American sensibility doesn't really have much concern for children, education, or the elderly true or not?

Question

I was talking with my uncle and he seems to think that the American sensibility doesn't really place much interest on children, education or the elderly. Agree or disagree? And for you ultra-conservative narrow-minded idiots get a life.

Answer 1

I don't think the government needs to be in the business of telling people how to rear their children.....or educating them, for that matter. I believe that is one reason our public (government run) schools are so bad today. The other reason is that people do not know how to discipline their babies. They either them them run wild or they yell at the to shut the f**k up. This is beginning to really get out of hand when children are having babies. The fathers are many times no where around. Who suffers? The child.

The elderly pay into the medicare system their whole life and when they need help caring for themselves, we "shelve" them in a nursing home. Some, but not all, of these places are nasty and the staff is mean. A senior either has to be wealthy and pay for private care, have excellent long term care insurance, or apply for medicare. I have never understood why we treat our elderly worse than animals.




Armygirl91--remember you will be old one day.

Answer 2

This wasn't always true. Take the example of California in the 1950s. The GIs had returned and huge investments were made in helping them get an education. The state university system was virtually free. The infrastructure was tended to. Somewhere along the line though, greed (and I think racism, because now the majority of California's kids aren't white) set in. Many of these people who had raised their families still wanted to cling to their houses and balked at the rising property taxes. Legislation (Prop 13 I think) passed that prevented the state from accumulating much surplus funding to invest in people. But hey, at least the greatest generation could have bigger houses than they needed. As California went, so went the nation at large. There is a really good book about this that came out a few years ago but I can't recall its title.
That said, I agree with your uncle. I think Americans have never especially had the sense that responsibility goes with freedom. We labor under the delusion that individuals are either self-made or entirely to blame for their failures. Perhaps it's because in the early days people left their families behind to come to the US.
Finally, our capitalist system forces us to use short-term thinking and to measure benefit strictly in dollars. It solves problems that don't even exist (look at the variety in toothbrushes) and doesn't address our human needs. Post Nixon and under Reagan an anti-government feeling was sparked and fostered, so people don't even think our political or economic systems should be addressing these needs. And Bush thinks faith-based initiatives are the answer. Well, thanks to Iraq, there's no money for anything else.
There are reasons I gave up and immigrated to New Zealand (and we left well before 9/11)

Answer 3

On a personal level, I disagree because I have devoted the last 20 years to raising my children and giving them the best education I can. On the other hand, I notice more and more that young people do not give elderly people their seats on the bus. Or they push pass them so quickly they practically knock them down. And I've seen parents tell their kids to "shut the f*** up" in public. Or slap them down in public. As far as education, here in Philadelphia, the city is building beautiful new public schools...but still have no books with which to teach. Go figure.

Answer 4

The Klan began interior the South after the Civil war and by the Reconstruction section. It replaced into in no way somewhat meant as a social organisation to assist widows and such, yet they'd have benefited from that variety of propaganda. Their actual reason replaced into to intimidate the newly freed slaves from attempting to declare themselves. so as that they wore sheets over their outfits and pillow circumstances or sacks over their heads and rode at nighttime. at last their "uniform" developed into what we see immediately. At one element they grew to grow to be a effectual political ability and have been the dominant ability in Indiana throughout the time of the early part of the 20 th century. in case you get a wager attempt to acquire the previous silent action picture start of a rustic. it somewhat is crammed with racist stereotypes yet probable wisely pondered the fears white human beings had throughout that era.

Answer 5

I am American and i respect and seek the best for these you speak of...but at large well ,perhaps the ultra-conservatives ,could afford the lack of compassion as big money see,s no shame only selfishness,,,i still vote republican even though i am like dirt ,with no money ,shitty job..but one day god will bless me and i will be able to rise from the ashes and be of help,,and help i will as heaven is the reason for Truth i seek,,but money ,,,is but a means...good day sir

Answer 6

Whatever they excuse it with, it is true.
The problem is that the US is not really a civilized society as we Europeans understand the term. Those who are weak or sick or poor and can't find any private person or organisation to care for them just fall by the wayside, and quite a lot of them think that this is the right way to run a society.

Answer 7

Children - I care for my child.
education- He is getting the best education possible.
The elderly- I don't care much for them. They think they deserve something out of us younger people. I don't owe them a darn thing. They are all putting a serious strain on the system. They should have thought ahead and put more money away when they were younger. I don't disrespect them, but don't think much of them either.

Answer 8

Not true.

However, unlike some places, such as the UK, we expect people to take care of themselves and not be taken care of by the government.

For example, I carry my own health insurance, I put away for my own retirement, and my parents did the same. If my mother ever can't take care of herself, it's expected that one of her children will take care of her, just like she took care of her mother.

My taxes pay for public schools, social security, and Medicare. However, my tax rate is significantly lower here than the UK.

We also expect people to take care of their own children. If they don't, we're inclined to take the children away from them.

So we do care, it's just that we don't expect the government to do it.

Answer 9

i think that we as a culture have definelty placed more value on the youth...and not enough on the elderly...that is all changing though with the ever aging baby boomers.

Answer 10

True we are not concerned about the young or the old .They get told what to do because they are weak , and un-able to defend themselves ..