Gripes

I have a few gripes I would like to put out there, so bear with me.

#1: Attention whores. Definition: any person who does anything specifically designed to gain attention, whether that attention is good or bad. To clarify: this person has an agenda in everything they do and his/her life revolves around any kind of attention he/she can get. My feelings about this: the world doesn't revolve around you and I don't care about your issues/ridiculousness. Period.

#2: Today's parenting techniques. My mom teaches preschool and has told me that kids never say please, thank you, yes ma'am, etc. anymore. Having taught high school, I know it gets even worse as they get older. My mom's generation was taught to be polite, as was mine. So why has my generation turned around and chosen to be "friends" with their kids instead of parents? It's called discipline and yes, it's harder than giving your children whatever they want and it takes more work (gasp!), but we're responsible for molding the future leaders of this world and quite frankly, I'm terrified for our future because of this.

#3: People who don't take responsibility for their actions. Nick sees this all the time as a cop and I saw it all the time as a teacher. You must put in the hard work in order to reap the reward. If you screw up, there are consequences for your actions. I may feel sorry for you because of those consequences, but you still deserve them. And NO, you do NOT deserve a reality TV show because of your stupidity.

#4: Media-influenced culture. The reason for crummy parenting, people who don't take responsibility for their actions, and attention whores (besides laziness and stupidity): the media. We are bombarded by images of celebrities acting like idiots and getting away with it. We see them get married and divorced over and over again. We see them drink and drive and get away with it. We see them doing little to nothing and getting paid millions of dollars for it. The media has turned our society into lazy, helpless, self-serving, I deserve everything just because I do jackasses. You don't have the right to wealth, happiness, and a do-nothing lifestyle just because you live in the US. You have the right to work. You have the right to vote (and how about we do a better job of that next time, huh? YES WE CAN . . . drive the country into the ground). You do not have the right to commit a crime and get away with it. You do not have the right to hurt other people or lie without garnering consequences. You should not have the right to treat cops the way many people do (Did you all freaking forget the number we've lost this year? Because you're all acting like you have. RESPECT MY HUSBAND AND THE OTHER MEN & WOMEN OUT THERE PROTECTING YOUR SORRY ASSES!). You should not have the right to treat marriage like a joke and divorce like it's no big deal. In my opinion, the law has become too liberal/lenient and that is another reason why no one is held accountable for their actions. When a certain state passes a law that says no cop can search a vehicle without a search warrant EVEN IF THERE ARE DRUGS IN PLAIN SIGHT, there is something wrong. When a certain state is unable to seek the death penalty for one of the most prolific serial killers of all time, there is something wrong.

So what does all this add up to? Even with my usually optimistic outlook for the state of our country, I'm appalled by the deterioration of our culture. What are we barreling toward?

REVOLUTION.

So, enjoy the irresponsible, lazy, and ridiculous nature of life for now. I will enjoy the after-effects of the total upheaval of our culture and pray every day for a return to a more polite, community-focused culture that values intelligence and hard work instead of get-rich-quick schemes, sluttiness, and lies.