Posted on 08/29/2019 11:08:17 AM PDT by Kaslin
There are people in every generation who believe the generation following theirs is either going to the dogs or will ruin the country.
A new Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll lends credence to that way of thinking, especially where Generation Z/millennials (those born in the mid-1990s to mid-2000s) and Generation X (those born in the early-to-mid 1960s to the early 1980s) are concerned.
The poll of 1,000 adults earlier this month found that "younger generations rate patriotism, religion and having children as less important to them than did young people two decades ago."
The poll contrasts with a similar survey conducted by the Journal 21 years ago. When asked then which values were most important, respondents sounded like their parents and grandparents, saying "hard work, patriotism, commitment to religion and the goal of having children." Not only will these current findings likely impact next year's election (most of those running for president with more than single-digit polling numbers are much older men and women and thus represent a generation gap), they could also have serious implications for the future of the country.
The Founders and subsequent generations -- perhaps excepting the Gilded Age and the horrors of slavery -- mostly believed in the virtues younger people either now reject or approach with indifference.
How can this be? What has happened between the World War II generation, which gave so much so their children and grandchildren might enjoy the blessings of liberty, and the current generation, which seems cool to what once seemed to matter most?
CARTOONS | Gary Varvel
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Generalizations are always problematic, but I have lived long enough and witnessed the general decline to make some.
Prosperity is one explanation. People who make more money than previous generations and possess a lot of stuff seem less inclined to participate in community (how many of us know our neighbors, who are here today and move tomorrow?). Stuff and the personal satisfaction of achievement lead to a decline in one's need for God -- too much money, too little purpose.
Politicians become a god-substitute and politics their religion. Creeping secularism has affected theological truth to the point where people can believe whatever they want -- or nothing at all -- and escape correction.
Heresy, even apostasy, has infiltrated many churches. Then there is culture. Younger people are exposed to what we collectively call "media" more than any previous generation. Most of what constitutes culture proceeds from a singular worldview that denigrates, or does not promote, patriotism, belief in God and values previous generations not only took for granted, but instilled in their children.
Unrestricted abortion has cheapened how many young people view the value of human life. For growing numbers of the young, marriage has become passe as children witness the pain of their parents' divorce and decide that living together without a formal, legal, or spiritual commitment is better than risking the cost and pain of ending a marriage. For some, children are viewed as a financial burden and an intrusion on adult lifestyles.
Sociologists and historians will tell us these things are cyclical, like weather. That has been true in the past when spiritual revivals often followed a fallow period of faithlessness and a focus on self. I'm not sure that cycle will repeat with younger people, given what they are taught at public schools and in liberal universities. The values that shaped and sustained America through economic downturns and wars had to be taught and instilled in the next generation. Today's younger people, as reflected in the poll, seem intent on making their own rules (if they can be called rules) and creating their own gods.
They will eventually learn the impossibility of it all as their substitutions will fail them. The question is can America survive when our moral, spiritual, and patriotic foundations are destroyed? If you don't love your country, what's the point of having one?
There are people in every generation who believe the generation following theirs is either going to the dogs or will ruin the country.
It is MY generation that ruined the country. I’m a boomer.
The WW2 generation raised the baby boomers to be the selfish children we are-blame them.
In the 1960s the hippies set out to change the world and they have, but not for the better.
“The WW2 generation raised the baby boomers to be the selfish children we are-blame them.”
That’s very boomerish to deflect blame to your parents! :)
Yes, the greatest generation did make a mistake by coddling the boomers, allowing them to be self absorbed. But, the greatest generation also contributed mightily to the country. What have boomers done, besides whine, complain, moan, pee on institutions and traditions, and raise an unbridled hoard of overly sensitive communists?!
Who ruined America....? I’ll take boomers for $1000 Alex!
They also gave us decades of RAT control of Congress, the removal of prayer from school, Johnson, the War on Poverty, the Great Society and the totally inept micromanagement of the war in SouthEast Asia.
Yeah, they did a lot they should be proud of....but they did a lot they should regret also.
WWII folk got comfy after the war. Making families, TV shows, beer, TV dinners, TV sports, backyard bbq, fast food, vacations, cabins, toys...
So what if some kids wanted to protest and be hippies. Whatever. No spanking? Great, no guilt. Smoking dope? So what, compared to war horrors? D vs R? They’re all the same.
Can understand, but also see.
I’m a Millennial. My generation is filled with self-obsessed idiots.
