The general decline in standards today

"The whole thing is just a bit of British eccentricity."

Oh dear. If you have to tell people you are eccentric you really aren't.

"The toilets in the tearoom have been turned into thrones..."

For some reason I get the feeling that Mrs. Atkinson isn't quite the Royalist she makes out to be.

I wonder if the paper is printed with royals too....

Peregrine said:

Good for you, Mrs. Atkinson - it's nice to see someone standing up for what they believe in!

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That, of course, could be applied to both sides.... albeit, I'll allow, that one lot were sitting down for what they believed in.

AntonAAK said:

"The whole thing is just a bit of British eccentricity."

Oh dear. If you have to tell people you are eccentric you really aren't.

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Bingo! I've never met a genuine eccentric who was remotely aware of their eccentricity. On the other hand, I have had the misfortune to encounter an awful lot of the most tedious bores of the "I'm mad, me!" persuasion.

LizzieMaine said:

"The toilets in the tearoom have been turned into thrones..."

For some reason I get the feeling that Mrs. Atkinson isn't quite the Royalist she makes out to be.

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lol

Flat Foot Floey said:

I wonder if the paper is printed with royals too....

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Ha.... Back in the day you used to be able to buy toilet roll with Thatcher's face on it, but I've never seen one with a Windsor on it. Course, pre late 2000, the Treason Act could still (theoretically, at least) have been used on that.

The decline in general standards today? 'grief, where to start?! Probably, in a nut shell, in Individualism; which has lead to generations both alienated from those who came before (as we are told, usually by people with something to sell, that whatever came before is inferior) and from each other (as the same lack of trust divides people here and now as much as it divides us from those who came before us). The result is a loss of tradition, of duty/service and of authority, and thus of the notion of manners being anything of value in a world of "do your own thang" and "let it all hang out"....whilst the best of us were slaughtered by the million in two world wars.

We were spoiled, like children in a sweet shop told that they can have anything and as much of it as they want. Everyone's "entitled" now. Nobody though seems to have responsibilities anymore. And now we are all feeling sick but still keep saying that "avarice" is "social mobility", that "pride" is "self-esteem" and that "lust" is "sexual liberty and fulfillment". We threw our grandparents values out when we were told they were foolish. Who were the real fools in that....

Sorry, bit of a soapbox issue for me...

Peregrine said:

More detail here:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-tyne-18141421

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My view is that even if one is not into the Royal thing I've always believed that when in Londinium to do as the Londineaii do, so to speak.
don't blame me, Latin class was nap time for me.

In the States, if one doesn't care to salute the flag or stand for the Anthem, their right not to do so is fully protected by law, and has been since 1943. But sometimes it's in their best interest to quietly excuse themselves before the ceremony to avoid unpleasant confrontations with the sort of people who believe in Freedom For Me But Not For Thee.

I was just looking over some photos of the Des Moines IA Public School District from the last 100 years (it's their anniversary) and I kept commenting to myself, "These little kids look like little adults." These were pictures of 10-year-olds up through high school. They were holding themselves with a certain dignity and air, like little men and women.

It had me thinking. Perhaps the mantra, "They're just kids," has changed the way we deal with our children, and therefore changed the way our children act. My grandparents were expected to be adults and this expectation required other adults to help them along the way in their moments of weakness.

When I was raised, the same thing applied - I wasn't coddled, I was supposed to be able to take care of myself and my sisters. Period. I was expected to be present at family functions, smile for pictures, stay out of the adults' hair, and participate in discussion if someone called on me. I used to kind of resent it, I was a sensetive kid - you might even say may family's actions were "cruel". Looking back now, it makes perfect sense and I thank my lucky stars.

Are we coddling our children too much? And has that created generation after generation of adult-children?

