Usually I will visit the comment boards on the Washington Post and CNN (and a variety of other places) and there are a sea of two sentence responses uttering the most idiotic garbled nonsense that indicates the "Me" Culture we live in; everyone thinks they have a voice. The irony of course is that by writing this blog and hoping people will read, I am succumbing to that same very cultural urge, however, not all commentary/blogs/opinions are created equal. Occasionally, I come across some affirmative/positive opinions on the comment boards and I'd like to display one thoughtful post in reference to
a "Black in America 2" commentary regarding parenting:
"I agree with you Mr. Ferguson - the last few generations of young Americans are the MOST dumbed-down Americans ever to walk the country - but I dont know how you can manage such an undertaking.
First, look at Television - its a total wasteland with mindless shows promoting mindless goals. Second, look at movies - again, endless mindlessness and the kids all think its "cool" simply because of special effects. Third, look at music - where we used to have musicians and performers we could envy and look up to, it seems now to make it in music you have to be a criminal, and have the IQ of a vegetable.
An old college professor once said to us that "democracy without individual responsibility is merely defacto chaos" and today, that is very true. We have parents who's main concern is the size of their house, their car, and how much they can consume devoid of any real parenting responsibility. We have children who can name all the latest rappers, but cant name the state capital of the state they live in, let alone understand anything about the world at large - and this, and lots more only gets worse.
Vladimir Lennin said "if you want the people to crave white bread, you feed them only white bread" meaning that to control a populous, dumb them down so that what they consume seems to them to be the best. If you look at our society now, that is what we have. Kids who think their music, movies and television are "ground-breaking" when in fact, they are merely being dumbed down by these media outlets so that they can flood the airwaves with commercials for stuff no one needs.
I admire what you aspire to - but for me, frankly, I have given up and realize that eventually, the United States will implode on itself because we chose to raise greedy morons who have no individual responsibility, let alone deep thinking capacity.
It does not take violence, or rigid rules to make a democracy work - but it does take an informed and interested populous - and that, we have just about killed off."
When folks make commentary like this, it gives me hope that we still have some portion of our country that is educated and thoughtful. Praise goes to the commentor. Parenting has fallen off in all communities, not just the black community, and as a result we have a generation of parents who are so concerned about themselves that they assume school and society will teach their children. Sad state of affairs.
