Where is it all headed

Milo,  I have similar concerns for this Country and have witnessed many examples to make your point.

But not all of the younger generation are like that. My three children all had a loving but strict upbringing, where good leadership, respect and responsibility were key lessons for them

My son joined the RAF as NCO Aircrew, but later took a commission and is now a Sqd Ldr.  Eldest Daughter is now a bank manager, and youngest daughter has her own successful business.

With correct upbringing, the setting of targets and limits, and above all love.  All is not lost.  There are loads of young people out there who also want to succeed and with the proper support, will do so.

Sadly, there is the other side who grow up in a family with no ambition and no respect for the law or standards.

Soon after leaving school, two of my children joined the Air Training Corps (ATC). I thank that organisation greatly. The ATC was responsible for putting the final polish on them in order to prepare them for the challenges of life.  Imagine our pride when my wife & I visited Buckingham Palace to see our son receiving the Duke of Edinborough's Gold Award from a member of the Royal family.

In the end it must come down to education. And by education I mean that in its widest field. Education for life has to start at home. Standards have to  be set at home. respect for others must start at home.  Its no good just leaving it all to the teachers at school!  Yes the good ones will help, but in the end its parenting that counts.

TF

please may I add something as well ,some of the ones on benefits are lazy and won't work I saw a programme years ago where a lass said she wouldn't clean toilets ,couldn't tell her son she was a cleaner I have 3 jobs cleaning toilets ,until recently had to get up at 3 am to go do a cleaning job ,one of the places I've worked for 3.5 years we had one lass that her hubby wouldn't work cos if he did they would have to pay full rent ,now I'm doing less hours in a week so I don't pay income tax for those that wont work !!

There have been times in my life when I've been unable to work and I've been extremely glad of those benefits. 

However, isn't what's described all part of evolution of our way of life? I think each generation makes similar statements along the lines of "Where will it end?" or "It wasn't like this in my day" as they age. I can certainly recall my parents saying such things 40-50 years ago.

Perhaps having realised that life as we know it hasn't ended and the world is still turning has helped me accept that it's simply another step along the path of the development of our civilisation. Accepting it as such helps encourage tolerance and certainly makes for a less stressful life. I feel it opens our minds to the ways of others and helps us see life from their point of view and also plays a part in us older folk moving with the times instead of becoming stuck in the past.

Well said TW.  I  agree with those very wise sentiments.

TF

I was a teenager in the 70/80's skinheads, the worst football based inter club/town rivalry & violence in my memory. Before that was the Teddy boy era of gang related violence. I'd say it was less of an issue in modern times to be honest. I am not one of the 'rose tinted glasses' wearers, I knew what my youth was like I never forget the good & bad of the times. I have no concerns for life now, I'm glad we have a safety net for the sufferers of low incomes & bad times & im glad to have paid & continue to pay into the pot that helps.

I do not think the "world" is as bad as the Headlines in all the Media would like us to believe,and a lot of the Sensational Headlines are just there to make news, because the majority of the time when something "New" is headlines,  the earlier news,  when dissected, is normally no where near what was first "Reported"and with news programmes/papers scrambling to "broadcast"anything they think will give them a March on any rivals before checking properly the facts,

Also with an ever higher population any perceived problem with one group will be higher as there will be more of that "group" so it will be in some eyes a bigger problem than "in my day"

Ramble over

I would also add...switch off the TV programmes that manipulate your views of the world downwards and watch something positive. 

I don't think I'm stuck in the past by any means, my point was the situation where you have gangs that see themselves as above the law on almost every housing estate,  and others that see nothing wrong in running up debt and trying to walk away from it. at some point someone has to pay it and that will be through higher prices in the future, I think there is something very wrong where someone can choose not to work and pay their way because they can live of the tax payers who do. Yes we need the system to help the genuine cases but in my view its not working and still open to abuse.

Maybe living in South London I see more of this than those of you living elsewhere? 

Not watching it or reading it in the media isn't going to make go away, there is a very big social problem bubbling away that needs addressing, 

Not a rant or a moan and I respect everyone else has  a view on it 

Thats most out then

We have four children, all in full employment, all own their own houses, none of them are in debt - and they manage to have holidays, have meals out, and bring up their own chidlren.  They were brought up with moral guidelines, fairness, and consistency and seem to have grown up into people with morality and a 'work ethic'.  They all brushed up against the 'drug culture' but none of them ended up being drawn into it.  They all saw what happened when my OH was made redundant several times over the years, and how we managed on a much reduced income.  They always encouraged to seek jobs, and starting working whilst still at school,, and fortunately are all now in stable employment. They were all educated at comprehensive schools (albeit named 'Grammar') but none of them came out of school without a decent bunch of GCSE's, and the two who went on to A level, with a decent bunch of A levels.  Two are in the 'professions' (teaching and academia) and two work with their hands.  One is a plant service manager, and the other has his own roofing company.

In our area we don't see much evidence of gangs, there are no out of work youths hanging around on corners, and perhaps this is the world through rose-tinted glasses, but I suspect it's what the majority of us see, rather than what is portrayed on television.

The programmes which show this side of life in Britain are the 'bottom extreme, and never feature the sort of livest lived by most of the population because a programme about someone getting up, going to work, coming home and playing with his children just isn't going to make good 'tabloid press' or downmarket television material!