I like to hope that our cultural standards have only changed over the last fifty years...as opposed to having generally declined. While I'm not exactly Methuselah, I'm at least old enough to compare a few elements of our current culture to the culture that existed in, say, the sixties. So...I know I’ve I've seen a dramatic change in the typical composition of the American family…and perhaps not for the better. And I think I’ve seen a general decline in the amount of respect folks have for themselves and others like themselves. And I know I see much less blind adherence to social dogma….but…

...I’m old enough to remember going to our local movie theater and seeing Beaufort’s African American citizens sitting in the theater’s balcony…away from the white citizens. And I know this is almost cliché, but African Americans in Beaufort weren’t allowed to drink from “our” water fountains, either. I saw those signs with my own ten-year-old eyes. And I remember one of my classmates getting pregnant during our senior year, and her quietly disappearing from school and not graduating with our class. And I remember attending a segregated school until I was in the seventh grade. And I remember two of my best friend’s dads dying of alcoholism…because there was little help for alcoholics in those days. In a similar same vein, I remember one of my closest friends losing both of his parents to suicide…five years apart…because there wasn’t much help for mentally ill people either. Good families, back then, didn’t talk about their alcoholism and mental illness...much less seek help for it.

I’ll spare you the intolerance of homosexuals, the intolerance of religions other than Christianity, the hidden spousal abuse, the geographical pockets of abject poverty and so on. As a kid, I don't remember seeing much of that stuff. But it was there.

I understand that some must think I’m whistling my way through the graveyard, but I like to hope that society is generally moving forward. Yes, there are some crappy things going on today. There were some pretty crappy things going on fifty years ago, too. I remember a few of them. In fact, maybe the truth is that some things are better and some are worse. And maybe in the long run, it just all nets out.

AF

LizzieMaine said:

In the States, if one doesn't care to salute the flag or stand for the Anthem, their right not to do so is fully protected by law, and has been since 1943. But sometimes it's in their best interest to quietly excuse themselves before the ceremony to avoid unpleasant confrontations with the sort of people who believe in Freedom For Me But Not For Thee.

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Thank you, Witnesses of Jehovah!

William Stratford said:

We threw our grandparents values out when we were told they were foolish.

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Not all of us did. Some of us kept our mouths shut and our ears and eyes open, and realized that perhaps our generation *didn't* have all the answers. I remember being slapped across the mouth so hard I saw stars by my grandmother for using the "n-word" in her presence -- and yet she was of a generation which my generation kept insisting was irredeemably racist. I remember being supported and encouraged and sustained thruout my childhood by members of that generation, while my generation kept insisting that generation was motivated solely by greed and acquisitiveness. I remember being taught by that generation that the best thing you could do for any other person is keep your nose out of their personal affairs -- despite the fact that my generation kept insisting that their generation was made up of blue-nosed intolerant busybodies. I remember my generation saying a lot of things, but the older I get the more I realize they should have talked less and actually taken the time to get to know the generation they were condemning.

Atticus Finch said:

...I’m old enough to remember going to our local movie theater and seeing Beaufort’s African American citizens sitting in the theater’s balcony…away from the white citizens. And I know this is almost cliché, but African Americans in Beaufort weren’t allowed to drink from “our” water fountains, either. I saw those signs with my own ten-year-old eyes.

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I'm in no position to comment on that, as although racism is found across the world we never (iirc) had that situation here in England.

And I remember one of my classmates getting pregnant during our senior year, and her quietly disappearing from school and not graduating with our class.

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Whereas now a higher proportion would probably be pregnant or have gone through an abortion....

And I remember two of my best friend’s dads dying of alcoholism…because there was little help for alcoholics in those days.

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Whereas now, at least here in England, public drunkeness has gotten to such a level that many of our highstreets are best avoided on a friday and saturday night.

In a similar same vein, I remember one of my closest friends losing both of his parents to suicide…five years apart…because there wasn’t much help for mentally ill people either.

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Whilst now they get pumped full of whichever profit-making substance is being pushed by pharaceutical corporations through the GPs.

I’ll spare you the intolerance of homosexuals, the intolerance of religions other than Christianity, the hidden spousal abuse, the geographical pockets of abject poverty and so on. As a kid, I don't remember seeing much of that stuff. But it was there.

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Whereas today Christianity has been added to the list of religions not tolerated (albeit through mockery), whilst much of the alleged spousal abuse was apparently propaganda from the Temperance movement, and the geographical pockets of abject poverty still exist...they just tend to be abroad in the countries that people buy their imported cheap electronics from...

