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Generation Zero



GENERATION ZERO
Generation Zero is the title of a new documentary that explores how the Social Liberal ideologies of the Woodstock Generation led to the collapse of our financial system in America.
The Woodstock Generation rejected the traditions, customs, and mores of the Greatest Generation; the generation that had lived through the Great Depression and World War Two. The Greatest Generation built a society in the 1950s that is often the target of ridicule and derision by Social Liberals. It was the greatest country in the history of the world.
The country that was bequeathed to the Baby Boomers had the highest standard of living ever seen on Earth. The traditional family was the foundation of American society. The women of the time lavished love on their children; they focused on creating the best possible home environment for their families. For no other reason than this, the feminist movement lambasted these women as oppressed, less-than-whole women.
Divorce and out-of-wedlock childbirth were seriously discouraged until the 1970s, when both became celebrated as casting off the shackles of old-fashioned, out dated values. Since then both have increased by 800%--even with abortion coming into vogue to keep the numbers of the latter down. In fact, half of the fifty-five million aborted children would have been paying taxes, and helping to support the Social Security program by now if they were living. Implicit in all of this, is the rejection of one of the cornerstones of American history: personal responsibility.
Personal responsibility has been replaced by a self-centered, narcissistic world-view. The passage of welfare laws has helped to make this possible by making it attractive for people to do as little as possible to succeed in life, knowing the labors of others would be confiscated on their behalf; while at the same time making it clear to women that they were better off economically without a husband.
Social Liberals infested the Supreme Court, and for the first time in American history our country’s highest court cast God, the Bible, and prayer out of our public schools. This was a sharp blow against the traditional values that had formed the bedrock of what was America. As our society became more godless; abortion, perversion, pornography, and promiscuity ran amok. The effect of all of this has been the creation of the most troubled, confused, unknowledgeable citizenry America has ever had; an epidemic of sexually transmitted diseases; fractured families; and millions of children with no idea who their daddy is.



WALL STREET
The financial crisis in America is a cultural crisis. It is no coincidence that the dot.com boom, bubble, and bust occurred during the late 1990s. That was precisely the time that the Greatest Generation of conservative businessmen retired from the workforce. It was because of these men that the old adage of Business being allied with Conservative Republicans came about. This is now a long outdated belief. The new corporate, banking, and Wall Street power brokers are mostly Social Liberals who are in alliance with the leaders of the Democratic party. The same spirit of narcissism that destroyed the traditional family is still at work. This can be easily discerned by noticing the $70B in bonuses given out in 2008, and again in 2009, to the failed gamblers working for firms that received taxpayer funded bailouts to the tune of Two Trillion Dollars.

LABOR UNIONS
Labor unions have exacerbated the financial problems. Backed by Liberal Democrats, they gained the power to shut down American manufacturing firms through strikes and closed shops. Eventually, they gained wages and pensions ($75 per hour at GM) that priced America right out of the global market. But far worse than the cost of labor directly, were the union work rules that absolutely ruined the work ethic for which Americans were once world famous. It is one thing to have workers paid ten times what they are in Japan or China when they build superior products, as we once did; it is quite another when the products are shoddily made. Unionism is the first step to Communism, said Karl Marx.
American manufacturing, which once exported goods throughout the world, has virtually disappeared. This has created a trade deficit that is a huge part of our current financial crisis. 6.5 million jobs have been lost in the last two years. But this has not slowed consumption by Americans. We consume 5% more per year of the world's resources than we produce. We can only do this by borrowing, personally and as a nation.


SOCIAL LIBERALS
The policies of Social Liberals have directly led to a concentration of power in Washington, D.C. States, counties, and local governments have less and less control over their own communities as the federal government usurps their jurisdiction. This has led to the powerful lobbyists who last year spent $3B to influence 536 people.
The environmental movement of Social Liberals killed nuclear power plant building; the construction of gas refineries; and the drilling for oil and gas. This helped make America dependent on foreign energy sources, upsetting our balance of trade. The Social Liberals have created mountains of regulations—and the bureaucracies to enforce them—that have stifled American business. The largest corporations have welcomed this movement because it squashes all of the smaller, innovative players who cannot comply, or even understand, the regulatory requirements.
Helping to concentrate power in Washington are the movements that Social Liberals imposed on American society including affirmative action, multiculturalism, diversity, political correctness, and domestic-partner benefits--all of which are implemented and enforced by the federal government. Multiculturalism has damaged traditional American values, which it denigrates while glorifying failed cultures.




DEBT
The United States is now $12T in debt--$7T owed to foreigners. Our entire national wealth is $50T and that exact amount is owed in future payments for Social Security and other entitlements to the Baby Boomers who begin retiring next year.
The only people who seem to see where this is headed--the collapse of our nation--are the Tea Party people. Naturally, the liberal mass media—long ago conquered by Social Liberals—vilifies them. Why are they vilified? Who are they? That’s simple; they are a group of decent, hard-working Americans who believe in traditional values and fiscal responsibility.
