Posted on 12/05/2004 6:31:33 AM PST by rdb3
Which came first the chicken or the egg? I think the article makes the point that 50% divorce rates, single family homes, and no familty homes are the root cause. Violence, drug use and degredation are the symptoms.
Well --- it is a little long.
And it's strong family ties that allow them to overcome these circumstances. Were talking about kids that are raising themselves or being raised by television. How does a seven year old raising himself "suck it up?"
And, proud American, what we are hearing and have heard are the angry voices of youngsters who truly do have something to be angry about through no fault of their own when it comes down to their families. I've seen it up close and personal, so I can relate to those who think this way.
me too..Been interested in world music as well..something different ..out of the mainstream , but interesting
www.leeboice.com good example ..nY artist thats great
I lived it. I raised three solid adults. The cycle was not repeated. My childhood would make your hair stand on end.
I agree with your take on the article that the family breakup is the root cause but family breakups were accelerated by myths that no one was harmed by it. That is why we have to look farther back than Eminen's or his parents. And at ourselves. We need to destroy the myths that fuel this self-indulgence and that goes clear back to the sixties at least. The idea that "If it feels good, do it" as the standard needs to be debunked. In short, we all need a healthy dose of guilt again. Constructive guilt, that is. Which came first, chicken or egg? Don't know except that egg is broken and no chicks will be produced now.
BTTT
Interesting article. Since most of these "artists" writing these songs are now adults, it just goes to show that the pain of parental divorce is something the kids have to live with for the rest of their lives. It's too bad parents don't think of that first. I know that pain, and there are a lot of us who are now married who will do whatever it takes to avoid repeating the cycle.
This makes me wonder about a hypothesis of mine.
My parents are pre-boomers (Pop born in '34 and Mama in '38). They are still living.
Anyway, I came along late in their lives. And I'm Gen-X. Now, my peers' parents came of age in the sixties and early 70s. By that time, my parents were well into their thirties.
I was raised with some good ol' down home Arkansas values, you understand?
To make a long story short, my worldview seemed to be always diametrically opposed to most of my peers. So my thesis would be that this is due to the times my peers' and my parents were born and the world into which they were raised.
Does this make sense?
All we can do is be vigilant. But, until kids think it's cool to be moral and upstanding, it's an uphill battle indeed.
whining brats seeking reason to keep from getting a grip alert.
Not the time directly, but the values which informed the parenting. My parents, thankfully still alive, were born in the late 20s. I was born in the early 50s. My children were born in the mid-80s. I was raised in a loving environment where family, God and honor meant something. My parents are still married to each other and each of their combined eight siblings are also each married to their original spouses. Between my siblings and cousins, there are 26 of us, of which one is a single parent and one is divorced. The rest of us are either never married (with no kids) or still married. Our children are only now coming of age so statistics are pretty meaningless right now but there are no divorces or unwed parents yet. Yet it is apparent that family values and sacrifices are what make the difference in how functional they are at the moment. I maintain that healthy persons need a three-legged stool for a foundation: family, community and church. Take any one leg away and it is unbalanced.
I think this is a worthy debate and I would love to stay around and enjoy it but I have to get ready for church now. I teach Bible studies to the adults and my teenage daughters have already left to take care of their responsibilities at our church. So the time doesn't matter so much as the internalizing of truth and values which take into account the effects downline from generation to generation. Some baby boomers would rather destroy their children than admit their own parents were more right than wrong. It is tragic. I'll check in on this thread later this afternoon and respond to anything. God bless.
I did read the whole thing, and I gotta tell you, I found it extremely interesting. It's another way of telling people that they shouldn't be looking to musicians, althetes or movie stars to be role models for their kids. Be one yourself. Live what you teach, practice what you preach. I grew up in a broken home (parents divorced when I was young) and I, too, could identify with a lot of the lyrics being sung by these artists...they were talking about my life as it was then. Unlike those artists, though, I used my experiences to learn what NOT to do as a parent instead of using it as a cop-out for bad behavior.
Ditto. :)
...offering up a silent prayer of thanks for my parents, and theirs.
Good post.
As others, I read the whole article. I'm exposed to the music, and the teenagers. I have concerns for my son (who just turned 9), because his mother is no longer around. She died when he was four, though by now we probably would have been divorced. I know it is, and will continue to be, hard for him to separate death from abandonment. I know he misses her, whether it was voluntary or not.
My parents were born in the 1920's, and are still together, me being a late addition. My childhood rocked, and I only wish my son could have what I did. I do my best, and I hope that is what will make the difference.
It's not the lack of parents it's the lack of love. A single parent can do it but it takes a lot of effort to show all of that love with so little time (with work and all). I am sure you are doing a great job, though!
But isn't it much easier to let other Freepers first read and distill the content before the rest of us comment? ;-)
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