You have a very simple assignment for this week’s soapbox. Give me 7 minutes. Well, ok, probably 10 total. The three it will take you to read my meandering, and the 7 it will take you to do your homework.
We’ve been talking a lot recently about the mind-numbing disservice we’re continuing to do to our children and, thus, society. It isn’t getting better, the tide is not turning, and we are not coming back. Just because occasionally we hear a nice story about a child being raised appropriately or held to account doesn’t mean it’s happening en masse. Just the opposite, in fact. The fact that it’s news when one of these “positive” stories breaks is a sad commentary in and of itself.
One of my favorite comedians of all time is the late, great George Carlin who brilliantly mixed totally inane and hilarious observations of everything from the English language to human behaviors while also making biting political and social commentaries. Rather than plagiarize him, I present him to you 18 years ago in a 7 minute routine on what we were doing to our children then…18 years ago, and it’s more true (and more disturbing) today than ever before. And for those of you who insist on self-soothing, no he’s not kidding and he’s not being hyperbolic. Yes, he’s a comedian, but he was also a genius at seeing and talking about the failings of our culture and on this subject, he nailed it way before his time.
From his 1999 special “You are all diseased,” take a few minutes to enjoy this NSFW clip about what a mess we’ve made of our children and then find a way to contort yourself into a pretzel trying to refute any of it:
https://youtu.be/6Ltst32Dcps