The reaction of Social Liberals to the financial crisis, led by their president, Barack Obama, is to blame Capitalism itself as the villain and take over control of the manufacturing, banking, and insurance industries, thereby concentrating even more power in Washington. Word has been circulating that Socialism--or even Communism--has new wind in its sails. It was unmistakably Capitalism that made America great in the first place, but federal control over public schools has duped our young citizens into believing otherwise.
Barack Obama has increased the federal budget deficit from $400B to $1.3T in one year. While focused on phony problems such as global warming or health care, Obama and his Social Liberal cohorts are quadrupling deficit spending and quadrupling the money supply—devaluing the dollar to where it soon may no longer be the global standard. The 2010 budget deficit is equal to the entire 2001 federal budget. If the $2T stimulus and bailout money had instead been given to the working middle class, it would have meant $40,000 per worker. Surely that would have stimulated the economy. The biggest problem is that Social LIberals do not believe in free enterprise.



THE DUMBING DOWN OF AMERICA
The problems in America run deeper than even all of this. The affirmative action, political correctness, and diversity movements Social LIberals have foisted upon America have ultimately meant that the best and the brightest--in public schools, universities, and corporations--no longer rise to the top. This has had tragic consequences. Identity politics, envy, and a spoils system have taken the place of true competition. The case of the New Haven firefighters, where 17 persons were denied what they earned because they were white males, is only the tip of the iceberg in a nation where mediocrity is rewarded ahead of excellence as long as one is in the right group, and as long as the end result can be seen as politically correct. Imagine this same thing going on nationwide for twenty years or so. Well, it has. Instead of earning and deserving advancement in society; it is now seen as an entitlement. This ultimately destroys the idea that Americans are responsible for the outcome of their own lives. Our national character is seriously devalued. Standards are lowered. The American Way is disdained. Traditional values are discarded. The Communist ideal of "To each according to their need; from each according to their ability" has new life—the very opposite of personal responsibility for the success or failure of ones own life. This can be seen in the extreme by the number of the young trying (and oft times succeeding) to get on lifelong governmental disability payments (SSI) because one leg is shorter than the other, or they are allergic to alarm clocks.
The Community Reinvestment Act was another boondoggle of Social LIberals. This Act meant that loans had to be extended to people with lousy credit and no way to repay the loans--if they were in the correct identity group.
The Self-Esteem movement of Social LIberals helped to create all of this in our citizenry by praising kids for nothing, and more or less looking down on true achievement. No matter how lazy or dumb you are; YOU ARE GREAT! And so were your ancestors. Go ahead and be obese. You are still great. Why? Because you are breathing!
This whole mindset is why we have $100B of fraudulent claims in Medicare and Medicare each year. It's not about what you can do for your country. It's about what your country can do for you.


THE 1950s
The Americans of the 1950s saved money. They didn't buy a house or car unless they could pay cash for it; or at least put down 10-20% in cash. They didn't buy anything else on credit. They lived within their means. They largely stayed married to the benefit of their finances and their children. They believed in legacy: that they owed a debt to the dead who came before them; and to the generations who would come after them. Today, a common response to the question of “what about future generations?” is "I'll be dead by then."
The Greatest Generation built the most Christian nation on Earth. With that came the Protestant or Puritan Work Ethic. Thrift, Prudence, Virtue--these three are now laughed at by Social Liberals.

IMMIGRATION
The immigration laws were changed drastically by Social Liberals beginning in the 1960s.
No longer did America admit immigrants based on what they had to offer to America. Now it was based on admitting as many third-world peoples as possible.
When that didn't prove to be enough, the illegal immigration movement was supported, to flood the country with any poor sap as long as he wasn't white.
Why? Because Social Liberals knew that people of color would vote for them, become dependent on the government, and develop a lifelong need for their social programs.


IT'S A BRAVE NEW WORLD
In the 1950s life was not perfect. Life is never perfect. But America was the richest nation on Earth. It was filled with strong families, marriages that lasted, and good jobs. The killing of the unborn was extremely rare; bastard children were few; divorce was unusual; Americans honored God for the blessings he has bestowed upon our nation. We were rich.
Today, we are pacified by pharmaceuticals, 24-hour cable television to provide distraction, Internet pornography as a portal to evil, the government dole to back us up. The young are riddled with sexually transmitted diseases, they think nothing of killing their unborn children, and it is routine to have fatherless children. We are obese, we have driven manufacturing out of the country, we are self-absorbed, the world owes us, we are told we’re great when we are not, our failings are not our fault, and our nation has piles of debts it can’t pay. We are morally, culturally, and financially bankrupt. America is broken and broke.

