Ray A wrote:These are only my personal observations from some 56 years on the planet. I talk to a lot of people, and every single adult over 40 I've met agrees that loss of respect for authority (I'm speaking of parents and the law here) is one of the main reasons for the clear decline of society. What you read in statistical journals/studies about crime rates, etc., is only the tip of the iceberg. For example, most crime and antisocial behaviour today goes unreported to police (or not acted upon because of "bureaucratic humbug"), and the citizens who ignore "official reports" know better what is going on in their own lives, and around them in society, than what they are told by "statisticians". There's a general feeling of gloom about the way society in general is heading, and no one seems to know what to do to reverse it.
I'm not going to argue with someone that has as much experience in the world as you do (much more than me). But I have to question a couple of things. I've talked to family members who are well into their 60's that are kind of rude when they talk about people of other nationalities and race and background.
So I wonder if it could be argued that young people respect other cultures more than the older generation while at the same time young people do not respect older people as much... I don't know. I've also observed that some of my SILs are more concerned about visiting their aging grandmother than their mother is.
Sure, I can see how children in public schools might disrespect their teachers more than kids did in the 1950's but I'm still wondering about the statistics and data that points to what BKP is suggesting.