I have heard it said that young people today care only about what they want. In fact I have seen good qualities in this generation. They appear to be interested in big causes, and they appear to be of an intense disposition and are willing to passionately embrace important issues. I come from the former Soviet Union. In the Soviet Union, people were taught to sacrifice themselves for the greater good. They worked and sacrificed, only to find the fruits of their work wind up in Swiss bank accounts. They sacrificed themselves for absolutely nothing. When I came to America with these same values, people were calling me an egomaniac and a commie. Then they decided that I was selfish and that they were not. This is beyond ridiculous. With altruism, we see many people not only not encouraging it but in fact attacking it. A New Age guru once told me that altruism is based on being three years old and having his whole existence depending on other people. A man with lots of psychological knowledge said things to the effect of that if you don't have high self-esteem you have nothing to offer anyone else. So we have situations such as one I've seen a long time ago, in which a naturally altruistic woman said that if she cannot live for herself she can't live. This is completely wrong. There are many things to live for besides yourself; and the people who say that you not only should, but must, live for yourself are wrong in every way that counts. Now I, being obviously such a commie, am perfectly willing to work for the benefit of things other than myself. But I do not want my work to be wasted. I would not sacrifice myself for the greed of a bureaucrat. If I am to sacrifice myself for someone or something, it better be something good. When people have attitudes such as ones expressed by the New Age guru, what we see is people being taught to be jerks. A question that one may ask is, Why would one go to war to defend people who have such convictions? According to some in New Age, everyone makes their destiny with their consciousness. So does this mean that the 500,000 heroic Americans who died in the Second World War caused it through negativity in their consciousness? Once again, why would one be willing to go to war to defend people who believe such a thing? The baby boom generation started out altruistic and for a long time made an ideology of selfishness. As they become older and more infirm they may recognize that they need others, and that they need to be good to them. It is wrong to claim that altruism is somehow infantile. It is wrong to demand self-esteem. And it is completely wrong to claim that people must live for themselves or else they cannot live. So of course the young people these days have been fed this foolishness, and any number of them absorbed it. However there are others who have more of a clue. I feel closer to this generation than I do to my own, and I think that they are excellent. And I sincerely hope that their rightful efforts bear good fruit.
"The baby boom generation started out altruistic and for a long time made an ideology of selfishness. As they become older and more infirm they may recognize that they need others, and that they need to be good to them. It is wrong to claim that altruism is somehow infantile. It is wrong to demand self-esteem. And it is completely wrong to claim that people must live for themselves or else they cannot live." This is the biggest load of drivel you have ever penned here. Have you ever been on a plane? In the pre-flight instructions they tell you that if the oxygen masks appear, you put your own mask on first before you help anybody else because if you die from oxygen deprivation you are no help to anyone else. I suppose you think that's "selfish". In psychology 101 I learned that nobody is "altruistic" - anybody who claims that they are altruistic does it because there is something in it for them. You whine about the boomers but the reality is that boomers take care of family first while the gen-x and millenial types virtue signal about how good and generous they are. They brag about how wonderful they are and do nothing except march down the street while others are working.
Obviously the 101 psychology people are wrong. I have known people in nursing profession who were completely altruistic, and there was nothing in it for them. I am involved with the Salvation Army, and they likewise are not doing it for themselves. The most family-oriented generation in recent times were not the baby boomers but their parents, the World War II generation. Baby boomers were in fact attacked by gen-Xers and suchlike for breaking up the institution of family. I most certainly put my family first. And one aspect of that is making sure that my daughter does not have to put up with ugly social conditions and ugly attitudes. Attitudes that damn the best aspects in people and look for ulterior motives everywhere.
I don't think you know what you are talking about. In the first place I don't think you know what altruism is. The practicing Psychologist who taught the Psych 101 course I was talking about is wrong? I'd take her word over yours any day. Nurses don't have an ulterior motive, you say? Have you ever been one? No? Are those nurses you were talking about doing it for nothing? No, they are doing it for a paycheck. There is something in it for them. This is the most telling statement: "Baby boomers were in fact attacked by gen-Xers and suchlike for breaking up the institution of family." We are attacked by Gen-Xers and millennials because they are spoiled brats who have had everything handed to them. Every Gen-Xer I know is a slacker who can't hold down a job, never owned anything they paid for themselves, and complain constantly about everything being somebody else's fault, like you just did and you always do every time you show up here. Want to do something totally altruistic? Donate a kidney or something. Do something that hurts and costs you instead of bragging for a change. Then I'll change my mind. One more thing: Do you know any "greatest generation" people? The best of them died on foriegn soil in WWII - the rest of them were just people. Fallible, flawed people, just like you who bitched about their parents the same way you are doing. What made them great was that they grew up during the depression and didn't have time for navel gazing. They worked from the time they were kids for everything they had. By the way: I am "old and infirmed" with not one, but two disabilities, but I worked until full retirement age and beyond. Every time I go to the grocery store I can't find a place to park because your ilk have taken all the disabled parking spots even as they tell me how "selfish" I am.
Less racist, probably, even if there is a new race obsession at the left, judgemental, I don't think so. They're globally extremly judgemental, not always on the same things however.
By the way, young people today have a great potential, like young people always had, but I think they're a mess on a lot of levels, mess they inherited partly.
Your claim that gen-Xers and millenials were spoiled brats has been anticipated by many, especially those in the World War II generation, who claim that baby boomers were spoiled brats. I can most certainly hold down a job. As for altruistic activities, I have been cleaning at the Salvation Army church that I attend as well as participating in their services. Nursing profession attracts people who are compassionate. If they can make it count as a paycheck, then all the power to them. Doing good should feel good, and if you are making money at it then that is only rightful. I know a mathematics teacher from World War II generation who kept teaching long into his retirement. There have been fine people in every generation. I have not taken anyone's parking spaces; I take public transportation. Please do some research before attacking people for something that they are not.
If this is a virtue signaling contest, I was an orderly in a VA hospital after I left the military myself. The pay was not good. I had already served my time and the economy was on the skids so I had to take what I could get. I know something about nurses, not the least of which is the fact that they get burned out from the hours and the demands of the profession. Until a few months ago I was an unpaid pastor myself while also having had a regular job. I don't know how much money and time I gave to people in need out of my own resources, or how many meals I myself paid for and served. I finally had to leave the ministry for health reasons. I am not attacking you for being something you're not, I am attacking you for being preachy, sanctimonious, and judgemental. You also have a chip the size of a 2x4 on your shoulder.
