Eeyore
Regular Member
I’m very depressed today. Here are three reasons why:
1. One of my aviation forums included a link to this story about a fighter jet “buzzing” Cal Berkely: http://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/20...t-a-pilot-saying-hello-to-his-brother-at-cal/ The Navy is investigating, and obviously low-altitude antics over populated areas are a big no-no. But what caught my eye was this near the end of the article:
Seriously? There are two ways to interpret JG’s statement, and both of them are pathetic. Either JG is exaggerating/lying to justify her outrage, or she and/or her kids’ teachers have failed to properly teach her children how to react to unexpected stimuli. When I was a kid, a fighter jet roaring over my first-grade classroom would’ve been met with cries of “Cool!”--at least from most of the boys. So much for “Jet noise—the sound of freedom.”
2. One of my wife’s friends is leading a protest movement against an “active shooter” drill at her kids’ school. She thinks it’s horrible that the school would do this and terrify her kids. (Her answer, of course, is to outlaw all guns. That will fix everything.) My wife argued that, as sad as it is, school shootings are a real-world threat these days, and ignoring that reality won’t make it go away. A calm, reasoned talk with the kids stating that it’s very unlikely (just like a fire or tornado) and preparing for it doesn’t mean it’s going to happen would probably make the kids OK. And somehow, fire drills, tornado drills, and even baby boomers’ “duck and cover” drills are not nearly so horrifying to this woman. My wife has tried to point out the many fallacies (how is the remote possibility of an isolated shooting more terrifying than the remote possibility of total nuclear Armageddon?), but her friend has her indignant hysteria field at full power and no logic can penetrate it.
There’s no telling in these two cases if the kids were genuinely terrified, or they just reacted to the terror displayed by the so-called “adults” in their lives. But apparently, these “adults” never learned to cope with the reality that there are dangers and unpleasantness in the world, and now they’re passing their handicap on to their kids. Nobody’s teaching them to pull their boots on, face their fears, and get on with their lives, because there’s no magic fairy dust that will guarantee a pleasant, comfortable life.
3. Yesterday I listened to a call-in radio show discussing Florida’s proposed legislation to allow concealed carry on college campuses. The host was remarkably unbiased, and the guest (a law professor) discussed the current state of affairs and the pros and cons of the issue very frankly. Several of the callers were “horrified, just horrified” that anyone would even consider this, that it was being discussed at all. That was the sum total of their argument; once they decided they were horrified they consciously or unconsciously ruled out any further consideration of the case.
IMHO, these are all illustrations of how many Americans no longer value self-reliance, independence, and rational thought. It really saddens me that American society has fallen so far. Our ancestors took risks. They left their homes and crossed the ocean in tiny wooden ships to live in the wilderness. They settled the west with only what a Conestoga wagon could carry. No health care, no internet, no social security. Now we’re nothing but coddled children, afraid of everything. I knew the “American Empire” would fall someday, but I had no idea it would come so soon.
1. One of my aviation forums included a link to this story about a fighter jet “buzzing” Cal Berkely: http://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/20...t-a-pilot-saying-hello-to-his-brother-at-cal/ The Navy is investigating, and obviously low-altitude antics over populated areas are a big no-no. But what caught my eye was this near the end of the article:
Seriously? There are two ways to interpret JG’s statement, and both of them are pathetic. Either JG is exaggerating/lying to justify her outrage, or she and/or her kids’ teachers have failed to properly teach her children how to react to unexpected stimuli. When I was a kid, a fighter jet roaring over my first-grade classroom would’ve been met with cries of “Cool!”--at least from most of the boys. So much for “Jet noise—the sound of freedom.”
2. One of my wife’s friends is leading a protest movement against an “active shooter” drill at her kids’ school. She thinks it’s horrible that the school would do this and terrify her kids. (Her answer, of course, is to outlaw all guns. That will fix everything.) My wife argued that, as sad as it is, school shootings are a real-world threat these days, and ignoring that reality won’t make it go away. A calm, reasoned talk with the kids stating that it’s very unlikely (just like a fire or tornado) and preparing for it doesn’t mean it’s going to happen would probably make the kids OK. And somehow, fire drills, tornado drills, and even baby boomers’ “duck and cover” drills are not nearly so horrifying to this woman. My wife has tried to point out the many fallacies (how is the remote possibility of an isolated shooting more terrifying than the remote possibility of total nuclear Armageddon?), but her friend has her indignant hysteria field at full power and no logic can penetrate it.
There’s no telling in these two cases if the kids were genuinely terrified, or they just reacted to the terror displayed by the so-called “adults” in their lives. But apparently, these “adults” never learned to cope with the reality that there are dangers and unpleasantness in the world, and now they’re passing their handicap on to their kids. Nobody’s teaching them to pull their boots on, face their fears, and get on with their lives, because there’s no magic fairy dust that will guarantee a pleasant, comfortable life.
3. Yesterday I listened to a call-in radio show discussing Florida’s proposed legislation to allow concealed carry on college campuses. The host was remarkably unbiased, and the guest (a law professor) discussed the current state of affairs and the pros and cons of the issue very frankly. Several of the callers were “horrified, just horrified” that anyone would even consider this, that it was being discussed at all. That was the sum total of their argument; once they decided they were horrified they consciously or unconsciously ruled out any further consideration of the case.
IMHO, these are all illustrations of how many Americans no longer value self-reliance, independence, and rational thought. It really saddens me that American society has fallen so far. Our ancestors took risks. They left their homes and crossed the ocean in tiny wooden ships to live in the wilderness. They settled the west with only what a Conestoga wagon could carry. No health care, no internet, no social security. Now we’re nothing but coddled children, afraid of everything. I knew the “American Empire” would fall someday, but I had no idea it would come so soon.