Comments
Your Worlds are colliding in this article but you can not find the enemy. Socialism is the failure of Capitalism that was destroyed by greed. Regulation governs and protects society, its investments, the environment and all the little people who do not matter. The lack of it is the mess we live ion today. In place everyone won and we did not need Socialism. No one ever created socialism in this country because of a lack of need, in fact the rich saw it as another opportunity to get rich. Unions were the answer until they were bought out and corrupted as well. We have come full circle in the race for greed always looking for a way to create slaves out of everyone not rich. Deny anything that could possibly hold back greed and keep a dollar out of someone's pocket. We have an environmental disaster of epic proportions, an economy that is broken and a financial system that stands for nothing. There is no security, no safety net and life is hanging by a thread. Turn the power off and its pretty much over. One solar flare and its all over and we get to learn how to live or die again.
James, you first claimed the report went back to the 50s, which it doesn't. I proved that. It also doesn't ask about happiness. I listed the link to the actual report to prove my point. Click it.
You listing of rape is ridiculous, as you don't count white on white rape, which accounts for 44% of all rapes. Your claim on murder is from 1 year in a CBS article that I have already shown isn't viable in another one of your posts. If you want an answer, look into economics as opposed to race. Poor people commit more crimes, period. That fact that you and your ilk can't see past race shows again, your prime motivation is racism, and for you...sexism, which we have already discussed.
With regards to black and single parent households - A few things changed to promote this. One is the war on drugs, which wasn't widely pursued aside from a few propaganda films in the 40s, until the 60s. People have a tendency to use available drugs not to expand their mind, but to numb their emotion pain. Drugs became much more widely available since 1960, the economic disadvantages of black communities didn't, and the stronger law enforcement push and 3 strike rules has led to incredible numbers of incarcerated people, black disproportionally. It is widely accepted that blacks will get prison time for what whites would get probation for.
We have made a for profit prison system that has created a prison lobby that is one of the largest lobbies in the country, which utilize essentially slave labor in said prisons, this providing an incentive to incarcerate as many as possible. Couple that with how much the government pays for each prisoner (avg $35k/yr) and spends on average ($4k/yr). It is a for profit industry now...particularly since 1980 as the graph below demonstrates.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:US_incarceration...
Now aside from the race issue, poverty is the real issue. In 1964, 30% of poor children were born to single family households. Since the late 70s, it has been around 60%. The poor went to Vietnam, not the rich. Vietnam essentially ruined a generation of men who went...sure, some made it out fine, but we all see the countless numbers who never did. When did they get back? The late 70s. How many men died each month during the war? How many came back in shambles? When your father comes back as a heroin addict, how do you think that affects the kids, which got hooked on the crack push of the late 80s and did the same thing. Poverty is the issue, not race. The poor have gotten much less since 1980 than beforehand. A no-way-out mentality leads to drug dependance, departure, and self banishment. Those low level jobs have been shipped out of the country by Republican ideals, and then corporations literally paid for shipping away said jobs. Additionally, divorce is readily accepted in this society... as opposed to the sticking it out under extreme duress of the 50s.
You ignore segregation, the fact that lynchings were regular, minorities were treated like 2nd class people regularly, and you actually endorse it! It is not shocking really. We all knew your underlying motivations, but still.
Walk outside and ask 10 women if they want to be locked into the household for the rest of their lives, legally raped by their husbands if he wanted at any time, beaten without recourse, and limited to secretary positions only where they can get sexually harassed with again, no recourse...or live in today, and come back to me. BTW - Asking 80 yr old women isn't viable.
As for your study- you are lying - AGAIN.
"The GSS contains a standard 'core' of demographic, behavioral, and attitudinal questions, plus topics of special interest. Many of the core questions have remained unchanged since 1972 to facilitate time-trend studies as well as replication of earlier findings. The GSS takes the pulse of America, and is a unique and valuable resource. It has tracked the opinions of Americans over the last four decades."
http://www3.norc.org/GSS+Website/
Seriously, how can you push your alleged Christianity so often yet be so bigoted and lie so often? 1972 isn't 1950.
Additionally, it has absolutely no mention of "happiness." One thing it DOES have is:
Results: Women Should Take Care of Home Not Country BY Gender
1972-
MALE FEMALE TOTAL
AGREE 35.0 35.0 35.0
DISAGREE 65.0 65.0 65.0
Total Percent 100.0 100.0 100.0
(Weighted N) (2,687) (3,163) (5,850)
(Unweighted N) (2,595) (3,254) (5,849)
Quick Table: GSS 1972-2010 Cumulative Datafile
Results: Women Should Take Care of Home Not Country BY Gender (Percents)
MALE FEMALE TOTAL
AGREE 24.1 23.2 23.6
DISAGREE 75.9 76.8 76.4
Total Percent 100.0 100.0 100.0
(Weighted N) (10,199) (12,411) (22,610)
(Unweighted N) (9,747) (12,791) (22,538)
Sir, you flat out lie. You push "white right." You push chauvinism and believe everyone other than a white man should serve white men. Very let down James. Very poor.
James, once again you are trying to speak for women, trying to define what they want and what is important to them? They had too much time on their hands so they wanted their civil rights and rightful place in the world? That is really what you think?
