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.
Your post has made my day. Just knowing this news has lighten your pessimist load and gave you hope will put a bounce in my steps today! Thanks for your post from a hopeless optimist. :-)
I had liberal teachers who were amazed at how much I knew. We would go toe to toe on many issues. I got all A's because I was the only person in the class who could develop and articulate a coherent argument. They did seem a bit frustrated that I was not influenced by their tripe.
I have formed the opinion that college is the last stronghold for liberals. Teachers, by and large, do not have to compete or be accountable for the results of their actions like those of us in the private sector. Therefore, any crazy view is acceptable. However, once many of the grads reach the real world, they see the fallacy of the nonsense taught in college.
Yep. The Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar family of Springdale. Of course a cuple of genrations back every county or sizable town would have a family that big and it would not have been news.
I agree college is the last stronghold. Although my kids schools are in a very republican county we have our share of college liberal rejects. On the day of the 2000 election my son's drafting teacher asks the class, all those whose parents are voting for GWB raise your hand. They did, it was the majority of the class. Then he spews, "Well you can thank your parents when you get out of college and can't get a job, because everybody knows that a Bush will screw up the economy."
Son came home and told me, I called the school and spoke with the principle to express my displeasure at Mr. Drafting Teacher's foisting his political views on my son and his classmates. I demanded he apologize to my son and for him to explain to the class what he said wasn't fact but only his opinion.
The principle wanted me to talk it over with the teacher. Told him nope, my son has no reason to make up such a story and I wasn't interested in listening to this liberal try to justify his lie. After clinton I told him, I'd had quite enough of that.
The SOB called me anyway! I informed him he had been instructed not to call me and another report will be made to the principle, then hung up on him.
I did make the report and made it clear heads would roll if in anyway, shape or form my son would be subjected to Drafty's wrath. Son told me he choked all the way through his explanation to the class and didn't much enjoy personally apologizing to my son.
Don't know.
Haven't read the book. ;-)
But from what I've heard, the generations run in a cycle of four.
Thanks FKZ! Congrats to you too! Awesome! I'm so hopeful for our future with kids like ours!! :D
Oh how incredibly refreshing to read this. It almost brings tears to my eyes. I have to wonder if part of this is beause there are so many people home-schooling their kids.
"I see this even in NYC, much to the dismay of some liberal parents."
Can you elaborate?
"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..."
ME TOO!!!!!
I have sent some private messages to some of the posters and thought, why don't I ask all of you.
What tips would you give to new parents just starting out?What methods of child-rearing worked well for you, etc etc. I welcome all suggestions and tips.
May I ask you a question? Could it be that the liberals who are having abortions, are having them at a very young age, but might have children when they are older?
You're welcome. Hope he does well.
No, so many are home-schooling their kids because of it.
I am 29 and live in NYC metro area.
#####
The Republican Convention should be very exciting for you and your friends! I am jealous of your opportunity to be involved with history.
... I saw some of this change coming years ago.
&&&&
So did I, and it was very encouraging! The intelligence and enthusiasm in the faces of the young volunteers for Bush in 2000 were signs that the trendsetters of this generation were rebelling against the liberal dogma with which they had been saturated in their school years.
Sure, that is possible. We are talking about voters who are were born between 1986 and 1974. The birth rate in the US in the '70s was very low. These were the years that boomer women were getting out of college and starting careers. Many of these women have gone on to become mothers, but their children are still school age.
We've embraced stronger family values. We have a greater sense of tolerance for different races than our own. The difference between my father and myself in the bigotry department is gigantic. He's a great man, but quite intolerant. See, I understand there are perfectly good reason to hate people on and individual basis, so why worry about an entire race.
Also, I have had first hand observation of the Y-ers at Florida State University. After 9-11 and the war in Iraq I was pleased to see that the kids were in support of the troops and the policies of the Administration. Everywhere you looked on campus there was red, white, and blue. The Sorority girls were the most supportive of the bunch. They were always painting the curb walls (about 3 1/2 ft tall) with messages of troop support and support for America. Yellow and patriotic ribbons were everywhere. It was nice to see. Now it's not to say that there were some rabid lefties there, but they were greatly out numbered.
Many of my friends and colleagues are stay/work at home parents. Many are home schooling (man what a tough deal that is - but worth it I'm sure).
9-11 pissed a lot of us off something big. We grew up in the 80's wondering if the next Special Report on the TV was an announcement of a nuclear war. Then we saw Communism crumble. We admired Reagan because we spent our formative years under Carter, and learned by proxy that liberalism was impotent.
The next time you see some rabid protesters take a close look. They aren't young. We've got better stuff to do.
Bump
I came across this article (I had printed it out months ago because it got me excited) and thought I would ping it in case other people didn't get a chance to see it.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.