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Old 12-07-2017, 01:57 AM
SpiderTrap SpiderTrap is offline
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Default The World ( US ) has changed

Im 67 but think and feel like 40 . Im amazed at the rudeness of people now. Or the total unawareness I see, other than the one foot of space they take up . Not all but ALOT . Smartphones changed alot , now they want to add mobile Shopping apps in cars , as if Texting Fatalities arent enough ? I try to stay away from the news if i can It's very depressing , killings everyday , Bad Weather , Floods or tornadoes, hurricanes , Fires . people ( Not even being HALF Polite ) make me shake my head .... seems like a Free for all.. me me me greed greed and more greed ...any ideas when things began going south ? I try to be kind , but people seem in their own little world ???
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Old 12-07-2017, 03:56 AM
Tico Tico is offline
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Im 67 but think and feel like 40 . Im amazed at the rudeness of people now. Or the total unawareness I see, other than the one foot of space they take up . Not all but ALOT . Smartphones changed alot , now they want to add mobile Shopping apps in cars , as if Texting Fatalities arent enough ? I try to stay away from the news if i can It's very depressing , killings everyday , Bad Weather , Floods or tornadoes, hurricanes , Fires . people ( Not even being HALF Polite ) make me shake my head .... seems like a Free for all.. me me me greed greed and more greed ...any ideas when things began going south ? I try to be kind , but people seem in their own little world ???
You ask, "any ideas when things began going south ?"

I suspect it really started way back when TVs entered homes.
Computers and the now-ubiquitous smartphones have accelerated what TV started.

I have a computer but no TV or smartphone.
Hate the things, and what they've done to us.
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Old 12-07-2017, 04:18 AM
philjs philjs is offline
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Im 67...any ideas when things began going south ?
Seems to me that you answered your own question right there...

Phil (only 61 but headin' south now)
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Old 12-07-2017, 04:58 AM
RedJoker RedJoker is offline
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When I feel like that, I remember that we actually live in a time with the most prosperity, most peace, lowest crime than ever before. Unbelievable but true.

So to answer your question, the data actually shows things are not going south. That doesn't mean we don't still have work to do though...
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Old 12-07-2017, 05:23 AM
Twelvefret Twelvefret is offline
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I do not think things are worse, just a different. I say this considering how the US was not a great place to live for everyone 100 years ago. Life was difficult and the social resources many enjoy were not abundant.

Some of you have wonderful retirement packages that were not available 100 years ago. Few could afford the luxuries that many of you enjoy with your lists of dozens of guitars. Most young people today will never have fully paid retirement and healthcare available to them. Most will not be able to afford tens of thousands of dollars tied up in motorcycles, guitars, and such as many 60 year olds do today

Education has risen since student loans became available. Many of you did not have to go in debt to attend university.

I see a lot of selfishness in the over 60 crowd.
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Old 12-07-2017, 05:35 AM
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I think I've concluded that there are many individuals and organizations that want you to feel miserable and afraid. I just don't participate.

There have always been bad, rude, or irritating people around. The trick is not to let that interfere with you enjoying your life. Does someone using a cellphone in an obnoxious way really impact you and your life? Just choose to ignore those things that don't matter and concentrate on things that do. I meet and talk to people every day when I walk my dog. He has turned out to be a far better "chick magnet" than I could ever hope to be. Lots of good choices out there, just have to take advantage of them.
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Old 12-07-2017, 05:59 AM
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Originally Posted by RedJoker View Post
When I feel like that, I remember that we actually live in a time with the most prosperity, most peace, lowest crime than ever before. Unbelievable but true.

So to answer your question, the data actually shows things are not going south. That doesn't mean we don't still have work to do though...
Thanks for this answer as it's information verses feelings. And the OPs feelings are valid.
This world is a harsh experience that can get worse. For some of us we try to treat everybody like we would like to be treated. And as the world ebbs and flows through the evolving times it gets difficult when we don't get any positive feed back from living our beliefs or philosophies. But now is the time when doing so is most important and needed. As I get older I try to understand that I am not of these times. Part of what that means is that I read the actions of people today by yesterdays experience. I can only imagine how our parents dealt with us in the 60s.
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Old 12-07-2017, 06:59 AM
Murphy Slaw Murphy Slaw is offline
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What amazes me is the more technology and information you put into a person's hands the stupider they get.......
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Old 12-07-2017, 07:05 AM
harpspitfire harpspitfire is offline
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What amazes me is the more technology and information you put into a person's hands the stupider they get.......
this- i agree with
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Old 12-07-2017, 07:08 AM
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...I try to stay away from the news if i can It's very depressing , killings everyday , Bad Weather , Floods or tornadoes, hurricanes , Fires . ...
I agree with you that world is a much more self-absorbed, materialistic place.

However, I argue that those news things are just perception.

In the USA, federal statistics show that all violent crime, per-capita, is at the lowest point in recorded history.

