The future of this country

NY DIL, love your comment about cursive writing.  I assume you're aware of how many people admit they can't write in cursive any more, which I assume is b/c of the abbreviations and drift from good English to abbreviations or what I consider nonsense language?  

I wonder if, thousands if not millions of years from now, a new or evolved civilization will find all the tech gadgets, or read something like the " u r " bastardization of English, and create a discipline to study the "old languages" to decipher them.   English and written languages may have disappeared by then, but hopefully there will still be people who can write and spell.  

In their place, people with hand, wrist and arm injuries may have evolved.   Some years ago when I tore a rotator cuff, the arm and hand specialist I consulted said that he was treating an increased level of young women with injuries reflective of intense texting.  

Maybe we should create a Rosetta Stone for our far distance future humans.

There was a thread on favorite movies. One of mine was Love, Actually.

In the beginning, Hugh Grant talks about how people say the world is becoming a hateful place, but when he looks around him he doesn't see that. There are then (real) scenes of people meeting up at the airport with all the hugs and joy.

In the same way, while we can always looks around and see acts of hate, I think that has always been the case but overall I think most people are good and caring.

Karsten, this might be the movie thread to which you referred:

https://www.agingcare.com/discussions/anyone-seen-any-good-movies-lately-455475.htm

I think some examples of people who are good, caring people are those who help out homeless and other disadvantaged populations, not only before the holidays but throughout the year.  Others are those, especially the Veterans, who extend themselves to help fellow Vets, including the one (and possibly a second one if memory serves me correctly) who was walking cross country to raise awareness of the needs of Veterans.

And there are the first responders, who put their lives on the line, as well as medical and educational people, who probably make far less than they could if they entered highly paid fields.    And they often have to put up with a lot from patients or school children and their parents.

But from what I've seen, the people in the helping categories don't have the same motivations as those who become venture capitalists, stockbrokers, or other generally high paying fields.   That's not necessarily a criticism, more of an observation.   Some people have a real need to help others.  Some have higher motives to help themselves.

And some blend both motives and extend to others.   I've read negative comments here and there about the big banks, but I wonder how many people know that 3 of them help the 4 categories of populations that I mentioned.

FWIW, earlier last year when I started working on my father's house (with a large lot and lake privileges),  I had (and still have) a strong determination to offer it first to the first to those in helping professions.   After a lot of calls, research, and more, I finally connected with the HUD rep who handles these kinds of donations.

But the houses aren't donated by owners; they're donated by Chase, BAC and Wells Fargo (at that time).   Foreclosed houses are donated, fixed up by HUD (if I remember correctly), then donated, for free, to Veterans, law enforcement, medical and then educational personnel, in that order.  That's my understanding of how the HUD program operates.

The realtor with whom I discussed this issue also sells houses on those priority levels; the houses aren't available to the general public until the 4 categories have had opportunities to purchase.

Those kinds of more or less hidden extensions of good will don't seem to be well known, but I wish they were.   


I remember how many people offered just simple help when my father was alive...help with lawn mowing, snow removal, food, paying for meals, and more.    And they would never accept any reward or compensation.

The negativity that's existent in the US and in other countries seems to offset that, and it probably does gather more media attention than good works.  Perhaps that's b/c it's more sensational, but also b/c it's destabilizing and people need to be aware that there are some pretty nasty, racist and unstable people out there.

I see much more violence occurring now particularly regarding gun violence. How many more shootings will we see in schools, large scale events, churches, etc. I am going to cut to the chase and blame our current president for giving these hate groups permission to come out of the closet. I don't recall ever seeing so much hatred and violence before this president. He mocks persons who have disabilities, curses on national television during his ridiculous rallies. White supremacy and neo nazis holding conventions and demonstrating. Remember the Charlottsville incident. Until we elect a kinder more humane president, I believe we will continue to see escalating violence.

EssieMarie, I completely agree with you.   Violence condoned can encourage unstable people to become emboldened.

all thing things happen now were happening when Obama was in office.
lets not forget about media influence. They sensationalize certain topics, they pick and choose what to make an issue of. But if you all want to pretend none of this was happening until trump took office, go ahead.
i’m not a trump supporter but I also don’t have my heads in the clouds.
there were hate crimes and school shootings happening even before Obama was in office. But everyone wants to blame trump....

Cali,

I am in my 60’s. The worst in my school days were ‘fake’ bomb threats made by a student because they didn’t study for a test. I feel so sorry for kids today that have anxiety about possible school shootings. So sad.

