Talkin' bout my generation

[Bop]

Am I alone when I say that I live in a world that has forgetten the virtues of moderation, gentle civility, elequence, and grace? Why does our generation and the ones surrounding it seem so crude, vulgar, and tasteless?

[Huehuetenango]

b/c that has been decreed as being cool

i try to be polite to ppl, if i see someone fallen over, i'll help them up, i don't swear around little children, or ppl who i think may be insulted by it(read: only swear in front of friends), i'll hold the door for ppl if i see them coming

[Bop]

You're a good man.

[n_ick2000]

It does seem that in general, people are becoming meaner. Maybe it is because we let people get away with too much.

[rm']

Well, it's not like we are running around giving each other wedgies. Everyone is always under the misconception that the good ol' times were better. Moderation, civility and eloquence still exist, you just have to look for them. Understand the reason why these qualities seem to stick out from the past. They are the qualities that people cherish. So, there WAS vulgarity, crudeness, etc. in the past, but since people, in the long run, despise these qualities, they never make it into the history books. Examples of the virtues do.

[Spatvark]

*gives everyone wedgies and flees*

[eleet-2k2]

Me too, I try to be curtious and polite to everyone, including strangers. Glad to know there are some good people in the world.

[Bop]

A good example of the difference between our generation and ones a hundred years ago can be seen in the manner in which they wrote and used the English language. People used to write each other letters very frequently and if you ever had a chance to see these letters you would understand the amount of beauty and mastery of the English language that they used in their everyday speech. Today you has become "u", and rather than finding constructive ways to deal with issues, we merely substitute "fuck you" for any sort of intelligent answer. Van Gogh was not an educated man and yet read his letters ( http://www.vangoghgallery.com/letters/to_theo_main.htm )- you will find an eloquence that far exceeds some of our most highly educated individuals. And this was typical speech, everyday speech, that even the uneducated masses shared.

[OUT OF KILTER]

[i]Why does our generation and the ones surrounding it seem so crude, vulgar, and tasteless? [/B]

I think part of the reason has to do with the urbanbization of the earth's population.

When I was born the US population was something like 70/30 rural, now it is reversed.

When people live stacked on top of each other in a relatively small area they encounter a mass of people within moments of leaving their abode. This leads to a situation where acknowledging each other individual's prescence is impossible. So it becomes evermore easy and normal to ignore your fellow human and view him/her as an obstacle to whatever errand you have embarked upon.

Upon moving from my rural homeland to a city setting I experienced some ridicule for my habit of speaking to each and every person I made eye contact with and was downright roasted for observing the 'country' custom of pulling to the side of the road to let a funeral procession pass.(culture shock)

I in no way mean to imply city folk are inherently mean or graceless but rather that a rural setting is, by default, better suited for cultivating the traits considered virtuous in our society

Just my perception. A hillbilly hypothesis, if you will.

[insomniac]

but who's to decided what too much is? the government?

There is no way that the goverment can enforce laws on manners...there will always be bullies,and there will always be victims...it`s human nature.

[WolfieD]

Why be good when it is so incredibly easy to be mean?

You have to make an effort to be good and decent, being mean is easier.

Which boils down to "People nowadays are lazy"

I'm part of the last of a dying breed. How do you think I won over Ashley?

Surely not my rugged good looks...

[Bop]

I've always found it easier and more energy effecient just to be nice. Being mean, to me at least, takes too much effort.

[Xerxes]

I would have to agree Bop, I guess for some people it just comes natural to be nice, polite, cordial even.

But remember, evil people can still be charming...

As far as eloquence of speech bop, I SO agree with you. This is something that I have complained about for awhile now- the degrading quality of speech and writing. Along with that, notice bop how penmanship has also declined. The handwriting of average 18th century writer ... is absolutely beautiful. Today you would have to PAY someone skilled to write your correspondance so elegantly.

[Xerxes]

That can't be-

Writing and speech are still the only real ways to communicate- all technology has done is made it easier and faster to transfer data- be it text or voice.