Yes, all eras have had their problems...but what we face today is not so much the ingrained issues of the past but rather the gradual (and in some cases anything but gradual) disintegration of social cohesion and neighbourliness across the board. People typically show more interest in the antics of some soap character than the elderly housebound person living 2 doors away, who now also has a greater possibility of being set upon by some chavvy thug seeking what little she has.

We have lost a damn site more than we have gained.

LizzieMaine said:

Not all of us did. Some of us kept our mouths shut and our ears and eyes open, and realized that perhaps our generation *didn't* have all the answers. I remember being slapped across the mouth so hard I saw stars by my grandmother for using the "n-word" in her presence -- and yet she was of a generation which my generation kept insisting was irredeemably racist. I remember being supported and encouraged and sustained thruout my childhood by members of that generation, while my generation kept insisting that generation was motivated solely by greed and acquisitiveness. I remember being taught by that generation that the best thing you could do for any other person is keep your nose out of their personal affairs -- despite the fact that my generation kept insisting that their generation was made up of blue-nosed intolerant busybodies. I remember my generation saying a lot of things, but the older I get the more I realize they should have talked less and actually taken the time to get to know the generation they were condemning.

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Indeed

Undertow said:

I was just looking over some photos of the Des Moines IA Public School District from the last 100 years (it's their anniversary) and I kept commenting to myself, "These little kids look like little adults." These were pictures of 10-year-olds up through high school. They were holding themselves with a certain dignity and air, like little men and women.

Are we coddling our children too much? And has that created generation after generation of adult-children?

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I was just about to say that we now have adults who slouch and shuffle about like petulant children.

William Stratford said:

I'm in no position to comment on that, as although racism is found across the world we never (iirc) had that situation here in England.



Whereas now a higher proportion would probably be pregnant or have gone through an abortion....



Whereas now, at least here in England, public drunkeness has gotten to such a level that many of our highstreets are best avoided on a friday and saturday night.



Whilst now they get pumped full of whichever profit-making substance is being pushed by pharaceutical corporations through the GPs.



Whereas today Christianity has been added to the list of religions not tolerated (albeit through mockery), whilst much of the alleged spousal abuse was apparently propaganda from the Temperance movement, and the geographical pockets of abject poverty still exist...they just tend to be abroad in the countries that people buy their imported cheap electronics from...

Yes, all eras have had their problems...but what we face today is not so much the ingrained issues of the past but rather the gradual (and in some cases anything but gradual) disintegration of social cohesion and neighbourliness across the board. People typically show more interest in the antics of some soap character than the elderly housebound person living 2 doors away, who now also has a greater possibility of being set upon by some chavvy thug seeking what little she has.

We have lost a damn site more than we have gained.

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I haven’t been to England in quite some time. I’m sorry to hear that things are deteriorating so quickly there. Anyhow, I cling to my little hope about society moving forward. Even if it turns out that I’m wrong, it makes getting up in the mornings easier.

AF

William Stratford said:

Whereas today Christianity has been added to the list of religions not tolerated (albeit through mockery)

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I seem to recall news stories about people getting in trouble for bringing or shipping a Bible to Canada because it was deemed "hate literature."

V.C. Brunswick said:

I seem to recall news stories about people getting in trouble for bringing or shipping a Bible to Canada because it was deemed "hate literature."

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I see that you follow "World Net Daily".

vitanola said:

I see that you follow "World Net Daily".

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Who? Moi? lol

V.C. Brunswick said:

Who? Moi? lol

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Good!

Atticus Finch said:

I haven’t been to England in quite some time. I’m sorry to hear that things are deteriorating so quickly there. Anyhow, I cling to my little hope about society moving forward. Even if it turns out that I’m wrong, it makes getting up in the mornings easier.

AF

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There is a painting that compares 2 English city scenes from the Victorian era i think comparing GIN STREET to ALE STREET in a book on beer I used to have. The parallels to the bad behavior in the Gin street scene to what is describe for England now is amazing.