The most I saw as far as violence was two kids fighting in the school parking lot.

Kids got suspended or expelled occasionally. Two girls got caught smoking in the bathroom.

Never would I have dreamed of someone entering a school and shooting staff and students.

It entered my mind as a teacher. I feel for all school employees and students. It’s mind boggling.

Needhelp, I don’t think school shootings became “common” if we want to call them that....until the late 90s. I graduated in 1999. Bill Clinton was president when the columbine shooting took place and I can recall there were several small school shooting when I was in high school.
a few years before I started high school, there was a shooting there—my US history teacher was shot by a student in his classroom. When I started school there, he always wore a fanny pack and it was rumored he carried a gun in it for protection! Of course in today’s world.....there would be so much outrage if a teacher brought a gun to school! But back then....no one thought much of it because after all, the poor teacher had been shot a few years earlier!!

I'm going to put my little 2 cents in, this is what I think why we see so many big shootings: Worried would be correct on that we had school shootings back when Bill Clinton was present, so why so many now?

Here is what I see in my small part of the world...1) more people have to work 2 to 3 jobs just to keep a roof over their heads. Housing cost is at an all time high. At one time whether you rent or was buying a home it shouldn't have cost more than 28% of your income...then it went to 38% and now it is 42%. Remember this is average or medium! Then lets add the wonderful corporations. I am sorry to say their greed is killing us as everyday people and us as a country. Most people on ground level including managers are not making the money that our parents and even some of us use to make. A person with a degree or without a degree are finding themselves has to work 2 jobs because they are not getting the hrs--little along, any benefits. Take Targets for example you start out in my city at 13.50 hr which isn't bad but you only get 15 to 20 hrs plus, you do the job for 3 people. H3ll, the guys that install my new furnace was only making $15.00 hr. When in the 80's & 90's they use to make $25 to $30 hr. Some of the big manufactures use to start out at $18 to $22 hr plus benefits not any more, around here, they are starting out at $10 hr with very little benefits. No one can live on that. Then you have companies that get rid of employees that are close to retirement before the employee retires, therefore, whose people have to go out looking for a job because they can't afford to retire yet. A full work week is not so much 40 hrs as it once was!

So if both parents are working all the time and feeling the pressure of trying to keep food on the table and a roof over their heads...then isn't the kids feeling the pressure as well?

2)Then you have social media which is great when it is used properly. But there is a whole generation that used texting, internet, and what-not that they really didn't have to learn to look people in eye or just learned social ques. They learned that you can break-up with someone without even seeing the hurt they cause. Kids learned they can bully without seeing the pain on their fellow human faces and the affects of their actions. I am not against our technology but maybe my Bishop has a point "with technology so in- graded in our lives that we are forgetting how to be human."

3) We have more people who are self-entitled, full-of-themselves (know about everything and you can't teach them because they know it all).

4) Parents not teaching their kids the way we were taught. What I mean is parenting has become a noun and they forgot the verb in parenting. I might piss-off some people but when did kids tell the parent what to do? I see this all the time! My sig other and I went to an RV show this pass weekend and I couldn't believe that kids were telling the parent what camper they liked or didn't like and the parent went along with the kid?! (The tail waging the dog)! I work with the pubic and I hear kids telling their parent we are getting this or that and I also hear the kids calling parents names like "your dumb dad" or "mom your so stupid," if I would have said these things to my parents I probably still be picking myself off the floor! LOL! My dad never hit me, but I think he would have smack my butt for talking that way!

I don't care for Trump, but I don't think he is the cause for mass shootings. However, he does have "this racist undertone to him."

I read somewhere can't remember the article but it stated that "the Whitehouse and this country has never been divided as it has been with Trump".

The government wants us to believe that unemployment rate is going down, but what they don't tell you is the only people that are counted are the ones who collect unemployment or are actively looking for work but in "2018 it was reported that over one million people gave up looking for a job" 20/20 reporte

As America becomes more and more secular, and God's people turn away from prayer, there will be hate. It may appear that this is the end, but it is an opportunity for miracles when God shows up to save His people.

Everyone can pray to God, and he will hear your prayers, even if you are not a believer.

My point is that maybe it isn't just one thing causing mass shooting but a lot of things combine!


Send,

I think you have a great point to go along with everything else that I have pointed out. People are becoming more secular, perhaps picking things over God and their fellow-man!

God has a plan!

Shell, I agree with everything you said. And I do think that trump has absolutely added fuel to the fire. But I don’t think he’s responsible for all these school shootings.