It feels like the world is unsafe and people are killing each other all the time, but the exact opposite is true. So, why does it FEEL that way?

Well, because the news media and sensationalism of the statistically rare stories - we get inundated with stories over and over.

Per-capita, the more murders in the USA happened when folks our age were coming of age and young adults. So, those "glory days" where things were safe and peaceful were statistically the more unsafe times in American history.

It's all in the illusion that is defining how we see the world.
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Old 12-07-2017, 08:26 AM
imwjl imwjl is offline
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Originally Posted by RedJoker View Post
When I feel like that, I remember that we actually live in a time with the most prosperity, most peace, lowest crime than ever before. Unbelievable but true.

So to answer your question, the data actually shows things are not going south. That doesn't mean we don't still have work to do though...
Thank you. Polarization is a big problem and at times I think knowledge of the history of news and communication would help people. I've often suggested the book Master Switch for that.

I'm a late age parent director (board of directors) of an organization with hundreds of kids in education and outreach programs. I see lots of problems but not as many put it when they give reactionary shout outs. Sure the bad examples are out there but just like my last errand in the car - not everyone is a bad and rude driver even though those people really stand out and can bother you.

My suggestion to the OP is if age 67 and maybe retired is go volunteer for a group like the one I mention. At the same time you'll see kids are alright, you can help them grow, and you can feel good.
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Old 12-07-2017, 08:39 AM
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At age 66 I realize my perception of my home country is driven mostly by 2 enormous changes that have occurred since my youth.

First, in 1960 when I was 9 years old the population of the U.S. was approximately 180 million. Today the U.S. Population is approximately 324 million. There are 144 million more people in my home country than when I grew up. Essentially there are now 80% more people in my village. It's a lot easier to bump into someone (in a good or bad way) than ever before.

Secondly, in 1960 information about the U.S. and the world came to me (living in a major urban area) via 4 television stations, 2 daily newspapers and a dozen or so radio stations. News reporting via media amounted to about 1 hour out of 24. Today we are saturated with news of our village 24/7 via a seemingly countless number of media platforms and outlets.

In short it's much more likely today to experience either first hand or through media the bad behavior of our fellow man. I personally believe that we're neither more materialistic, self-centered or badly behaved as human beings than in the past. We're simply more acutely aware of those attitudes and behaviors than ever before in our history as a species. Perception is reality.
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Old 12-07-2017, 08:52 AM
RustyAxe RustyAxe is offline
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It began going south when popular culture began to elevate the good of the individual over the good of the many. And that the MOST important individual was "self".
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Old 12-07-2017, 08:58 AM
RedJoker RedJoker is offline
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It began going south when popular culture began to elevate the good of the individual over the good of the many. And that the MOST important individual was "self".
That's an interesting perspective. I'm the opposite and I see more people fighting for the rights of other minority groups now than in the past. I know I am surely more aware of the good of the many, especially those different than me, than I was in the past.
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Old 12-07-2017, 09:03 AM
tbeltrans tbeltrans is offline
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There are a number of interesting viewpoints in this thread. I suspect, after reading them all, that statements such as "I see a lot of selfishness in the over 60 crowd" or statements to the effect that the world is worse now than it was at some particular time in the past, are not looking at the big picture. People have already cited statistics showing that overall, we are better off and safer now than in that cited past. As for selfishness, there are more retiring people volunteering and getting active in their communities now than in the past.

I believe those with more positive outlooks in this thread are looking at the bigger picture and the facts. Sure, there are many things wrong when you get any group of people together. However, there are also many things right. With the information "overload" we have today, we hear about day to day things that we would have never know about in the past.

Consider all the "dirt" that has been uncovered about those "golden days" such as what priests were doing to boys, how many people come from abusive households where the abuse took place behind closed doors while showing a clean face to the world. We saw none of that being mentioned back then because it was all hidden. We hear a lot about this kind of thing now, but remember that this all took place in the "good old days". Today, these people are charged with a crime and then off to jail. Civil rights have made progress even if it still isn't finished yet. Hopefully, Black people are no longer hanged and many more do have a shot at an education and career.

Whenever I take a closer look at how some point in the past really was, I see a mix of good and bad. Though the events in that mix might be different at various times in history, rest assured there is always that mix.

For those in their retirement years, instead of complaining about how bad things are, why not volunteer in your community to help somebody else and make things better in the process? My wife and I, for example, teach ESL at the local library. There are not enough people teaching, so there is a waiting list of people wanting to be taught. Just as our grandparents were immigrants who had to learn the ways of, and adjust to new language, so do the immigrants today. Given that chance, they can and do become productive members of society despite what is otherwise commonly said about them.

In short, whenever we have complaints such as this, we also have a means to do something about it. We can choose to be a part of the problem, or a part of the solution. That has never changed throughout human history.

Tony
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