.
You are correct in saying that problems go much deeper than any flaws in the education system.
The rot has gone to the core of our society and we will have a race ahead of us to reinforce it before it collapses...
Bob - thinking is a lost art. Some think it unnecessary when we have all manner of gadgets to do the processing for us. How wrong they are!

 

[bigboi]

Bob, agreed we need to really "think". Which is why I love pipesmoking so much. Thinking and pipe smoking go hand in hand. You really need to slow down and focus when smoking.

 

[dragonslayer]

This governement, this monster we have created is...

 

[judcole]

we have turned from a society that cared about our fellow man into a me, me, me society.

We are told, constantly, that the only values that matter are those of the marketplace. That should be a matter of concern to all of us.

 

[Perique]

There is no such thing as 'society' - It is simply the sum cumulative total of all individual decisions and lifestyle choices. Become the change you want to be. Do you home school your kids? Do you attempt, each year, to grow or hunt a larger percentage of your food? Do you eat mostly chemical, corporate food? Do you seek out farmers and ranchers from whom to purchase food or do you shop at "super markets"? Do you buy plastic junk, or seek out a craftsman? How much (and what) do you read? Do you look for barter deals first, cash second, electronic money only when necessary? Do you now or have you ever supported the regulation of something you personally find disagreeable? Or do you have the courage to deny that power to the state? The list goes on and on...
Everyone wants to moan about the mess we're in. But as the saying goes, no single snowflake ever feels responsible for the avalanche.
The decline in civility you observe is merely a symptom, a side-effect.