I think what has always bothered me is that.....gun violence hasn’t been an issue until schools started getting shot up. Gun violence has been a problem since at least the 1980s in places like California, NY, Chicago, Baltimore. A few years ago my city had the highest youth murder rate per capita, in the Nation! And how do you think they were being killed? By guns! Cities like LA and Oakland historically have had hundreds, even thousands of gun-related deaths per year. Many CHILDREN have died by gun violence every year. And no one care, it wasn’t front page news until now. Seems like no one cared when it was gangs shooting each other.....people act like we just now have a gun problem but the truth is, it’s been a problem for decades.

We are definitely living in different times. Different economy. My parents first house was 1200 sq ft and they paid $66k for it in 1978. They sold it for $155k in 1994. They bought a brand new 2100sq ft house for $210K that same year. Minimum wage around that time was $5.25 an hour! They sold that house in 2004 for 615k! Minimum wage was $8 an hour. Wages have not really gone up much but the cost of living sure has. California minimum wage is $12 now. I have been trying to go back to work but finding it difficult because of my husbands job and the low wages. After the affordable care act went in to effect, employers decided to hire part time workers Instead of full time so they wouldn’t have to provide insurance! So all I was seeing was jobs working 25-30 hours a week, then they wanted a 4 year degree and pay was minimum wage! I have the degree but it makes no sense to work for minimum wage when you have to pay for child care. Why would I go back to work & earn $1600 a month when child care for 2 kids would cost me $1200? I rarely see job postings that offer more than $15 an hour. Usually it’s $12-$15 an hour and a 4 year degree required.

I think social media has also played a huge part in things. People have a voice now. New gets out faster. We hear about more things because it’s easy to share it on social media.

and yes parents are no longer parenting their kids. They would rather be their kids friend! Now we are supposed to “respect” our kids and let them have a say in everything and treat them like our equals! I’m not saying I disrespect my kids because I don’t but we have a hierarchy in this family and for good reason. I let my kids have input but at the end of the day, I am the decision maker. I already see it with my daughters friends....all very good kids but some have parents that have a different parenting style and my daughter gets mad because her friends don’t have bed times, they can wear makeup and go all over town with an adult present and we just don’t parent that way. I am always the bad guy these days because I don’t let her do all of the things her friends can do.

2 Chronicles 7:14 King James Version (KJV)
14 If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.

Worried,

Thank you that you see it, sometimes I feel like I am the only one:(

There has been shootings for decades, but people didn't care if gangs were killing one another and if a 3 yr old got killed oh well! How sad!! It took something massive to happen to get people's attention. But isn't that how it always is? We do nothing until something major happens then people want to see change...when it hits their State...their City...their families...it is all to sad! Plus, people act like if they get stronger gun laws that people won't be able to get a gun and the shootings will stop; however people have always found away around the laws. If someone wants a gun that bad they will find away.

There is no point for you to work if your whole pay check is going to child care. I work part-time and with my degrees it doesn't even touch my student loans. It is a joke! You go to college to get a better paying job just to graduate to find yourself working part-time for minimum wage or a little more for what? Then people mostly Government people wonder why the outstanding student loans are over a billion dollars! And raising minimum wage isn't the answer because then everything else goes up...the answer is *to break up these big corporations and make them start paying people real wages with benefits!* It really is a no brainer. But again nothing will be done until we the people take a stand and that won't happen until more people become homeless...crime rates go up...and people die from the lack of basic needs! I am afraid that our country is going down the drain. But I do believe that we may see it turn around. We might be really old when it happens!

I think parents should respect their kids but kids need to respect their parents and learn to respect themselves. My dad would let us kids say what we liked or disliked, but his rule was "I (dad) pay for everything we have and do, therefore it is my decision; when you start paying the bills around here then you can make the decision." When I was a kid I thought my dad was the bad guy because he wouldn't let me do what I wanted, but when I got older I came to realize that it was him loving and caring for me. I am glad that he didn't let me do whatever and your daughter will see that when she is older. But you know this!) You can't be your kid's friend and be a good parent! Just my opinion!

We live in a very different world then what we lived in just 15 to 20 years ago!

Sendhelp, you have it all wrong. The fact that most mass shooters tend to be religious should be a big clue. Most secular countries don't have the problems with violence that we have. Many religious countries do. In terms of developed Western democracies, the US is overly religious. The US has is also the most violent.