Brother...once again, you ignored the minority issue, and shoved in quite a massive dose of sexism. Dude, I am playing quite nice with you...you have to admit. In this single post, you have displayed your motive for your belief window, and it is sexist and racist, in favor of a time when white men controlled everything and got everything they wanted, while everyone else didn't. I do believe that most conservatives feel this way, and it is their underlying motive. This hub and your responses truly reveal your principles and motivations, and they are not good dude. Not good at all.
13.7% of black completed high school in 1950. Today, 84% complete high school.
36% of white kids completed high school in 1950, while today it is at 87%.
Poverty has actually gone down
http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/poverty/data/histor...
http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/poverty/data/histor...
Crime has gone up, but surprisingly not by as much as I would have thought. The statistics are easily looked up. However, that doesn't take into account the making if drugs illegal, and the culture of violence that has grown up around that effort.
You make statements that are unverifiable, making them lies...like "women were, as a group, far happier in the 1950s than they are today."
First, you can't measure that. Secondly, where would you get that info? Third, who in the world are you, a white man who wants to go back to a time where they had limited rights, to claim you understand their happiness quotient? Do you have any idea how insulting that is, how demeaning and how condescending that is of you?
You make egocentric statements about your family as if it were a measure. It isn't. Nobody cares if you aunt was happy, except you and your aunt. Your family bred you. There is an obvious perspective there.
You flat out ignore the minority issue, just skate over it as if it didn't matter. The transparency you believe you display isn't so transparent my friend.
Finally, I list how we as a country have improved the rights of minorities and women, and you compare that to Stalin slaughtering millions for socialism. I fear that the veil of underlying bigotry has shown through James. Not a good couple of posts, not a good hub. Your claims are easily disproven and your perspective that you basically think that YOU, a white man, should run things, should have all of the rights, and if allowed to do so, everyone else would be happier, is frightening. Your real thoughts came through on this one my dear Watkins. Not good dude, not good.
Oppression and rape of women, minorities, in favor of purely and only white men...yeah, great values. The 50s were a horrible time, and horrible people want it back.
Great article! I agree with your points. Our country is at a new low because of a lack of values amongst other things. In the 50’s people had the attitude of country first and today they have the attitude of me, me, me…….
Very revealing hub. I disagree with every single point, but I have been saying that conservatives want the 50s back and that's it, for years.
Things you forgot that happened in the 50s:
-Women were treated like property
-Spousal abuse was allowed
-Child abuse was allowed
-Segregation
-Minorities were ignored by the police, except when they were beating them
-Acceptance of groups like the KKK
-50% of black families lived below the poverty line
-Minorities had to endure horrible working conditions
-People of color were not allowed to take part in the American Dream
-The minimum wage was $1
-From 1950 to 1959, 257,455 cases of polio were reported, mostly in children; 11,957 died of it
-A husband raping his wife was not considered a crime
-Women were limited to positions like secretary, with the labor force being 5/2...even then, they had to endure constant sexual harassment with no recourse
-If women wanted a career or an education, they were considered to be less than true women
-no air conditioning
What you are really saying is life was better in the 50s for white men like you, and nobody else, and you like it that way. That is really the heart of it. Everyone else "knew their place", and that "place" was below you.
To your other points:
You mention the dot.com bubble and leave out the S&L Crisis, Enron & WorldCom, and then the Great Recession. You link a single issue to a particular time, and ignore the others around it...what really led to these were the elimination of regulatory provisions on the market, which is an institutional part of your neocon ideology, beginning with Reagan. You are being misleading, and I fear, purposefully. Not good my dear Watkins, not good.
You claim the Wall Street power brokers are Dems? Are you out of your mind? Wait a second Watkins, you are being purposefully dishonest here. Dems want regulation on the market, want those very power brokers indicted for their fraud, to increase their taxes, and stop them from doing things like offshoring jobs and abusing the corporate tax loopholes and offshoring of revenue to avoid tax liability...it is the Republican agenda to fight every one of these things, and by definition, defend and protect these very guys. The fact that you try to project on this issue is extraordinarily dishonest. Maybe I was wrong about you.
Do I need to go any further? Really?
Mr Watkins,
I just read your article on the moral decay of America whilst pining for the days 50s. Whilst you make a lot of good points, there are a few things you glaringly missed out.
1) Your deified America of the 50s was racially bigoted and killed black people and treated any form of racial, sexual non-conformist as scum. Civil rights, women rights were trampled upon all the while maintaining a veneer of prayerful, Christianity. How can such a wicked society be classified as christian? And you wonder why the world reacted with such extreme behaviour during the woodstock generation. You were all blind to the glaring evil of your "perfect society of the 50s" which is why you get today's extreme moral decay.
2) Your bigotry and small minded understanding of the world leads you to conclude that multiculturism is bad and "immigrants are bringing down American moral standards". (okay i paraphrase). Wow...you are a fool indeed!!!. Have you left this country at all? Asian, Africans, Mexicans, all have scoiety's with strong family units and it is stupid and arrogant to imagine they are destroying American moral values. You may have a thing or two to learn.
