@kjayhawks I agree with you on all the reasons you mentioned contributing to kids not being able to form their own opinions: electronics raising them, less kids at the park, 2 working parents. I’d add that parents play on their cell phones as well; it’s not just that they’re tired. Sports are a more formal process now, it feels like. We are in organized sports, but we don’t get together for pick up ball yet. I’m hoping that’s still a thing as my kids get a little older. It was huge for me, every day after school.
As for work ethic, I have a few 20 somethings that work with me in the IT industry. Most of them have decent work ethic but their analytical skills need encouragement. Mostly, I think this is just a product of age and experience, and they’re on track with where I was at their age. It’s not like that everywhere. I think in terms of physical labor, kids are definitely less inclined to work hard.
So, I do want to say gently the positives I see from the democrats this debate season as it relates to your points, as I’ve watched them very intently. Most of the democrats seem very in line with your appreciation for hard work. Warren (daughter of a maintenance man who had a heart attack when she was 12), Klobuchar (daughter of a newspaper writer, granddaughter of a coalminer) and Biden (father was a used-car salesman) all came from modest backgrounds that they speak a lot about. Bernie’s dad was an immigrant and a paint salesman. He doesn’t talk about it much. Buttigieg’s parents were professors at New Mexico State. These guys value the importance of protecting the middle class. They understand the importance of the American dream. As an aside, even Tom Steyer’s heart seems to be in the right place, despite being a billionaire. He doesn’t talk about it, but his dad was a lawyer who prosecuted Nazi’s in the Nuremburg Trials for war crimes.
I tell kids to work hard, and I tell them to work smart. People will ride you in this country, like the horse (Boxer?) in Orville’s Animal Farm. They’ll use you up until you die. The sense of “an honest day’s pay for an honest day’s work” is disappearing. It’s not just about employers, it’s a social contract. People will buy the cheapest thing with a decent review on Amazon. They have no idea about the ethics behind the product they’re purchasing. And this kind of mindset I think in everywhere, including when you hire someone to do a job for you. I’m not saying it’s impossible, but it’s hard to derive pride in your work when you know people (often with no disposable income) see quality as secondary to cost.
We need to restore the middle class. And it’s important to look at the economy’s health not in terms of its net value, but in terms of it’s median value for every American. Again, I believe a lot more in the democrats in this regard than Donald Trump. I don’t trade stocks. My house has appreciated in value, but that means higher taxes, and once the housing market crashes (which it inevitably will, as the appreciation is entirely unwarranted) I will just have spent more on taxes for several years.
I see employers moving towards the gig economy, the further commodification of workers as interchangeable, disposable assets. I think many of the young folk that you speak of simply don’t believe the ladder exists for them to climb. At least, its not about devotion to a single company. And I can’t blame them.
I also think that entrepreneurial efforts are harder now. At least that is my perception. If you can’t rise working hard for someone else, and you can’t rise working hard for yourself, then you either work hard regardless, without hope for financial mobility, or you just slide on by with less effort, just trying to enjoy life, or you try to pull one over on someone. We certainly need the American Dream.
