[discostu]

But why are they dumb? I grew up watching Little House on the Prairie, 14 year-olds getting married and starting families, how did our youds become so much dumber in the intervening years. See I don't think a person can learn discipline and self-restraint by having things denied them by others, how can somebody learn not to drink to excess when they aren't allowed to drink at all? All we seem to do is move the crisis period back, the longer it takes to expect them to behave responsibly the longer it's going to take them to learn reponsibility.

[Willie Green]

I grew up watching Little House on the Prairie, 14 year-olds getting married and starting families, how did our youds become so much dumber in the intervening years.

Charles & Caroline Ingalls didn't have a boob tube in their home.
That's the appliance that dumbs down the kids and turns them into obese little couch potatoes.

[Squawk 8888]

I don't think a person can learn discipline and self-restraint by having things denied them by others, how can somebody learn not to drink to excess when they aren't allowed to drink at all? All we seem to do is move the crisis period back, the longer it takes to expect them to behave responsibly the longer it's going to take them to learn reponsibility.

Exactly. In my neck of the woods the drinking age is 19 (it was raised from 18 in a typical Canadian response to demands it be raised to 21), campus behaviour here is light-years removed from US colleges. Most campus pubs here are the most civilized watering holes you'll ever find, with cheap beer and intelligent conversation. We don't get the Animal House type of behaviour and alcohol poisoning is a rarity.

[rb22982]

I'm 21, and the answer is, I dont know. But I will agree we have a lot of stupidity in the 15-25 range right now just off my own experiences. Probably a combination of peer pressure, modern TV/movies/music, indoctrination at publik skools, and terribly family structure (50% of all marriages now end in divorce?) in place compared to 50 years ago