[stttafffy]

i hold about 20 doors a day, i think, and i say thank you and hello to strangers, flash those dastardy han solo smiles to everyone, but it really hasnt gotten me anywhere in terms of money, recognition or girls. most of the girls that i have known took me being nice and polite and respectful as an indicator that i was weak, and that they could walk all over me, and they would get pissed when they found out i wasnt. they would still hang around and try to get me to do things for them! one of my old best friends, a very very manipulative person, called my house the day before thanksgiving, after me not talking to her for like 8 months. very irritating. i think nice guys finish last unless by chance they meet a nice girl. i know they are out there, just havnt found one yet. and the next issue: shallow people. there are some really really small minded people in he world, and they are moronic. ( i am going to have to stop writing soon, my mouse hand is cramping...) judging a book by its cover is too common. especially in social situations with peers. and i hate the way people fall into societal slots, like 'preps' and 'skaters.' not necessarily the individals fault for being labeled a label, but people are trained to classify others at first glance. i can see peoples brains working when they first see me. it usually goes: tall. skinny. not hideous looking (which allows me to proceed further in thier line of thought). t shirt and sweatpants. 2 year old sneaks. hat, short hair. and then they continue to evaluate and classify, it is human nature. when you see a bum what do you think? i dotn know. i am inventing a new post type, PWSD. this will be the companion to PWI, which is Posting While Intoxicated. from here on out, PWSD will mean 'Posting While Sleep Deprived.' im gonna put it in my sig, nbut iits just to warn you that another thread like this is coming, with random thoughts and nonsense all mushed togethat, goodnight


this is an edit, folks:
i was scrolling back up the page to hit the link for the gd forum to go back, when i noticed 'moderation.' i am a VERY basic person. i have only what i need. i cut my hair short so i dont have to comb it, i have one sweater that i wear when i am cold. one jacket for outside, i eat one meal a day, live in a very small room. i have 3 pairs of pants suitable for wearing outside, plus the dress ones i need for univ. community service. i have maybe 17 t shirts, one pair dress shoes, a pair of sneakers that ive had for almost 3 years now, and a new pair i wont wear till my old ones disintegrate. i dont see the use of much else, why have 30 pairs of pants? why buy designer underwear? i get mad at the world a lot. see, im ranting again, goodnight for real

[Bilbo Baggins]

Are you sure that your spacebar isn't broken?


I personally try to be respectful where I can, to hold my tongue if an elder is speaking down to me, and i try to keep my head down and ifnore the largely ignorant society that is around me.

[InvisableMan]

i perfer to stay in the shadows but i dash out to save the day when need be

[rm']

Originally posted by Boplicity
A good example of the difference between our generation and ones a hundred years ago can be seen in the manner in which they wrote and used the English language. People used to write each other letters very frequently and if you ever had a chance to see these letters you would understand the amount of beauty and mastery of the English language that they used in their everyday speech. Today you has become "u", and rather than finding constructive ways to deal with issues, we merely substitute "fuck you" for any sort of intelligent answer. Van Gogh was not an educated man and yet read his letters ( http://www.vangoghgallery.com/letters/to_theo_main.htm )- you will find an eloquence that far exceeds some of our most highly educated individuals. And this was typical speech, everyday speech, that even the uneducated masses shared.

I have to completely disagree with you Bop. When you look at the social context of letters from yesteryear, you'd realize why they seem so eloquent. Everyman did not have the luxury of letter writing. Either He was illiterate, or all His friends and relatives lived very close to Him. As such, letters were reserved for the more educated, more refined levels of society. Throughout the ages, Everyman has resorted to crude, vulgar speech when conversing with Everyotherman, because that's the simplest and fastest way to do it. Just walk the streets of the world of Van Gogh's letter, and you will see what I mean. It's just because of the nature of the average person of that time that it never happened that such speech got put down on paper (incidentally, Mark Twain revolutionized American Lit. by doing that very thing; writing how we speak). Their speech was just as crude as ours. It just happened that over the years, Everyman has become literate, so crude language is finding it's way into writing.

But that doesn't mean that people of my generation are incapable of beautiful thoughts or words. I've been tremendously lucky to find a number of people, through the internet and through long hard searches in the real world, with whom I share emails, letters, phone conversations and ICQ discussions. These discussions are no less intellectually stimulating or aurally pleasing as the words of the generations before us. You just have to search for these people.

[Bop]

Don't take my thoughts as overstatement, I do not mean literally everybody spoke in that fashion, but a larger proportion of the public did, they wrote with more eloquence, and with a larger vocabulary.

Van Gogh was an outsider, an uneducated misfit; he made friends with prostitutes and the homeless; I would hardly consider that a worthwhile enviornment in which to train refinement of speech...

Also, look at old war letters, that were sent home from teenagers during the Civil War & the two world wars, you will be very surprised to find a mastery of the English language within those contexts. They were not overly educated, just average men and boys writing home- yet when you compare some of those letters to ones written in the Gulf War, you will understand what I mean.