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Fascinating article. The difficulty is that it posits no way for society to break free of the vicious cycle going on here. Strict parents in the 50s bred children who rebelled by totally indulging their every whim regardless of the cost to others. This generation in turn created a bitter one with children who felt deprived of any kind of childhood in the classical sense. Yet, like their parents, it seems the rap generation is determined to live their ideal childhoods in adulthood while inflicting the same pain on their children that they rage about in their music. I have seen no indication that rappers and others want to become responsible adults themselves.

The baby boomers wanted a society where everything was okay and guilt was non-existent. To that end, they created myths to perpetuate their "right" to live their lifestyles without guilt--i.e., abortion hurts no one, divorce is constructive, indulgence is love, and neglect is empowering. What I see now is that the next generation is truly lacking in guilt or a sense of responsibility for their own actions. The baby boomers had to lie constantly to avoid guilt. The new generation thinks it is entitled to hate their parents and neglect their own children and have no problems, apparently, with guilt (except maybe in the incoherent way that suicide seems to indicate).

So how do we break out of the cycle? I don't think anything less than a major cultural revolution will do it. We need to do everything we can to give our children and our children's children genuine childhoods during their childhood years so they won't spend the rest of their lives seeking the lost childhood. This would involve some major discussions of what exactly is a childhood? Is it strict discipline? Is it some indulgence, some discipline? Is it parents there for the kids regardless of how strong the marriage, in other words, the dreaded "staying together for the kids"? Is it stopping the tendency of parents to "educate" their kids by laying on them adult worries such as financial stresses, strained marriages and so forth? Is it stopping the sexualization of children? There are so many factors in how childhood has been robbed and perverted that it is a daunting task to even begin.

This article touches on a lot of it and yet it is a big step beyond to try to stop the pain from perpetuating itself through the generations, esecially when it means facing the painful answers that may affect our own self-indulgence. May we have the courage to do so.

Strict parents in the 50s bred children who rebelled by totally indulging their every whim regardless of the cost to others. This generation in turn created a bitter one with children who felt deprived of any kind of childhood in the classical sense.

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.