the tired Marine speaks

[reb]

deleted due to u.s.s. of a. formatting system

you may view Mr. Hall's blog including 'i'm tired' at:

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[Maedhi]

That was a very interesting read. I find myself agreeing with much of what the author writes, and I am not even from the same country! If we reward the wrong behaviour, we can expect the wrong results. I get called 'hard and harsh' for daring to suggest that those who want to earn should be prepared to work for it, good to know that others are just as frustrated as I am with the sense of entitlement.

This reminds me of another piece:
Bill of No Rights (To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.)

[reb]

Maedhi,

yep, it seems clear to me 'if you always do what you've always done, you'll always get what you've always gotten'.

here, right near me, we have a young (18 yr old) kid who has a chance at a great career in the military (scarce specialty, lots of bonuses, good chance for promotion and retention). he did his prelim paperwork, then like a dope, smoked dope. his parents have let him run wild and spoiled him. he thinks 'he is owed'. the parents threw him out, then wanted him back in, over and over. a neighbor took the kid in-the kid has no job, and nowhere to go except to the dope dealer. he went 'hot' on the first p test. neighbor has experience at 'cleanup', so put him through cleanup. got him p'ing 'cold'. then momma wanted him back home...and took him, despite papa's objections. papa has no leverage to force things. kid has 48 hours to go for induction and swearing...i hope he makes it, but he is sure in the wrong place to get help. he's actually a pretty good kid, i think, but has no 'background' at dealing with rl.

this is the microcosm of u.s.s. of a. society today...we coddle the people until they cannot take care of themselves, and they have no discipline; we teach them nothing in a practical sense...and then we squeal on the news when they fail at anything meaningful. how unrealistic of us, and how wasteful of human life.

thanks for the good link. gonna cf to email list.

[Maedhi]

You raise a very good point about discipline. I find it lacking in a lot of people, and I'm not sure why. I have heard the 'pressure of modern life' explanation, dual income households give parents very little time with their children, so we see a deterioration in the state of society, but I don't find it convincing as the worst adult brats I meet have had plenty of attention from their parents.

Do you think we should let the 'survival of the fittest' rule sort the men from the boys, or should we play big brother and point these kids in the right direction? I'm in two minds about this. I hate interfering in anyone's life, but as I grow older I find it easier to slip into (and be accepted in) the mentor role. In my professional life I have always been surprised at how much I can influence someone's behaviour with a combination of praise and criticism. From a purely selfish point of view, being in a society of educated fools raises my cost of living, but interacting with people costs me my peace of mind. In the situation you have written about, would you choose to be a positive influence on him?

[reb]

i gave the kid some advice. did it take? likely not, but one never knows...it's kinda like the 'pay it forward' thing. he's swearing in today...i hope. he gets a p test this am. i think he will pass. i have no control over the final outcome, and i really don't own it.

imo, there is no way to completely control 'survival of the fittest'. as best i can tell, it will operate despite our best efforts to nullify it. we designed airplanes, spaceships, balloons-to counteract gravity, but gravity still has the last word. this is the same way i see 'survival of the fittest'. the time horizon 'this rule' has is encompassing of homo sapiens-on both ends. much of our meddling has no long term effect from what i can tell. empires collapse, buildings return to dust, philosophies have a short life span compared to natural matters (such as planets, the universe). human control is an illusion per my observations.

one has to do what they feel is best, and 'let go' of the result. easier said than done, but i'm getting better at it as i practice it. interacting with the young person in this instance could cost me my peace, but i refuse to have a great deal of 'ownership' of the matter. i did not spawn him, it's not my 'path' to control him, and whatever good wishes i throw his way are a free gift from me, as i have received them previously.

i am only a short way along the road of learning discipline...tartanmarine has more than i have developed to this point, but i'm working on it. hall had a better teacher lol! and i'm sure it was more intense.