The correlation is clear. If you look at the most secular countries in the world, they also tend to be the safest. If you look at the most dangerous countries in the world, they tend to be the most religious. Just look at Scandinavia and Japan. Two regions legendary for their safety, caring and politeness. All those countries are near the top as the most secular.

Reason over religion. That's the key.

I did not mention mass shootings, schools shootings, gun violence, Trump, or even religions.
Get over yourselves.

A simple little bible verse is not going to kill you!

@ Karsten,
I see both love and hate.
I love your post below.

What a Wonderful World
Louis Armstrong

What A Wonderful World"
I see trees of green,
red roses too.
I see them bloom,
for me and you.
And I think to myself,
what a wonderful world.
I see skies of blue,
And clouds of white.
The bright blessed day,
The dark sacred night.
And I think to myself,
What a wonderful world.
The colors of the rainbow,
So pretty in the sky.
Are also on the faces,
Of people going by,
I see friends shaking hands.
Saying, "How do you do?"
They're really saying,
"I love you".
I hear babies cry,
I watch them grow,
They'll learn much more,
Than I'll ever know.
And I think to myself,
What a wonderful world.
Yes, I think to myself,
What a wonderful world.

Send,

Love Louis Armstrong. He’s from my city! New Orleans is very proud of his music!

Proverbs 18:15

The heart of the discerning acquires knowledge, for the ears of the wise seek it out.

actually most mass Shootings are done by mentally ill people

The future of this country could be positive.

I can't agree that the growing secularization of our country is at fault for the violence and hate. It would seem that way superficially, but followers of organized religion don't seem to be any less hateful or violent than anybody else, at least in this country. If anything, people use religion to justify their inhumanity towards their fellow human beings.

I know a large number of atheists and agnostics. As a whole, we're peaceful, compassionate, humane, honorable people. We don't look to God or the Bible to keep us in line - we use our own internal moral compasses to guide us.

This country is moving in the direction of greater religious influence on government and on our daily lives. I don't think that's a good thing at all. I think the separation of church and state is one of the necessary underpinning of a free and fair society.

FBI statistics show violent crime of all types in down to the lowest level in more than 35 years.

Twelve (12) times as many people die from knife wounds than firearms and twenty (20) times as many people die from beatings delivered by hands and fists. These ratios also hold true for assaults.

If you think violence is actually increasing in America, then you have drunk the kool-aid, otherwise known as LIES or FALSEHOODS being portrayed by main stream media and certain politicians. Instead of taking some reporter or politician's word for it, how about looking at the actual crime statistics in your city, county, and state. So sorry, but if you live in a big democratic party controlled city with strict gun control then you may see violence in your area is actually increasing. Something like 71% of all counties in the USA had ZERO murders in the last reporting year. Over 92% of counties have less than 5 murders. Violence and murder are problems largely reserved to the large cities and among those large cities, the more gun control the more crime. As a data analyst, the actual cold hard data supports repealing _all_ gun control laws and eliminating all gun free zones without adequate provided security to increase safety. States which have expanded concealed and open carry are universally seeing their firearm violence rates _fall_.

Progressive liberal social justice warriors and main stream media are more responsible for encouraging targeted violence than anyone else, although democratic party officials who not only condone but actually call on people to harness anyone who doesn't share their ideals at restaurants or their private homes and use vial name calling have a big share too. It's okay to assault a 17 year old high school kid because he's wearing a MAGA hat. Really? If you think it's okay to assault anyone because of their ideas or their skin color or who they want to hold hands with then you are the part of the problem.

Tolerance, civility, and respect MUST be for everyone or they are not really there for anyone.

As long as corporation and the 1% don’t pay taxes, there will not be enough to take care of people.

look back to the 60s....yes, the tax burden on them was much higher than today...that is because they were paying a fair share.

the Uber rich are amassing such a pile of wealth...by transferring the burden onto everyone else. We have more income disparity today than at any time in our history...including the 1880s (the time of the robber baron and laze fair economics)

part of that massive wealth comes from medical care for profit (thank you Ronald Regan). People getting rich by soaking the elderly and the poor.

but, in honesty, I don’t think we as a species has much longer on this planet.

Mass shootings aren't just done by mentally ill people. That's just a right wing NRA talking point. Many mass shooters are perfectly competent.

TNTechie, you talk about FBI statistics but you ignore the big one. What's the biggest danger in America today? Is it Islamic terrorism? No. Is it immigrants? No. What is it then? Right wing extremists are the biggest threat to domestic national security. That's the threat in America.