3) America was the richest country in the world by default. Europe and Asia destroyed themselves in world war 2, their smart scientists came over here and helped build America and because there was no war fought on American soil, your infrastructure was intact. In a stroke you became richer than Britain and Russia. Have you forgotten Einstein etc were all immigrants. The jews that built this country's financial, legal, scientific and entertainment industrys were all mass immigrants post 1945. Oh you forget that, you only worry about the Mexicans who will do work Americans feel to proud to do.
Look I agree with a lot of your points, but your bigotry is betrayed by the things you ignored to mention. Oh by the way, your President is a product of multiculturism. Deal with it...you bigot!
Hello James A Watkins, This is a superb hub point for point. I know for a fact that America can build better cars but for the Unions. I know that fast food and irresponsible parents have allowed there children to become obese and the family that once would eat at a dinner table at a certain time is in many case long gone. The schools encourage medication versus teaching. Once the most powerful and respected nation on the planet is now a bullet train on a downward spiral without brakes or a conductor. Lord help us all. Anytime an entity creates a situation to remove the male as the Head of the household, as Jim Carey said in the movie the mask, "hold on to your lug-nuts", this is and has been a complete disaster for that particular community. The young woman with the two kids, what will those kids have to endure during their life time? You create some of the most thought provoking hub, keep up the good work James A Watkins
Times have changed. I hope we all do what is best for our country. We do need to remember the value of values. God has always been a fairly good measure of what right and wrong should be defined as being. At least I believe so. Great hub. It sort of makes me think of the importance of Castor Oil. No one ever liked the stuff, but they said it was good for you. Our country needs a big dose of Castor Oil. God Bless You.
I'm flabbergasted. I remember the 1950s and 1960s when I was told that "girls' dreams don't come true." I was advised to take typing and steno so I could be a secretary. I wanted to be an astronaut, even though women were not allowed to be an astronaut. I didn't fly in space but thank goodness I didn't listen to the negativity and prejudice back then. The past wasn't all roses and the present is tough. I research my family history because I appreciate the struggles my ancestors went through. And no matter how hard one works and follows the rules, there's always someone willing to take it away -- and get away with it because it's legal. Life is hard. We need each other.
Very well written I might add! I may be young, but a part of my family still act the way they did in the '50's, and I agree with it all. You need to make yourself worth something. Strong family ties, taking care of yourself, and working hard for a living. I really wish that America was back to the way it used to be. No broken families, no more being broke and self-loathing. Thank you for writing this article. I love your work :)
This is a wake up call. A very useful and important hub. It is obvious that the easy life is not working out in America. The cost of wars in life, and in human flesh were and still are and on going expense as well. I hope our country is willing to make serious changes. God Bless You.
We need to acknowledge the contributions of the ACLU; we surely couldn't have reached this "pinnacle" of character without them. Also, a long list of various worldwide trade agreements seems worth mentioning. It turns out that our DEALS have unwittingly left us at what seems to be an insurmountable disadvantage.
James,
Excellent hub! The hub has brought about a lot of thinking and some of the sharp minds like Opinion Duck and Moonchild. I do find it interesting that Moonchild seems to take offense to anything you mention about women. For the sake of equality one might consider she would support a woman's choice in all areas of life, including staying home with the kids. One would think she would be against any woman being villified for making a choice. If Moonchild is assuming that the women of the 50's didn't make the choice perhaps she is seeling them short.
The government is definitely the problem here. The Progressive movemnent started with President Wilson. It should be looked at that while we focus on Communism or Marxism the Progressives will continue their agenda.
The greed of today has no boundaries or parties. THe same goes for liberals as we have Liberal Republicans and Democrats.
Perhaps we should decide what we really want the country to look like and how to best insure all have the opportunity to pursue a quality life or not.
Is the problem people want some sort of garauntee that life will be filled with cars and mansions. Do they want to make sure that no one has more even if they work hard and honestly for it? Are there people who have done it wrong and at the expense of others? Sure, but nopt everyone did it that way. Do we destroy the system because of the few. If a couple of tomato plants fail will you pluck the whole field.
Keep talking, keep arguing, keep debating just don't sit on your butt and do nothing.
Hello James - wonderful article! Most of the events you lay out were engineered. People vilify McCarthy but he was accurate in his accusation of communists in our government, which when accused then turned the whole thing into a witch hunt throughout the population and especially of Hollywood personalities so as to gain sensational national attention. But he was, for the most part, correct. The degradation of America's values was an inside job.
For some reason (divine inspiration I call it) I read two interesting books at the same time. One was Betty Friedan's "The Feminist Mystique" and the other was "The Bell Jar" by Sylvia Plath. Both books outline the effect of certain political directions determined upon for the coercion of women in the 1950's - social engineering, if you will. Friedan speaks about the pervasive "norms" that were established and slowly developed as "common knowledge" as to what women could and could not do in a society, mostly boiling down to the general concept that a woman's intelligence couldn't go much beyond deciding which dish soap was best "for her family's well-being". Friedan outlines the entire tactical picture in wonderful detail, and then drops the ball entirely at the end with her conclusion that this was all just "coincidence". Even after she herself presents mountains of evidence to the contrary.
