Posted on 07/16/2004 8:01:52 AM PDT by BigWaveBetty
Extra! Extra! The big news of the past decade in America has been largely overlooked, and you'll find it shocking. Young people have become aggressively normal.
Violence, drug use and teen sex have declined. Kids are becoming more conservative politically and socially. They want to get married and have large families. And, get this, they adore their parents.
The Mood of American Youth Survey found that more than 80 percent of teenagers report no family problems -- up from about 40 percent a quarter-century ago. In another poll, two-thirds of daughters said they would "give Mom an 'A.'
"In the history of polling, we've never seen tweens and teens get along with their parents this well," says William Strauss, referring to kids born since 1982. Strauss is author, with Neil Howe, of "Millenials Rising: The Next Great Generation."
In an article in the latest issue of City Journal, published by the Manhattan Institute, Kay S. Hymowitz writes:
"Wave away the smoke of the Jackson family circus, Paris Hilton and the antics of San Francisco, and you can see how Americans have been self-correcting from a decades-long experiment with 'alternative values.' Slowly, almost imperceptibly during the 1990s, the culture began a lumbering, Titanic turn away from the iceberg."
Adults are changing, but kids seem to have changed most -- and they may comprise the new "greatest generation," as Tom Brokaw called the World War II cohort. "What is emerging," writes Hymowitz, "is a vital, optimistic, family-centered, entrepreneurial, and, yes, morally thoughtful, citizenry."
That's trouble, I believe, for the Democratic party, at least in its current anchored-to-the-'60s version. It's possible that John Kerry will win in November because of the war in Iraq (though the smart money is on George Bush), but the long-term trend is clear. College freshmen who call themselves liberals outnumbered conservatives by about three to one in 1971; now the figures are roughly even. "Young voters are also more supportive of President Bush than the public at large," writes Hymowitz.
The changes in politics are rooted in changes in values. Last year, the rate of teen pregnancy dropped to a record low. Better birth control is not the sole explanation; the proportion of teens who had intercourse fell from 56 percent in 1991 to 46 percent in 2001.
Kids don't want casual sex; they want families. Harris Interactive reports that 91 percent plan to marry and, on average, they'd like three children.
Already, Generation X (born between 1965 and 1979) is more traditional than its parents. "The number of married-couple families, after declining in the '70s and '80s," writes Hymowitz, "rose 5.7 percent in the '90s." More brides are taking their husbands' names, and in 2000, the number of women in the workforce with infants dropped for the first time in decades. A study by Yankelovich found that 89 percent of Gen Xers think modern parents let kids get away with too much.
Twice as many Gen-X mothers as Baby Boomer mothers (born 1946-1964) spent more than 12 hours a day "attending to child-rearing and household responsibilities," according to a new survey by Reach Advisors, and roughly half of Gen-X fathers spent three to six hours daily on such tasks, another big increase.
Meanwhile, student marijuana use, which rose sharply in the 1990s, is on the decline, as is binge drinking. The juvenile murder rate fell 70 percent between 1993 and 2001; burglary is down 66 percent. Schools are safer, too.
What's going on here?
Hymowitz offers four explanations: 1) a "rewrite of the boomer years," with young people reacting critically to the world of sexual experimentation and family breakup and "earnestly knitting up their unraveled culture," 2) the trauma of 9/11, which has made kids more patriotic and turned them inward toward the comfort of family, 3) the information economy, which has given young people greater faith in their own chances to succeed, especially through self-reliance and entrepreneurship, and 4) immigration, which has produced what she calls a "fervent work ethic, which can raise the bar for slacker American kids, as any higher schooler with more than three Asian students in his algebra class can attest."
Whatever the reasons, the change in young people and their parents is very, very good news -- which is precisely why so much of the media is ignoring it.
When someone asks what my daughter does for a living my answer with a big smile is, "She's a stay-at-home-mom and I'm so proud of her!"
Children absorb the values of their parents... liberals abort, conservatives don't. Thus children are disproportionately born to conservative families, and absorb conservative values at a higher rate than the older generation.
I have finally met all of this generation that is currently related to me and am happy to say this country will be in very good hands. They all have lots more sense than I had at the same age, and tend to be Christian and Conservative..
I see this even in NYC, much to the dismay of some liberal parents.
I see this even in NYC, much to the dismay of some liberal parents.
I'm a female boomer who has always worked, so it still surprises me when I meet young married men who are thrilled to live more simply so that their wife can stay home with the children. It seems that there are more and more young couples making this choice today, and I'm so glad to see it. Maybe the public education system will finally be able to spend some time on education and not have responsibility for all the failings of society and the family foisted upon them.
bump
PING
A friend of mine is a HS teacher and he said the kids are becoming more conservative each year.
It makes me feel good that inspite of all the cultural and social adversity this generation has faced, they have such good sense and maturity, I'm astounded!
Bingo. It is survival of the fittest, and liberals are unfit. Since contraception and abortion became widely available, since shacking up and casual sex became permissable, the wicked and foolish in our culture have rushed off to destruction- taking their genes with them.
In a few generations, the righteous will be dominant. Consider two groups. The larger group is a bunch of boomer libertines who manage to have 1.5 children per couple. The smaller group is a bunch of Christian home-school types whose families average 6 children each (I know one with 15 children, and they are under 40!!!).
Even if the former group outnumbers the latter group 50 to 1 the latter group will still be numerically dominant in three generations.
The math, assuming a starting ratio of 1,000 libertines to only 20 christians, is 422 libertines and 540 Christians in three generations. It's about 1600 Christains to 340 Libertines in the following generation.
In prior generations, when no one had birth control or could have 50 different sex partners because they lived in a small village, the wicked and the righteous multiplied at close to the same rate. Not so in modern times.
Liberalism, like all wickedness, is ultimately self-defeating. We don't have to beat them, we just have to defend ourselves and our culture during this desperate time and they will destroythemslves.
I grew up in the 70's. My parents were divorced, went through many step parents. I made a promise that one day I would be married and stay married to the same person and all my children would have the same father. I am just glad that so many people of my generation wanted the same thing and seem to have made it. I'm celebrating my 15th year of marriage. It can be done and it is worth doing for your children, for society.
:-(
More evidence:
The Youth Group at our Church has increased it's rolls (and roles)!
The kids' wondrous works and fun activities are enriching. They share meaningful discussions on the big issues and decisions teens are facing. When surrounded by peers who are also trying to do the right thing, peer pressure can be a good thing.
The friendships they form with "Youth Groupies" are based in trust and respect. It's now becoming cool to be "with Jesus" as they say.
To parents of teens: Urge your kids to get involved with a faith-based youth group. The positive influence in my household is a joyous blessing.
I believe this to be true, evidenced in my stepson and his friends. In his case, entreprenurial is an understatement.
FMCDH(BITS)
i wonder how many more homeschoolers are of voting age since the 2000 election... wouldn't it be something if there were enough to give us an even greater edge?
Good news bump.
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