Topic:
People often say that our country is going/has gone to 'hell in a handbasket'...do you agree? If so, what do you think is driving this...politics, changing family values, something else? Or, do you feel like we are generally doing okay considering things going on in other parts of the world?
I'd just like to say that it is officially 3 days after Tuesday. And not ONE of the ToT-ers has posted regarding this topic.
Sure, one just had twins. And one has lots of kids and a full time job. One is in the military and is very busy with training. And one has been laid up this week with a crazy weird thing going on. But still. I am the first.
I spoke in person (I KNOW, RIGHT?!?) with fellow ToT-er Michelle last night and she asked me, "Have you written your ToT post yet?" When I told her I hadn't and that the reason was because I don't really know where to go with it, she responded with, "Yep, me too!! I keep thinking, 'I don't want to go there!!!'"
I'm glad I'm not alone.
But I trudge on. And I try to tackle the difficult stuff. All in the name of ToT.
There is no easy answer to this question. And I have approximately 75 answers that go down several different avenues.
I think for most people, the answer to this question boils down to just a few factors. 1. Age. 2. Children 3. Political involvement and/or non-involvement. And then there is also a heirarchy that goes with each of those 3 things. Damn...I should just draw a flow chart.
BUT...even with all that being said above, I believe that our perception of the world comes down to one thing: THE AMOUNT OF INFORMATION THAT IS READILY AVAILABLE TO US AT THIS POINT IN HISTORY.
Think of a pyramid. The food pyramid (which has now been replaced with a plate...guess that shows my age a bit), Maslow's Hierarchy, whatever pyramid you want to think of, and place the three things I named above near the top. Those three things can be broken down into more specific things. At the very tip top, place "Information Readily Available About ANY Subject."
Don't get me wrong here. Ignorance is NOT bliss. Knowledge IS power. But COMMON SENSE seems to be anything but common these days.
There is no denying that the older we get, the more aware we become of certain things. We develop ideas and opinions of (hopefully) our own instead of just blindly believing in what our parents tell us to. Many of us become aware of politics and choose a side. Many of us have children..and BELIEVE YOU ME that having children GREATLY changes a person's view of the world.
We start watching the news. We read the newspaper. We have adult friends with whom we openly discuss our world views. We become...informed. And while being informed is an outstanding and liberating idea, I do believe that there is a such thing as being OVER informed (read: MISinformed).
Let's use Facebook as an example. Election season is upon us and people are coming out of the woodwork to declare their allegiance to whoever the next patsy is that will become our president. Sorry, kids. They are ALL patsies. I know many of you will disagree with me. But there isn't one president who took this nation and made it great ALL alone and made it great for ALL of us at the same time. There is always someone or another pulling those puppet strings. That's just the way it is.
As I scroll through my newsfeed, I'm bombarded by links to news articles about all types of political peoples doing ridiculous and stupid things and saying crap that should NEVER be said by anyone, let alone by someone who'd like people to vote for him/her. Now answer me a question: DO YOU THINK THIS IS THE FIRST YEAR, FIRST ELECTED OFFICIAL, FIRST PERSON EVER, FIRST ANYTHING, WHO HAS DONE AND/OR SAID SOMETHING OF THIS NATURE?
You bet your ass it isn't. This may be the eleventybillionth time someone did something like this. It's just that now we all know about it 24/7/365 through millions of outlets. And we really can't get away from it. If you're on Twitter, you see it. If you're on Facebook, you see it. If you're on Youtube, you see it. If you're on Pinterest, you see it. Television, radio, internet, people talking in a restaurant. IT'S EVERYWHERE. And we can't escape. This isn't the first time it's happened. It's just the first time that we've all been informed of it in a million different ways mere seconds after it actually happens.
Politics isn't the only victim of this flood of information. Try raising a kid these days. There are no less than 80 million websites telling you everything from how to tell if your child will be autistic at the age of 3 months to how to potty train a kid by one year old to how to deal with a growth spurt to how to...how to...how to... And a whole other lot of "Don't do" websites/blogs. And a whole other lot of "You're a horrible person if you do/don't do" websites/blogs.
And if you aren't internet savvy? Go to the library. Everyone and their effing brother has written a book (including the ever-famous/batshit crazy Jenny McCarthy) about raising children. (Sidenote: Here is my piece of propaganda for the decade. Don't be overly sensitive here. I OPENLY SAID that it was propaganda. But I still think it's interesting.) Hell, I think I'm going to write a book about raising kids!!! I've raised one to 4 years old and she's still alive, so I'm pretty much an expert, right?!?
My point in all of this is that I have NO idea if the world is going to hell in a handbasket. And by the way, what does that even really mean?!? If there is going to hell in a handbasket going on, then it's not because of the world. It's because of...US. People. Humans. You and me.
We don't know how to do anything on our own. My mom raised me in a time where the internet didn't even exist. She read NO books about parenting and/or raising children. And here I sit, a good head on my shoulders, NOT in therapy from her screwing me up and raising a child of my own!!! Praise the Lord!!! People CAN do things without being so informed that it is truly a handicap!!!
We don't know what to think. We don't know how to process information and make informed personal decisions without the help of media outlets. And for me in particular, WE DON'T KNOW WHAT IS ACTUALLY TRUE IN THIS FLOOD OF INFORMATION. Am I alone there?
We don't even know how to take care of babies. I firmly believe in the motherly instinct. I really do. I think it is programmed in us to know how to raise kids. But good grief...we're all standing around doubting ourselves and our abilities because Dr. Sears said breastmilk is best.
Y'all...we KNOW how to do this. We KNOW how to make informed decisions. We KNOW how to DO THINGS!!! And most of all, we KNOW how to use the BRAINS IN OUR HEADS!!!!! Or do we?
The world itself hasn't changed much in my opinion. It's people who've changed. We've lost our way. And it's crippling.
When I was younger, I told people that I didn't want any children because it would be very difficult to raise a kid in this world that we live in today. And then I looked around. And it suddenly became my CIVIC FREAKIN' DUTY to raise a functioning member of society. If we don't teach kids how to NOT send the world to hell in a handbasket, THEY WON'T KNOW. Simple as that.
So...what do we do?!? We raise the next generation. We do good by our families, our kids, our communities. We become the change we want to see (Thanks, Ghandi). We trust in ourselves. And most of all, we do all of this with compassion and understanding and a helpful hand.
And this too shall pass.
No comments:
Post a Comment