Plath writes of her personal experience as a victim who has been caught in this manipulation and it's effects on her mind and life. Sadly, she never came to understand what was actually happening to her and in a later decade, committed suicide.
My rather lengthy point here is that we have been sabotaged from within by a ruthless group of power-mad monsters who can't bear to see a free, prosperous and independent people due to their own spiritual emptiness. Hence their scorn and derision over anything to do with God.
The only way to deal with a rabid dog is to shoot it. As Ben Franklin said, "Freedom often depends upon the actions of a few rough men". I've come to agree.
Excellent hub!
Well-written piece, James.. To understand the arguments put forth by the “Generation Zero” documentary, it is crucial to distinguish between the actual Baby Boom Generation (born 1942-1954) vs. Generation Jones (1954-1965). GenJones was originally lumped in with the Boomers, but is now generally seen by experts as a separate generation. Understanding the differences between these two generations is central to comprehending this documentary.
The post-WWII demographic boom in births is one thing, the cultural generations born during that era is another. Generations are a function of the common formative experiences of its members, not the fertility rates of its parents. And most analysts now see generations as getting shorter (usually 10-15 years now), partly because of the acceleration of culture. Many experts now believe it breaks down more or less this way:
DEMOGRAPHIC boom in babies: 1946-1964
Baby Boom GENERATION: 1942-1953
Generation Jones: 1954-1965
Generation X: 1966-1978
Generation Y/Millennials: 1979-1993
Google Generation Jones, and you’ll see it’s gotten lots of media attention, and many top commentators from many top publications and networks (Washington Post, Time magazine, NBC, Newsweek, ABC, etc.) now specifically use this term. In fact, the Associated Press' annual Trend Report chose the Rise of Generation Jones as the #1 trend of 2009.
Here's a page with a good overview of recent media interest in GenJones: http://generationjones.com/2009latest.html
Here is an op-ed in USA TODAY about how the 1960s impacted Jonesers fundamentally different than Boomers:
Hi Sir James,
It is scary but this is just starting, fasten your seatbelt for a rocky ride. Technology brought about by capitalism has brought so much change in our society -- the media is one agent of change. Gone are the days when we value family and togetherness, all what is left is the deterioration of values which we upheld for so long. We need moral revolution of some sort, but my thinking is that this is cyclical and when people are disgruntled, the change will come, People will say enough is enough but I dont know if I will still be alive by then. It takes centuries for moral revolution to finally sort itself out. Laws should be stricter, the choice of people to govern should be one and the main agents of change--the media is a great factor as well.
Cultural and moral change takes time and it is evolving, I believe it is based on economy and governance and world order as well. The dominant culture -- prevailing which is individualism and selfishness --- is going haywire through the commercialization of everything, it is down to greed-- and capitalism shall crumble I dont know whats next,
Thank you sir, Maita
Ok just to clarify.. you have a picture of an american flag with a swastica on it, with the caption "WHAT SOCIAL LIBERALS THINK OF AMERICA" .. Have you seen any photos of "Tea Party" ers.. Are there not signs with him as Hitler?.. Pssst ( your hypocrisy is showing)
very well stated MNichopolis!
When I was a kid, the American Dream was to work hard, play by the rules, and earn a home to live in. Today it seems, people feel entitled to a house (and rumor has it they are practically 'given' a house - no income or even identity check).
There's an old saying: "Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish, and you feed him for life"
Fifty years ago, most would have focused on the latter part of that statement. However, today it seems most people believe they are entitled to that fish.
And as this system becomes increasingly unsustainable, and people end up fighting for real food, we're all going to find out who knows how to fish (and feed their families) and who doesn't - the hard way.
Perhaps it's not too late. Perhaps we can pull back from this brink. But we need to realize, only the fishermen can save us - but only if we're willing to learn to fish.
I've not seen the documentary so I can't comment on the accuracy of your review, but there's no doubt that liberalism has contributed significantly to the decline of America.
Some here have mentioned other reasons that are equally compelling; you've made it clear that Generation Zero focuses on the role of Social Liberalism.
One additional comment and I'm done. The damning change in our immigration policies have taken us from bad to worse. What I hear from some of my clients (and yes, I keep my mouth shut) is that these illegals come in just so they can have a better life. SO WHAT!! Those who don't belong here don't belong here.
We've left our borders open as if we live in the early 1800's (post War of 1812) while we've got a world full of enemies who really do want to see us fall, or at the very least they bring with them poisons to sell. Must I name them-oh, please don't force me to do it...Communist China, Russia, Iran, Venezuela, Cuba, Libya, Bolivia, N. Korea etc. Add to that A.Q., Hezbollah, Taliban, Hamas and various offshoots of these groups. The drug cartels, Los Zetas and MS-13 help round out those among the innocent illegals who break in looking for a better life.
The much maligned Minute Men desire only to have a secure America, yet they are hated by Social Liberals and those like John McCain who ally with them. Many are calling good evil and evil good-by their own words they proclaim their folly.
