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Renko
Guest
You can blame the parents for the up- bringing and what kids are taught in school now- a -days. No Christian back ground what so ever.
don't you think people are 10 times more rude now than ever in (recent) history???
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distracted
Guest
on the way to where? Heaven?? yes, that makes sense…The truth will set you free . . . . but it will hurt like hell on the way - said to me by my priest.
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distracted
Guest
i don’t… or at least i don’t to the best of my ability…Yes, a small town in North Yorkshire, I know most people in the nearby streets by name and the town’s still small enough that you’ve a fair idea of who a child belongs to so if they’re in trouble you know who to take them to and if they’re misbehaving they know news of it will get home before they do
Many families have lived here for generations ( my family have spent the last 400 odd years living 60 miles away but within 5 minutes of moving here neighbours were knocking on the door to say hello ) Don’t let the few rude people spoil life for you, they’re not worth it
which may not be saying much… ??
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distracted
Guest
SO true!!!
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a_priori
Guest
“Excuse me” and “thank you” have all but disappeared from the language here in the Northeast.
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JimG
Guest
Narcissism is certainly more prevalent, and that can lead to unconcern for others and to rudeness. An article in the recent First Things magazine mentions a recent study among college students showing a sharp rise in the “narcissism index.”
12% of college students surveyed in the 1950’s agreed with the statement “I am an important person.” In the 1980’s some 80% agreed with the statement.
Not to downplay anyone’s self esteem, but the results may suggest a rather inflated sense of self-worth. And narcissism tends to be both infectious and highly contagious, and has affected all of us.
Now, we’re all so important. We can have our own blogs, post our photos and videos online, become instant experts posting important opinions are a variety of forums (as I am doing now.) But all that self importance makes us less apt to consider others as equally or more important.
12% of college students surveyed in the 1950’s agreed with the statement “I am an important person.” In the 1980’s some 80% agreed with the statement.
Not to downplay anyone’s self esteem, but the results may suggest a rather inflated sense of self-worth. And narcissism tends to be both infectious and highly contagious, and has affected all of us.
Now, we’re all so important. We can have our own blogs, post our photos and videos online, become instant experts posting important opinions are a variety of forums (as I am doing now.) But all that self importance makes us less apt to consider others as equally or more important.
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James_S_Saint
Guest
This is very much a large part of it, but it actually began long before.
During WW2 a man named John Nash, working for the government wrote a paper explaining how self-concern expands the economy and increases government power.
Very many things came from that paper. The most significant was the “game-theory” program that displayed his point. Since that time, very many nations have accepted his proposal and he has been presented a Noble prize.
This story was the subject of a BBC broadcast, “The Trap, What Ever Happened to Our Dreams of Freedom” in 2007. You can Google it. It comes in 3 programs and tells a much deeper story than it intended.
Throughout society very many incentives were provided so as to bring the economy in alignment with his program. A great deal of what you believe concerning many things are the result of that paper even though seemingly unrelated. Very many of the arguments and debates you encounter here are another result.
If you have divorced, you are probably one of the millions of victims as the entire “Me Generation” was established. This was accomplished by a well known Christian/Judaism method.
The overall effect and details are huge. The Vietnam catastrophe was one of its many effects as ideologies struggled to prove their superiority. The US gave up on Jesus and accepted its new Lord. Eventually it acquired control over the media so as to ensure its directives.
In effect, the paper, without directly stating so, requires that anything Christian be dismissed and even countered with its opposite. “All things have an opposite”. The entire Anti-God campaign, though started much early in Europe with the Nietzschian program gained new strength. “Survival of the fittest”. The establishment of a Pharaoh as the US President, although the President himself is but a salesman for the cause. The Atheists that you encounter on here even today are the indirect result.
Christianity, in my view, simply failed to properly answer needful questions. That one weakness in Christianity due to promoting glorification over understanding, allowed all to be lost. I blame Christian leaders as much as all others. “Faith is all you need.” - that certainly wasn’t from God. If Christianity doesn’t use God’s wisdoms, someone else will.
I am one of 100’s of millions who have suffered needlessly because Christianity lost understanding of itself. It’s a war of ideas and their residual effects, a war in “Heaven”.
The rudeness is but a side-effect brought about through discomfort and doubt as people strive to live.
It is all about creating power through Discomfort and Doubt.
If you want to save your families, huddle close to your Church and stop placing glorification and mystery over clear understanding. No atheist will remain so when Christianity stops feeding the doubt.
