You are on to something here. This whole banning of behaviors is an affront to freedom, but the more insidious aspect of it is it doesn't teach responsibility. Quite bluntly, many parts of society have abdicated personal responsibility for nanny state rules. People have lost freedoms and liberties along with personal responsibility because someone else, namely government, is going to take care of them.
I was raised in a household where I could drink alcohol, but it was around adults and certainly not to excess. There was no mystery about it me. When I turned 18 I was prepared for the world and could handle myself. I also enjoyed the company of my elders. Certainly, I was green and I made mistakes, but those are life's lessons.
Today it seems there is little room or forgiveness of mistakes. There are legal consequences placed on kids and young adults that ruin lives. The days are over when Otis is taken to Mayberry jail to sleep one off with no legal consequence (actually, he checked himself in most of the time).
I raised my children much in the same way as I was raised. I was realistic about it. They had additional lessons that I was not taught. If they went to a high school party that got out of hand (I assumed there would be alcohol and drugs - but think upper middle class, not ghetto) my daughters were given instructions to take off if the police showed up, to call me and not go back. Literally, they had friends that faced legal consequences for going back to the house where a party was raided only to find the police waiting. Those kids were not stumbling down drunk.
Anyways, I like to think my kids turned out pretty decent. They are conservative, educated, hard working, and social with people of all ages. They are independent and live on their own when in their early to mid-twenties. To get them that way I had to break laws and the norms of many nanny staters and my own peers.
I think the thing I like most about them is that they are not afraid and they take personal responsibility. They make mistakes, and they learn from their mistakes, and so far there have been no big mistakes. I suppose the unafraid part is understated. They are not scared into losing freedom and liberties for temporary security. This whole China Flu thing, or climate change or ... the list of scares from the left goes on and my kids don't buy into it. They have tasted freedom and responsibility. They like that more than being afraid. The view the world as endless opportunities and a whole lot of fun on life's journeys. That's called white privilege these days, but when I was growing up it was called being American.
Well stated.
To extend the discussion, I have always lamented that business people stopped wearing business professional clothing.
The point of suits and ties was not to draw attention to the suits and ties but to keep the focus on the person since everyone was visually on the same plane of existence - at least at first glance.
Coat and tie was worn infrequently as a child (mostly to church), more often in high school (dances, graduation), even more often in college (fraternities, internships, professional interest clubs, service/civic organizations) and, of course, after graduation.
Captains of industry wearing t-shirts to prove that they are down with the proles are the worst sort of private-jet Marxists. Business people wearing slovenly clothing including shorts and sneakers in an office look like snotty children.
All experience is personal and therefore unique but I know for a fact that taking pride in my appearance and taking the necessary steps to obtain clothing, shoes and maintain them had a huge effect on my everyday and overall outlook and attitude.
I’m as bad as anyone else with golf shirts and (decent-looking) jeans worn to projects now. I miss my version of the ‘Mad Men’ office.