Right on, Indigo! I printed that one out - it brought me to tears. I remember - loosing our heroes, one after another, JFK, RFK, Martin Luther King. Each generation has its losses - its spiritual crises. The real world imposes its own school of character education on us all. As Aretha sang, R-E-S-P-E-C-T .... for each of us and every generation. "We are each others harvest." (Gwendolyn Brooks) Thank you! Sharon ----- Original Message ----- From: "Indigo Nights" <[log in to unmask]> To: <[log in to unmask]> Sent: Wednesday, May 01, 2002 4:23 PM Subject: Re: Going to Hell in a Hand Basket > I don't think I can concur that it's getting worse. > There are, in fact, appalling things that are ongoing, > sort of symptomology of the pandemic of violence > prevalent in our society. > > But every generation seems to have sort of horizontal > thinking. They can see no further than what was on > the horizon during their lifetime. > > It wasn't easy being a Boomer kid. Your friends and > classmates went off to war in Viet Nam (a police > action, never a declared war) or undeclared actions in > Cambodia, without choice, and others left for Canada > after chanting hell no, we won't go. Those who served > came home in pieces, or with PTSD, or in body bags to > an ungrateful nation. > > Think Kent State and watching your peer group get shot > by the government on a college campus--or spied on and > reported as a traitor to our country for simply > dissenting. > > How about don't trust anyone over 30, and living in a > J. Edgar Hoover era (well, I suspect an Ashcroft era > may come close, what with spying on dissenting > individuals but that's for a political forum)? > > Students for a Democratic Society, Dr. Leary and the > LSD crowd, Woodstock, Civil Rights struggles, George > Wallace, and the Watts Riots. Angela Davis, the Black > Panthers, and Stokley Carmichael (can I get a "Right > On, My Brother"? Power to the People!), Malcom X and > Dr. King. > > Mario at Berkeley and the Chicago Seven. Jane Fonda > and Hanoi. > > Assassination of two Kennedys and a King. The suicide > of Marilyn (Monroe--not Manson), Castro's Cuba and the > Bay of Pigs, the death of Che, that "Commie Pinko" > Kruschev and his infamous shoe, the Berlin Wall, and > the disgrace of Thomas Eagleton when running for high > office simply because he had suffered from depression. > > > Getting sent home from school if your dress didn't > meet the middle of your knee, and your hair got cut by > your teacher if it touched your ears. Couldn't vote > until 21. Great dissension between the young and the > "Silent Majority." God was dead, and the most fatal > sin of all was apathy! > > LBJ and his belly scar. Burning the bra for women's > rights. Fighting for Roe v. Wade (and with that I'm > not inviting debate on the pros or cons of abortion, > so please don't start). The inaccessibility of birth > control. Pregnant teens were rushed off to distant > areas, hushed up, and compelled to relinquish lest > they shame their family and left with lifelong wounds > instead of kept at home or termination of pregnancy. > > We were the group following Happy Days and there was > much tumult throughout our nation. When they did the > remake of "What's Going On" last year, they had to > take the words "Picket Signs" out of the songs because > they were afraid kids of today wouldn't even know what > the hell that meant. > > But we didn't go to Korea. > > Or to World War II. > > Or survive the Holocaust or the Great Depression. > > Or World War I. > > We had a better chance of living past 12 and not being > killed by influenza or whooping cough or small pox, > but we lived through vaccines for small pox and bear > the ugly scars and saw our friends fall ill to polio > while we rushed to get first the series of shots and > then the sugar cubes. > > We froze during the Cold War and had regular Civil > Defense drills where you dove to the floor, covered > your head and hoped your ass didn't hang out in the > breeze because girls HAD to wear dresses to school. > > Did we have it harder than kids today? Who can say? > Did we have it harder than our parents? Harder, I'm > afraid is subjective. > > We were the Make Love, Not War Generation that > believed in Free Love and lived to see the > consequences come back to haunt in an era of AIDS and > HIV. > > So let's be careful about comparing generations. It's > probably not a fair thing to do. > > --- Merri Pemberton <[log in to unmask]> wrote: > > I think that looking at Columbine, metal detectors > > and drug dogs in schools, > > and knowing of a situation where a first grader had > > a pair of scissors, > > gripped them in her hand with the sharp point > > directed at the other student > > and threatened to stab her- should give plenty > > people reasons to say that > > this next generation is at least a little worse. > > Kids have even admitted that > > they have much more to worry about than when their > > parents were growing up > > e.g. heightened school violence. When I was a senior > > in high school (1994) we > > started to see the police and drug dogs patrolling > > our school, and we were a > > small town school at that. So, it is getting worse. > > Not every kid has serious > > problems, but the problems existing in this society > > are having a great impact > > on the generations to come. > > > > Sincerely, > > > > Merri > > > > > ===== > Indigo Nights > [log in to unmask] > > Looking for a job? Try: > Check out the REVISED Got Links, your one-stop portal > http://victorian.fortunecity.com/stanmer/414 Updated 02/14/02 > > __________________________________________________ > Do You Yahoo!? > Yahoo! Health - your guide to health and wellness > http://health.yahoo.com > > ========================================================= > Important Subscriber Information: > > The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . 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