re: Are We Free to Discuss America’s Real Problems?

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quote: We then discussed the “cultural script”—a list of behavioral norms—that was almost universally endorsed between the end of World War II and the mid-1960s: Get married before you have children and strive to stay married for their sake. Get the education you need for gainful employment, work hard, and avoid idleness. Go the extra mile for your employer or client. Be a patriot, ready to serve the country. Be neighborly, civic-minded, and charitable. Avoid coarse language in public. Be respectful of authority. Eschew substance abuse and crime. These norms defined a concept of adult responsibility that was, we wrote, “a major contributor to the productivity, educational gains, and social coherence of that period.” The fact that the “bourgeois culture” these norms embodied has broken down since the 1960s, we argued, largely explains today’s social pathologies—and re-embracing that culture would go a long way toward addressing those pathologies. In what became perhaps the most controversial passage, we pointed out that cultures are not equal in terms of preparing people to be productive citizens in a modern technological society, and we gave some examples of cultures less suited to achieve this:

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I guess this could have been summarized by saying, "What's happened to America's Christian values and lifestyle?"

She is just flaming as her username indicates.

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Are We Free to Discuss America’s Real Problems?

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Viewpoint diversity is forbidden.

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Discuss America’s Real Problems

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Stupid waitress at The restaurant this morning..
Me Do you have country ham?
Her: yes we do,do want a large order or regular?
Me: oh just regular.

Waitress brings out my breakfast..
Me: This isn't country ham
Her: it isn't?Is there a difference?
Me Hell yes there's a difference,a big damn difference. You said that you had it.
Her: I didn't know there was a difference,how is it different from regular ham?
Me: why would you say" yes,we have it" when you don't know what it is?
So I got up and left,and had to settle for a little debbie pecan roll for breakfast.

pathetic

While agree culture matters I’d argue the real problem is cons to waxing nostalgic for some past “golden age”. So we didn’t swear in public in the 50s, it was also a segregated, repressive society as well. Yes it’s probably a good idea to not have kids before you finish school and get a job but despite massive increases in single mothers the overall poverty rate is still lower today than 1960. No our real “problem is we always believe things are “worse” or ruined or we are headed for doom. Perhaps it was beneficial for our hunter gather ancestors to live in constant fear, maybe it keep them alert but there has never been a better time to be alive than now. While we’re marching for our lives last week, the murder rate is at 50 year lows. Diseases that used to kill millions have been eradicated. Global poverty has been greatly reduced in the last 25-30 years, even the number of people killed in wars is down significantly from past centuries. Sure there are problems, some serious ones but the world is not coming to an end.

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I think you're missing the point that the country would be better off if we could bring back those positives but without the negatives

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No I get it and you’re basically reinforcing my point that this is just another in a long line of longing for some past “golden age”.

ETA: of course there were some good things in the past, some customs and traditions are worth keeping but things weren’t as great then nor are they as terrible now as aome make it out to be.

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What you call sexist is what I call logic.

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No, you are a sexist. Just own it man. Don’t beat around the bush. It’s a free country and you are entitled to that belief

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The liberal arts degree...is dead.

Just dead.

No employer wants to train you.

You might as well have just joined out of high school. It's the antiquated Mad Men degree.

Society used to think, oh Liberal Arts degree...you are a well-rounded, thoughtful, smart individual who can learn anything...welcome aboard.

Now it's, frick you...what skills can you provide...yesterday.

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The liberal arts degree had and will continue to have a place in society. The problem with liberal arts graduates is not that it offers little value, instead the problem is that we produce far too many of them. Liberal arts degrees do produce well rounded, well read individuals. And those individuals are useful in society. It is still a forward path to a solid middle class lifestyle....but this path is only viable for a small segment of the population.

My friends (and family) have kids that are going to college or looking at it. I tell everyone of them - engineering or comp sci. If you can't handle that, then go with a business degree. If you aren't interested in that, go to trade school.

I know a guy who went back to school in his 30s and got an english degree at a lower tier school. I told him it was stupid then. And he couldn't get a job. So he went and got his masters. I told him that was stupid too. And you know what, he can't find a decent job. And now he has like 100k in student debt. fricking dumbass.