Another well written hub, James! While I disagree slightly with your take on feminism, I agree with everything else wholeheartedly. I think it is possible for women to strike a balance between being a professional, self sufficient woman and still providing a loving home for her husband and children. (In fact, in this economy,it is imperative. Without my income, my family would not make it, yet I am fortunate to be able to work from home and make a good living). I also feel it is important for women to do so without losing themselves in the process. I do, however, feel this can be done without acting like a harlot!
I completely agree with your stance that there is no longer any social responsibility. People no longer have a work ethic, because hard work is no longer rewarded.
As far as the "dumbing down" of society, this is becoming so evident to me as I see my children stumble through the public school system. My 11 year old daughter is allowed to retake assignments and test until she gets an A. This infuriates me to no end. She is not being taught to learn the material. She is taught to get it done quickly, and then just re do it when the grades come out. I feel this generation is going to be completely and utterly useless and ignorant by the time they hit the workforce. I personally think that the government wants its citizens uneducated and ignorant. It will be a whole lot easier to pull those puppet strings if we don't know enough to protest.
Hi James
I agree it is the interpretation of my words "less fortunate" which matters . I would not consider a person who had decided not to work and to live on handouts to be less fortunate than myself but I would consider a person unable to work to be less fortunate than me although they may not necessarily need any assistance from society to support themselves. I am certainly less fortunate in terms of monetary wealth than a very large number of people but I would not expect nor look for any support.
How would you define a "a poor life choice"?
I'm so pleased that your wife remains in good health.
Amber
Can't stay humble for too long. I think the problem is lack of religion rather then what religion is the nation. All religions should lead to the same 'conclusions' just on different days of the year for a similar cause.
I do agree that when a nation counts the number of those wounded and fallen, the majority is the faith that had founded the free voice of America. If it wasn't, we would have had to hide the voice of the truth under the shrouds of mystery.
My gratitude for the time and place.
Have a great week(end).
While we accept and allow freedom of religion, and I do as well as the country does and has nothing will ever change the FACT that the United States of America was founded on Christian values and the blood of Christians was spilled in the fight for the American way of life that all enjoy. Since that time things have changed and there exists others in the military, hence the bottom line on a dog tag is reserved for religion so appropriate customs can be met in the event of serious injury or death. God Bless America!
James - You could never be ineloquent.
Israel IS a Jewish Country. The United States is SUPPOSED to be a melting pot of races and religions, prides itself on that. Therefore by focusing on any ONE religion we negate the others. Jews, Hindus, Muslims, Buddhists,etc. The fact that the country is mostly Christian does not mean we favor that religion over any other. That goes against what we spout about what a level playing field America is for all people and eludes to one specific religion being the more important or relevant. In Israel it is, that is the whole point of Israel, that is not the whole point of America.
James, I salute you and your work on this subject(s) you sure shook some buzzards out of the trees and made me add a few to the list of people who can kiss my ass, LOL. While they cry there are more young men and women dodging or catching bullets. I personally caught 3 and the '50s was a great time in history and the women that stayed home, like my Mom, made family dinners with each and every member together at 5pm verses now 2 parents work and expect that schools and day cares raise their children and then wonder why their kids turn out to be lazy, stupid, jail birds. I was raised by my parents and though I strayed from the path I returned to the teachings of my Father. Anyone who comes to a Christian nation should expect Christian values to be prevalent just as I expect Judaism to be prevalent in Israel. If I remember right, this nation played a major role in saving many a Jew from getting roasted or other methods of genocide, so if they are crying about America they are free to leave last I heard.
Good job, and thanks for your time! May God Bless all that you do and May he cure your wife. If I might inquire as to how she is doing? Let her know some of us keep her in prayer.
Dusty
James - this hub rocks. You've stated all the things I agree with, but much better than I could ever put together! Thanks for a very well-written, informative, and entertaining hub! You rock. BTW, happy belated birthday - I read your bday hub that was the featured hub for awhile!
well, as someone who never asked for a handout (but who really could have used one), and as someone who hates political correctness, and as someone who managed to pay my own way through college and become a successful professional without any help from the government, and as someone whose mind is boggled by the astronomical amount of taxpayer money being spent by the President, including a "$10 billion budget increase ($1 billion a year for 10 years) to help provide nutritious school lunches to those who qualify" as a means of combating childhood obesity, i agree with much of what you say in this hub. we used to fear government becoming "Big Brother", when it is now actually becoming "Big Mother", making sure we don't get our tender feelings hurt and that we eat all our vegetables, etc. (and don't get me started on subsidies)...
courageous hub, as usual. bravo James, well done. rating this UP
We ARE morally, culturally, economically, and financially bankrupt!! Pride comes before the fall, and well, let's be honest, americans have prided themselves for years on living the "American Dream." The problem is.....the True American Dream was demoralized by Social Liberals where family values and work ethics took a back seat to Feminism, Gay Rights, Welfare, Medicare, and the "Give Me" syndrome. Unfortunately the Baby Boomers were the last generation to truly care about what this country was founded on....as the rest of the nation has became lax, apathetic, and as you stated narcissistic. The 50's are forever a bye-gone era. Where do we go from here? Thanks James for another eye-opening and enlightening Hub!! Excellent Work!! God Bless!