I can’t have children. It’s unfortunate, but my lack of healthy kidneys, familial history and dangerous cycle required a hysterectomy. And while I’m not a believer, I do recognize that religion, Christianity in particular, plays a very important role in our society and the formation of our laws and government. Our Republic was designed for a religious and moral people, after all.
I fear for what will happen to our nation when my generation comes to rule. We are a stubborn bunch, and most of us are indoctrinated to boot.
nephrotic syndrome?
Indeed. FSGS specifically.
I thought I spotted it in your handle. You have my empathy. The Minimal Change Disease variant of NS that I know all too well gets treated with 60mg Prednisone when it goes active, but Tacrolimus rang a bell. I guarantee you that high doses of prednisone can make you absolutely crazy so you’re not missing out on any fun. Not sure about FSGS but MCD is like an invisible disease, meaning that almost no one knows that you are really, really ill, so you don’t even get any sympathy out of the ingrates. Shoot, I even had to tell my primary care physician to check my kidney function last time, they don’t see NS often enough to spot it.
No wonder my generation has been called by some the “silent” generation, sandwiched between those who fought WWII and the baby boomers, no one seems to know we are here.
bump
Speak for yourself. I'm a Boomer. My Parents(Depression Kids & Greatest Generation young Adults) instilled in all 3 of Their Kids (I'm the baby & the accident, 14 years younger than My Brother and Sister) the lessons of God, Knowledge, Common Sense, Pride, Love of My Country, Patriotism, History both Family & World Societal, to be Miserly, Frugal but not Cheap, the need for Family & Friends, Respect,The ability to Repair just about anything, being a Pack Rat. The 3 R's: Reading,Ritin' & 'Rithmatic. No They didn't forget Spelling. I am usually easy to get along with BUT I am also Stubborn and Opinionated and rarely back down, especially when I am Correct. Lies are a waste of time so why bother ?
I remember when I was somewhere around 4 or 5 (and I don't know where it came from) I drew the nazi swastika on some paper. Mom Freaked out and told Me "Don't draw that, it's Bad!" I asked why is it bad ? She sat down and gave Me a short History Lesson. She said that I would learn more in School History Class but She put the basics in perspective for Me.Yes Unredacted Unapologetic History was still Taught back then unlike nowadays. I STILL HATE nazis, Especially them Illinois nazis...
I couldn't wait until I turned 18 so I could Vote ! When I went in to Vote for the First time I knew that politics sucked & politicians were NOT TO BE TRUSTED- EVER. I have Voted in Every Election from the Local to National that I was allowed to, even Primaries NEVER MISSED EVEN ONE. I didn't have a great record of My Vote being on the winner side but I Vote with whomever I feel is best for My City, Town, State, County and Country interests. Then in the last 25 or so years My observations led Me to conclude that the demonratscumbagterrorists STEAL & MANUFACTURER VOTES !!!
My Thoughts and Values have changed very little over the Decades. I'm slowly getting to be a grumpy old Man and am becoming more steadfast in My ways. I'm wondering if I'll be around for CWII because it's very close to time to water the Tree of Liberty. America and Americans need to STOP with the ME ME MY MY ALL ABOUT ME CRAP, IT'S KILLING AMERICA- JUST EXACTLY WHAT THE demonratcommiescumbagterrorists want to see happen ! I'm not going to have America fall on My WATCH !!!
< /rant >
feh...
I was incorrectly diagnosed with MCD at first. I was treated with Prednisone on and off for years, and I didn’t tolerate it well. Bluntly put, not only did I become [more of] a vicious b!tch, I had unbearable heartburn that turned into ulcers, I gained back some of the water weight I’d lost, and was puking up a storm. The insomnia compounded all of those issues.
I had been in the ER five times with my eyes swollen shut and almost immediately sent home with benadryl, but was finally referred to a nephrologist by my Mom’s doctor, who ordinarily didn’t see anyone under 21. The crappy part was, at some point my pediatrician had noticed proteinuria, but didn’t follow up on it. Nice, huh? I was losing 30 grams daily at one point. I lost a bunch of my hair and had to be put on diuretics to take all of the water off. It turned out to be 100# of it; more than a cubic foot. I’m a bit over 5’2”, so that was hard on me. I’m lucky that my nephrologist is excellent, and he functioned as my primary for a long time.
