The T-ball Generation

What we are seeing in our youth – and most glaringly at the Occupy Wall Street protests – is the result of raising kids to be the T-ball Generation. Adults taught: just show up and you deserve a trophy. Now the grown children believe they deserve a trophy just for showing up. It's how they've grown up. Train up a child in the way in which he will grow and when he is old he will not depart from it. and You can't raise no grown man. In other words – the way children are taught about the world and life when growing up is what they are going to believe when they are older.

So – all these kids that always received passing grades whether they studied or not, whether they turned in their homework or not - they learned that showing up was what was needed to pass. They didn't learn to do the work, to put forth any real effort on anything that they didn't want to do. Many of them passed with good grades, even though they didn't learn anything. They played on sports teams and everyone got trophies. If they lost they were told it wasn't their fault, it was someone else's fault. When the student fails a test or get's a poor grade report, the parents come in to the schools and complain about the teacher. When the student is caught doing something illegal or disruptive, the parent comes in and complains that it's not fair. When students are caught cheating to make up for their lack of effort (yes ACT students, I'm talking about you), adults say it's still not their fault – there is too much pressure on our children.

The students are raised and rewarded on the 'showing up' method. They go to college, because they are told that's the next thing to show up to, and once again the system rewards them – only this time they don't even have to show up for class. The students are told they aren't expected to graduate in 4 years even though they are earning a 4 year degree. It's too hard, they are told. They need to experience life – that's the most important part of their college time. The degree is almost a side-track, or a bonus, for the time they are experiencing life. They aren't told to work their butts off and sacrifice to get the knowledge and skills to take care of themselves and contribute to society. They are awarded bonus points for every imaginable reason.

In high schools and colleges, students are told to think about the tough questions and come to their own conclusions. Then they are presented with dumbed down curriculum that's designed to teach them to laugh at the tough questions and rarely voice an opinion. When they do voice an opinion, they are often laughed at. They are taught that every opinion is valid, however, if their opinion differs from the 'norm' or what the teacher/curriculum suggest, they are ostracized until they come around. When they go along with the crowd/agenda, whether they can back it up with facts, evidence, logic, or not, they are told how wise they are for thinking on their own. They should be proud for exploring the tough ideas.

It's no wonder then that the crowds gather. The others are doing it. They get graded for showing up, don't they.

Are We Being Set-up?

I've been reading though an article by Anthony Gregory from Mises Daily reviewing Ralph Raico's book Great Wars and Great Leaders: A Libertarian Rebuttal, which was originally posted at LewRockewell.com. (How's that for a mouthful.) There's a lot to digest in the article, but this excerpt jumped out at me.

The Treaty of Versailles, a Germany burdened by war guilt and a resentful, demoralized, brutalized population, and the territorial changes resulting from the peace resulted not in worldwide democracy or an end to war, as promised, but in more conflict, brutality, authoritarianism, and eventually a war even much worse than World War I. Even more politically incorrect to mention, the old order of Europe, as inequitable as it might have been, was swept away, allowing for far greater evils:

Had the war not occurred, the Prussian Hohenzollerns would most probably have remained heads of Germany, with their panoply of subordinate kings and nobility in charge of the lesser German states. Whatever gains Hitler might have scored in the Reichstag elections, could he have erected his totalitarian, exterminationist dictatorship in the midst of this powerful aristocratic superstructure? Highly unlikely. In Russia, Lenin's few thousand Communist revolutionaries confronted the immense Imperial Russian Army, the largest in the world. For Lenin to have any chance to succeed, that great army had first to be pulverized, which is what the Germans did. So, a twentieth century without the Great War might well have meant a century without Nazis or Communists. Imagine that. (pp. 1–2)

 My understanding of this section suggests that if WWI hadn't taken place, the infrastructure and especially the military would have been in position to defend against the Nazis and the Communists. However, the war made the defending forces impotent, allowing the Nazis and Communists to take over their respective areas.
Let me stress this excerpt:

For Lenin to have any chance to succeed, that great army had first to be pulverized, which is what the Germans did. So, a twentieth century without the Great War might well have meant a century without Nazis or Communists. Imagine that. (pp. 1–2)

Now, with that understanding, I wonder what the purpose is behind the US Military's current engagement situation. We are in wars (call them what you will) all over the world. Many of those areas are distant from friendly support and if everything goes badly, they will be caught in the crossfire. The regular military, as well as our National Guard Units, have been hit hard. It hasn't been pulverized (yet), but many of our best have been wounded or killed, supplies are stretched thin, and public awareness appears to now put the wars somewhere far behind Dancing with the Stars -- the general public no longer cares.

I'm concerned that the present condition of the military not only leaves them in a precarious situation, it leaves the entire US and the rest of the world in a precarious situation. Are we being set-up? Will opportunists take advantage of the situation? Looking at Russia, China, and Iran today, I think so.

Dangerous Remedies?

There's been a lot of talk at the Occupy Stuff encampmetns about Guy Fawkes and I've seen several V for Vendetta masks being worn. I loved that movie, but more on that later. Seems several people are concerned that the Occupiers are going to go all Guy Fawkes and cause some chaos on Saturday. I found this little blurp at Forbes:

After his arrest, Fawkes is alleged to have declared that “A desperate disease requires a dangerous remedy,” and that quote too makes appearances in chat rooms. Authorities therefore have been forewarned, and the more cautious of citizens may want to stay indoors.

and this

As for today’s anarchists and revolutionaries, a closer look at the Guy Fawkes plot and England today shows that the plot’s true lesson may be that in fact contrary to Fawkes’s declaration – no dangerous remedy was needed.

No remedy was needed - time and cool headedness was needed. Determined direction. That's what we see with the Tea Party. Cool headed, determined direction. Now that we've awaken - we're on the move and we won't be stopped.