CarlaCB, growing secularism is definitely not the root of any ills in the US as some other poster argued. As I said, just look at the stats. The correlation is clear. The more secular a country is the more safe, caring, happy and polite it tends to be.

In terms of Western Developed Democracies, the US is an outlier. We are the exact opposite of the other Western nations in terms of religion. We are roughly 75% religious and 25% atheist. Many Western European countries are 75% atheist and 25% religious.

The world as a whole is majority atheist. Atheism is the fastest growing belief in the US. Which is what's led to the current societal friction in the US. All those people that want to "Make American Great Again" can feel what's happening. They are diminishing. They are striking back blindly.

But this is how societies change. People don't change. For example, very few people stop being racist. They may learn to hide it for their own good but that doesn't change the way they feel. What happens is that the later generations are not racist. Overtime the older people die and are replaced by their children. That's how societies change. People don't change. Societies do.

We are in the middle of one of those transistions. While it seemed like we were post race for a few years, I firmly believed that. I was wrong. We aren't. Trump made it OK to be racist again. What happened? Many stopped pretending they weren't. We still have a long way to go.

I'm using racism only as an example of one of the issues of our time. It's not the only one.

In my opinion the biggest dangers in America are:

1) deficit spending and the increasing national debt which if not corrected will eventually result in the TOTAL failure of the federal government and then many state governments as they lose federal subsidies;

2) professional politicians who are instrumental in (1) above as they become multi-millionaires at the public trough and act for their personal benefit instead of the good of their constituents and our nation;

3) under-education of the America public, particularly in civics, basic economics and world history with 95% of people under 40 and 80+% overall not even knowing 100+ million people died under the rule of socialist governments in the twentieth century or understanding how separation of powers in the US Constitution is suppose to prevent a descent into tyranny or how taxing success leads to lower revenues and even greater poverty in households with lower incomes;

4) loss of civility because a republic requires an educated citizenry capable of public discourse to resolve issues;

5) drug addiction which is destroying families and creating dysfunctional and mentally ill people from the adults frying their own brains and the children exposed to toxins while physically and emotionally neglected during childhood;

6) illegal immigrants who are a subgroup almost in virtual slavery, targeted for abuse and crime, not vaccinated and reducing the herd immunity to measles, whooping couch, polio, and other serious illnesses, and a drain on welfare resources in a county running a massive deficit;

7) Islamic terrorists who have already killed thousands of Americans and would like to kill hundreds of thousands more - if the next attack on NYC is a dirty bomb they may kill a million or more; and,

8) laziness of the voting public who prefer to be fed propaganda without any named sources rather than question BS that doesn't even logically hold together or spend a little time looking up multiple sources or even raw data.

There is no extremist organization in the US, right or left, threatening as many people as any one of the 8 causes listed above. In the US, we're not suppose to care whether there are white supremacists or black supremacists or yellow supremacists or little green supremacists so long as all they do is talk and assemble with other similar wrong thinking people (anyone remember free speech or freedom to assemble or freedom of religion?). It does become a problem when they start targeting people for violence. If organizations like Black Lives Matter can motivate enough killings of law enforcement officers to cause a break down of basic law and order then extremist organizations may become a more significant problem. Since the left wing extremists are the ones who have been killing people lately, not sure how the right wing extremists can be viewed as the more dangerous ones just now.

Concerning wealth...

In our society where more and more people attend college using student loans and then purchase a house on credit... most people have a negative net worth (owe more than the value of the property they own) to around age 40 when student loans have been paid off and a house (or other investments) gains significant equity. The under 40 crowd accounts for a little over 52% of adults. So when someone like Barry Sanders says the top 1% own more wealth than all the bottom half, that means they own more wealth than anyone with a net worth of $1. In addition to the top 1%, the other 47% also own more wealth than the bottom half too. Aren't statistics wonderful in the hands of a professional politician?

If you go online and see the comments - it's along the lines of not wanting anyone to get any help from the government. Its anger for elderly getting 'breaks' that these people claim they are getting. They attack disabled people and say that they are all lazy or scamming the government. Of course, if THEY were in the situation it would be different. If someone is poor, well it must be their fault. Even in church, it seems like they are not welcoming to newcomers or care about those in the congregation who need help because of their advancing age or disability.
People are not being brought up to be thoughtful and care about other people. Instead it's all about me, me, me and what's in it for me. Very self centered and absorbed in themselves without care about others.
Of course some of the people who hang off of bridges to take selfies - fall off of them.