Goody bags gone bad - cleveland.com

Goody bags gone bad - cleveland.com


The Anarchy (and hope) of youth....

Mr. Campanelli's (very well written) article today, combined with a rather trying past couple of days with the kids on the home front had me in a tizzy and ready to trash every young person I came within 5 feet of - wanting to grab them by their collars, box their ears, and scream at them until they got rid of their selfish attitudes and their me, me, me, more, more, more view of the world....

In this article, the one quote that summed it all up was from Professor Bill Doherty of the Department of Family and Social Science at the University of Minnesota: "Kids are overindulged and feel entitled - it leads to the sense that I deserve everything in life...And that I should never go anywhere for somebody else. There has to be something in it for me."

Had I, in my youth, even remotely acted like the brats I see walking around today, I'd have been knocked into next week. And, I blame the parents - at least the parents of the younger set - WHAT THE FUCK are you thinking? Is excess and entitlement something you truly want to pass onto your children as a trait even if you ARE rich enough to do so? What - the world needs more Paris Hilton's and Nicole Richie's? Do the words spoiled brats mean anything to anyone anymore (as in a NEGATIVE connotation)???

Anyhow - I was mulling this all over in my head tonight trying to figure out if it was simply me PMS-ing or just getting (*gasp*) OLD - and then it happened - I ran into saving grace in the form of older teens working my local Giant Eagle.

I try to help people as much as I can - therefore when the time comes for the 'Harvest for Hunger' program, and those little slips appear at my grocer's check out line, I always try to give money to the cause. There are local men, women and children going hungry every day....I am lucky enough to have enough.

As I gave the young man at the cash stand my little slip of paper he thanked me profusely. I told him there was no need to thank me - he told me no, that people acted in a really negative (translation: bitchy) manner when he asked them if they wanted to contribute. I told him I felt those people should have to go hungry so they can see what it's like to not have food in their bellies. He agreed - I went onto say that charity begins at home, and that we as Americans, seem to be happy enough to cause wars in other countries and spend a fortune doing so, yet we can't seem to feed our poor or help the homeless situation....

I asked him if he was old enough to vote - he said yes. I asked him if he was voting tomorrow - he lit up and assured me he was indeed voting - which then prompted the young man cashiering next to him to ask who he was voting for...pretty soon all of the cashiers were talking about voting. I thanked the young man for talking with me and told him how happy I was to hear about him voting.

Hope - a sense of hope came over me - I know that blanket statements don't apply to all people - I know that I there are kids out there who DO make a difference, who DO seem to care - but more and more what I witness first hand in public is what Mr. Doherty describes - so speaking with this young man was like a ray of sunshine on an otherwise bleak landscape.

Go out and vote tomorrow no matter how old you are (well obviously you need to be of legal age to vote) - make your voice count. And, the next time your kids start whining about all the stuff they don't have that they want (or think they NEED) - go take them to a soup kitchen or someplace where they can see just how bad life can be and have them pitch in and help those less fortunate than themselves...