The World is Changing; Are Your Kids Ready?

Over the past few weeks I've had quite a few discussions regarding the youth of today and the differences of yesteryear...my generation. The conversations haven't just been with people of my era, but mainly comprised of young adults that are somewhat confused as to where they truly belong in society. When I explain what happened to them, they seem to present a "deer in the headlight" gleam in their eyes. Then I ask the question, how much time do you spend  introspectively; thinking about your personal life and how you've gotten where you are today?

The answer is usually non-existent or the respondent is lost in wonder and confused as to what my question really means. Was I speaking a foreign language...NO! The younger generation often believe they are working toward something, but they're not sure exactly what that "something" is. Many believe that they are supposed to go to college and get a good job, but it takes sooooo long to get a degree and Waa! Waa! Waa!

There are changes taking place and the American youth hasn't the drive to succeed. When I explained that my generation was taught to win, and that their generation was taught to be submissive, that no one wins, well, now they are really at a loss. They don't understand how this pertains to their life. The greatest changes that are taking place right now, this very moment, and that will continue over the next 50 years, are in science and technology. And where are our children? They are the end user.

Well how is this bad? The developer makes the money, the user spends the money. The developer needs the minds to develop products that the end user will purchase. The developer will pay good money for bright minds to THINK, to CREATE, to EXPLORE beyond the norm. The developers of the future need scientists, not a Jersey Shore want-to-be. The American children don't know their place in the world because they've had helicopter parents hovering over them and stripping them of what I call an I AM status.

Stripping our children? Yes! My kids are 22 and 19 years of age. They both pay for; their rent, cell phone, car, insurance, fuel, food and any clothing or entertainment, and their education. Am I a Tiger dad? No!  There are no free rides for my children, and later in life, when some of their peers look to their parents for a handout, mine will know how to survive on their own. When I talk about stripping children of their I AM status, what I'm saying is that American parents have been telling their children what to do or not to do since they first ejected from the birth canal. Generation Y has never had to think or strive to achieve anything on their own. So what happens?

What you're seeing in America today is the results of 20+ years of intelligence being dumb down. Instead of raising our children as the geniuses they could be, we have agreed to believe that things just happen and we have no control over anything. Isn't that what the kids were basically taught when the idea that "nobody wins" was inserted into sports? Twenty something years later you have kids who fail out of their freshman year of science and refuse to give it a second shot. It's as though in their minds, their failure is a permanent fixture that they could never rise above. Where is the real problem?

The real problem is that children of the day are running around with a sub-conscious that says, "I don't have to do that. I don't have to step up my game. I don't have to win." Hence, America is not even near the top ten of education in the world. As a matter of fact, we import through the H1B, all of our scientists. What?

The H1B is an immigration document that allows the U.S. to bring over students from other countries and allow them to stay permanently because they become scientists. How can this be? Why are there so many kids from other countries becoming scientists so easily, and little Johnny USA can't pass his basic college classes? Because these kids in other countries are taught to win. They compete with each other in education because they "don't have"...in some cases...indoor plumbing, paved roads, iPods, heated classrooms, grass fields to play on, a mini-van with DVD players (for each kid), HD televisions and so many other material goods to take away their attention and dumb them down. These kids from other countries--- read books...and enjoy it. They can compete in education so they can have what our children take for granted.

This is not to say that every American kid has it so easy that they don't have to work at making ends meet. There are many with great desires and do have the winning attitude needed to be successful in life. They don't have parents rushing out to purchase the latest video game that allow them to sit in front of the TV for hours on end. Yes, there are some that actually read good books that allow their young minds to be introspective. But, very few!

I hate to generalize, but what I am learning through conversations with the youthful adults is, they don't want to plan anything. They want to just go with the flow. "We'll get there when we get there." The question is; where's there? Will they even know if "there" will be?

So what is this blog really about? Is it just a rant and rave that parents have screwed the future? No, not at all. What it is supposed to do is help people to wake up. There is an urgency to what is happening in the world and especially to our country; America. This coming August 2nd America will be in the threshold of bankruptcy. If the government doesn't raise the debt ceiling, it will default on loans acquired from other countries. This in turn sends a message to the world that we are not the powerful nation we, or everyone else, thought we were. There will be many middle easterners around the world who will feel victory and be more than happy to laugh in our face.

The future of our country and our children is at stake and the kids could care less. They have no jobs, they live at home and they just know their parents will accept all of the burden; because they always have. Go have a one on one with your kids. If you taught them that no one wins, then admit that it was the wrong message. Admit that you may have stripped them of a lot of their intelligence by not letting them accept responsibility for their lives. Begin teaching them that there is a future that can be bright, if they are willing to work hard, even though sometimes stumbling, they must learn to get back up.

The world is changing and capitalism is moving away from America. Will you or your child be able to move along with it? Ask them what they're going to do with their lives. Push them out of the proverbial nest. Make them fly. Get them out of their comfort zone as quickly as possible. Want to find where your adult child stands? See if this tells you anything...when Johnny or Mary comes home this evening, tell him that like the rest of the country, you're going belly up through fiscal irresponsibility and will have to move in the next 30 days. Then, ask them what they're going to do, where they're going to live. See how they're going to make it in the real world. Find out if there is a PLAN or if they know where "there" is.

If they become nervous at all, don't give up the game, but make sure to have the talk about what they are doing with their life. They need to have a direction and they need it now.









     

A Night to Remember - 4th of July

     Every year at this time families and friends gather together to celebrate the 4th of July, Independence Day. This is the day of recognition that our country, it's brave soldiers, offered their lives in order to live free from tyranny. At this moment, I'm not talking about he soldiers who are fighting in the middle east, but more so, the founding soldiers that lay their weak and dieing bodies at the foot of the pole that held the U.S. flag in place. As many cannon balls passed through the night air to injure our soldiers, they too, ripped through the American flag.
     As the night wore on and more soldiers died, the pole that held our flag was heavily damaged. There came a point that if the flag were to touch the ground, it would surely mean victory to England. Riddled with shrapnel and other sharp fragments in their bodies, soldiers one by one, who knew they were about to die, walked out to the flagpole and lay at its base. As more soldiers were dieing, the base grew larger and larger; at all costs, the flag would not fall.
     Today, the reason the flag is not allowed to touch the ground when being removed from its post, is in direct relation to those soldiers who died to make sure we as a country would survive.
     I remember a point in my life, the age of 12, when I stopped buying fireworks and decided to start watching the fireworks. Each year, as I see the bursts of bright lights in celebration, I stop for a moment and thank those soldiers long gone. With each loud bang I'm instantly taken to the moment that the battle raged around them and their brothers in arms were giving everything they had, which meant, their very last breath and final beat of their heart.
     Were they to be alive today, I often wonder if those soldiers would feel regret and shame of the country and its position of the day. I don't like to be the nay-sayer, but our flag is falling because, as my last post suggests, we forgot what it means to want to win, to be free. 
     So when you see those bombs bursting in air, stop for a moment to think about that very night and the single pole with dieing American men who believed they could win, at all cost...their very lives.
     If you get the chance, and you are spending the holidays with friends and family, adults and children, then take a moment to share with them what took place that night and ask them what it means to them to be an American.