I am aware that insurance will be costly. I’m concerned about what happens if my inability to work persists and I can’t acquire it through an employer. If protection (i.e.: Coverage cannot be refused on the basis of a PEC) is removed, how likely is it that I will be denied coverage even in a high-risk pool? I assume that it has happened. I’m currently covered on Medicare because I was on dialysis, but I’d like to go back to work eventually. If I do, I lose Medicare and have to wait however long before any employer-provided insurance kicks in (30-90 days) and that’s if insurance is provided. Even that short time is not affordable for me, and my husband’s insurance may as well not exist with a $10k deductible and covering 1% of doctor’s appointments and 50% of ER cost. I have no clue what medicinal coverage is, because my husband doesn’t take any. (I kid you not. It’s terrible.)
I can’t even start with regarding whether or not my doctors are in-plan. I’ve been seeing them for almost 20 years, and I’d rather not switch, especially when they save me money by allowing me to diagnose my own infections and other recurring conditions.
“I was incorrectly diagnosed with MCD at first.”
Was that a nephrologist? And did they do that without a kidney biopsy? That would be malpractice IMO- the only way to identify MCD is electron microscopy of a biopsy. Otherwise they are just guessing.
Prednisone doesn’t work on FSGS. A big reason why your docs should have worked harder on a correct DX. And high dose Prednisone should always be given with omeprazole or it will burn holes in your digestive system. Prednisone causes Cushing’s Syndrome, which was the weight gain you experienced. The vicious bitch temper was again Prednisone- I don’t think doctors warn enough about this effect. I had to constantly fight to suppress my temper when I was on it. And it was a daily battle. I avoided going anywhere because of the irritability and impatience Prednisone provokes.
“The crappy part was, at some point my pediatrician had noticed proteinuria, but didn’t follow up on it. Nice, huh? I was losing 30 grams daily at one point.”
Unbelievable. Except that I’ve experienced it myself. GPs fail to DX nephrotic syndrome. Proteinuria is the big flashing neon light announcing its presence and somehow they don’t see it. Spilling 30 grams is deadly. I think I was spilling 14 grams and that was bad enough. My blood albumin had dropped to just over 1 g/dl... a big stroke risk... 4 g/dl is normal. Albumin acts as an osmotic barrier keeping water in the bloodstream where it belongs. When you lose it you get the massive edema as water escapes into surrounding tissue.
High risk pools are for PECs and the hard diseases insurers don’t want to take on. Even with insurance I racked up unpleasant out of pocket expenses- biopsy copay. Copay for the all too often complete blood panels. Copay for the constant doctor visits. It got expensive in a hurry, but you don’t have a choice. Before that becomes an issue I’d check around for FSGS support groups to see what help they might have discovered. Line something up before it becomes a crisis. There’s a site I sometimes found helpful, has a lot of NS, MCD, FSGS posters. https://www.inspire.com/
The MCD diagnosis was before the biopsy. Between the realization that I had renal issues and the biopsy was only five months, though the FSGS had upwards of a decade to wreak havoc. I was initially diagnosed as having MCD because the Prednisone showed minor improvement in the proteinuria department, but not enough, and FSGS was uncommon. I was my nephrologist’s only FSGS patient for a long time, and he has a huge patient load.
I continued receiving Prednisone for awhile, coupled with cyclosporine and Protonix and a boat load of klor-con and Demadex. I needed further immune suppression, so they ceased the Prednisone and put me on the tacrolimus/cyclosporine combo. It was just an effort to delay dialysis, because there was no remission happening at that point. The kidneys were 35% scar tissue, so there wasn’t going to be any shred or normalcy.
I will keep your information in mind, though. I appreciate that you weighed in.
Neither MCD nor FSGS are well understood. Some researchers think that both may stem from one underlying disease. I suppose meaning that you may have had undiagnosed MCD for years before it declared itself as FSGS.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27748392
Minimal change disease (MCD) and focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS) are the key histological findings in patients with idiopathic nephrotic syndrome (INS). Although MCD and idiopathic FSGS are often considered to represent separate entities based on differences in their presenting characteristics, histology and outcomes, little evidence exists for this separation. We propose that MCD and idiopathic FSGS are different manifestations of the same progressive disease. The gradual development of FSGS in patients with non-remitting or relapsing INS has been well documented. Moreover, FSGS is the uniform result of substantial podocyte loss in animal models, and a common feature of virtually all progressive human glomerulopathies. As evidence suggests a common aetiology, the pathogenesis of MCD and idiopathic FSGS should be studied together. In clinical trials, idiopathic FSGS should be considered to represent an advanced stage of disease progression that is less likely to respond to treatment than the earlier stage of disease, which is usually defined as MCD.
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