A very thoughtful hub James, you are certainly top of the pops
Excellent work James. It seems like every aspect of society is moving in the wrong direction. Will we have a great awakening? It looks unlikely, generation Obama doesn't give me hope.
James, what wonderful insite you've pointed out in this Hub. You seem to have a gret way of laying out the facts so easily. Keep it up.
Great Hub! What always scares me is that personal responsibility is almost extinct. Take some responsibility for yourself and grow up! I admire my parents and grandparents so much that it's difficult to understand people who want to destroy the ties with the past and what a family use to represent.
James,
A very good in depth blog. I believe we are in Spiritual Warfare as in the "Screw tape Letters" by C.S. Lewis.
The blind leading the blinder. And to think this couldn't be planned ? On reading this book, you would question the antics of the would be "forces"..
Hello James,
This is an interesting hub you've written. However I can't seem to tell where your opinions start and those of the authors and producers of Generation Zero begin.
Secondly, if you trace the movement of manufacturing from the US to Asia, you'll find that it begins in the aftermath of WWII, when US companies failed to respond to Total Quality Management and similar efforts led by the late, esteemed Dr. Deming.
Instead, Dr. Deming went to Japan at the request of the US government to help with the rebuilding efforts. Japanese companies welcomed and embraced Deming's concepts, telling Dr. Deming that they could fully enact TQM in less than 10 years.
He wrote that he knew he was looking at the demise of American manufacturing, but that US companies brought it on upon themselves through their greed, arrogance and shortsightedness.
And it is these same qualities that created the meltdown, not the pervasiveness of Social Liberal political and social ideas. Greed, arrogance and shortsightedness led noted conservative, and no small number of liberal economists, planners and even former Federal Reserve Chairman, Mr. Alan Greenspan, to assert that removing Glass-Steagal and other legislative restraints on the finance industry would be beneficial, and any disruptions in the market would self correct in favor of the investor. Mr. Greenspan, with 20-20 hindsight, has since admitted that this idea was grossly wrong.
Greed, arrogance and shortsightedness were also the root causes of the Great Depression, and legislation such as Glass-Steagal protected individuals, small investors, also known as private citizens, from the ravages of the unbridled greed of Wall Street, insurance companies and big banks. It is no small coincidence that this meltdown happened within a few years of the complete repeal of Glass-Steagal.
As a noted conservative blogger, I would hope that you would, in economic policy at least, rediscover your conservative roots, and look to support appropriate oversight of the financial and investment sectors, so that we citizens can trust those who handle OUR money to handle it CONSERVATIVELY.
Good grief - what a world we live in, eh? I am all for multiculturism and all this other 'stuff' that has evolved, but when did we decide us 'other Americans' had to learn everyone else's language and customs? We won't even exist after a while in my humble opinion - and the other part of that whole picture in my even humbler opinion is are other countries bending over backwards to change if WE move there? I think not....they will just most likely get rid of us! Great hub and great photos!
I'm glad you clarified in one of your comments that you were reffering to the campus radicals of the Woodstock generation.
Ialways think of myself as a hippy of the late 60s, but my ideals were love and peace, best known as the Golden Rule from Jesus uYour hub was excellent and a little scary because I see it as so true.I use some points from your hubs to explain things to my grandchildren , because you put it so well.
Very true & very intersting hub! I love the fact about the family dinner & the picture. I blame the labor unions, the credit card institutions, & the people applying for them, the liberal movement, & the fact people sit back & let everyone come over to do what we are too lazy to do! Hard work, values, morals, & helping your neighbor out is what built this country & it all stopped around the time the drugs hit around the Vietnam & Woodstock era. Awesome Hub!
James I just wanted to come back and say that this Generation Zero has something new to look forward to. It seems the FDA this week passed the new chip law, implementation into humans with or without parental consent.
I had to read it twice, here is the link: http://biggovernment.com/
Another thought provoking and contraversial hub, James. My view is that it is a loss of civic responsibility and pride in one self, combined with declining moral values throughout a large part of society which has caused our current decline. I find it difficult to see how one group in society can be held responsible for an individual's decision to be a drain on society rather than a positive contributor. I was raised to believe that as a society we should protect and care for the vunerable and those less fortunate than ourselves but this did not make me decide to become a mother to fatherless children or to look for handouts to support me.
Amber
Great hub! You've put a lot of thought into this, and you've painted a true picture of what America is turning into. It is so very sad that we have come to this, this socialism and rejection of righteousness.
I think the rebellion of the '60s was a huge turning point for us. Although, I believe we have to look at the previous generations as well. Was there hypocrisy - nice smiles on the outside and rottenness within? I think that before the complete destruction of American values in the '60s, there was an undermining of faith that was hardly seen. It's taken more than fifty years to get to where we are today.
The beautiful charism and gift of femininity traded for -all of this.
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