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Shoshana
Guest
It’s no wonder so many people are being less civil of late. I think it has to do with technology.
catholicexchange.com/2009/09/09/121686/
catholicexchange.com/2009/09/09/121686/
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Shoshana
Guest
50 things that are being killed by the internet
telegraph.co.uk/technology/6133903/50-things-that-are-being-killed-by-the-internet.html
telegraph.co.uk/technology/6133903/50-things-that-are-being-killed-by-the-internet.html
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emma411
Guest
Tell me about it. When I visited my brother in NYC for his graduation from Columbia, I felt it all around. From Subways to the streets. If you so much as looked at a person out of sincerity it was as if you were going to get into trouble. Yes people are ruder more then ever. I feel like my kids are the only ones who know how to say please, thank you, your welcome, and are coming to know the Lord more and more. They sometimes get weird looks because they are so courteous. And they talk about Jesus, whereas I don’t hear many other kids talk about our Lord. I get some weird looks if I was to give a smile to someone. I thought smiles were contagious, I guess here and other places they make you sick! But if I look serious then I have an attitude.
Ahh I’m so confused:shrug:
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JimG
Guest
On a more encouraging note, the students at my local parish school are very polite and considerate, and I have noted the same in some other Catholic schools.
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reggieM
Guest
I agree with the concerns on this thread and answer “yes” to the question in the OP.
Regarding pregnant women and elderly … we might remember that there was a time when men would not sit and make any women stand. That practice has been rendered mostly pointless for many reasons.
With regard to pregnant and elderly, it’s more obviously wrong. I think some teens (perhaps of minority ethinicity) don’t feel connected to people of other races. It’s “us vs them” – so “their elderly” are not a concern.
Selfishness is a big part – it causes us to lose unity as a nation (I’m speaking about the U.S. only – not sure how it is elsewhere).
Courtesy is based on reverence and respect – for God first and then for all other people.
Coarse vulgarity in the culture destroys reverence for anything.
Rudeness on the internet is overwhelming at times. Then there are cell phones and texting, iPod addiction – people totally absorbed in their own world and blocking off the rest.
There’s the selfishness of birth control – lack of reverence for children and new life. Anger towards families with children, and no interest in helping out.
Family-oriented neighborhoods, at one time, were based on helping each other out. Bigger Catholic families had support from neighbors, parish, schools and society.
As someone else said – people do not smile innocently and with joy the way they should.
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Kay_Cee
Guest
May I propose a solution to the problem?
First, I highly recommend a good listen–actually, probably several good listens–to a talk by Peter Kreeft entitled “How to Win the Culture War.” You can listen or download it for free here: peterkreeft.com/audio.htm
Second, I recommend planting seeds of kindness. All of us here can not only be civil but go far beyond it. That store clerk with the sour look on her face? Find something nice to say to her: “I really like your hair” or “Wow! You’re super fast on that register!” I’ve noticed when I give little compliments like this, people just beam! It doesn’t cost a thing, takes only a moment, but can really make a person’s day.
Third, and most important: pray, pray, pray!!!
First, I highly recommend a good listen–actually, probably several good listens–to a talk by Peter Kreeft entitled “How to Win the Culture War.” You can listen or download it for free here: peterkreeft.com/audio.htm
Second, I recommend planting seeds of kindness. All of us here can not only be civil but go far beyond it. That store clerk with the sour look on her face? Find something nice to say to her: “I really like your hair” or “Wow! You’re super fast on that register!” I’ve noticed when I give little compliments like this, people just beam! It doesn’t cost a thing, takes only a moment, but can really make a person’s day.
Third, and most important: pray, pray, pray!!!
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liquidpele
Guest
get off my lawn!!
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distracted
Guest
we ARE all important… created by God and in His image… so we definitely should see ourselve as importnat…Even so, as you say, we shouldn’t see ourselves as SO important that that everyone else is a virtual nobody…
i think a lot of this unhealthy “high” self esteem stems from the fact that no one is allowed to discipline their children anymore without it being called abuse… If you look cross-eyed at your kid, you can psycholoigcally damage him for life according to some people…
i say kick their **** es while they’re young… (figuratively speaking…) and save them from the awful consequences of being … “diciplined” by a world that doesn’t “love them” - or at least not as much as their parents (allegedly do)… In other words, parents who spoil their children are doing them a SERIOUS injustice… (and the world also)…
objectively speaking, this is not love… I u/stand the unconditional love a parent has for a child… You love them so much you can’t see anything wrong with them…
only problem is: other people DO…
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distracted
Guest
.
If you want to save your families, huddle close to your Church and stop placing glorification and mystery over clear understanding. No atheist will remain so when Christianity stops feeding the doubt.
i agree with most of what you say… I think…
i just kind of don’t u/stand what the main point is??
Ok, no, that’s not it… the main point is to stay close to the Church… but there’s something else i’m not getting…
stop placing glorification and mystery over clear understanding***
What does that mean??
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distracted
Guest
Tell me about it. When I visited my brother in NYC for his graduation from Columbia, I felt it all around. From Subways to the streets. If you so much as looked at a person out of sincerity it was as if you were going to get into trouble. Yes people are ruder more then ever. I feel like my kids are the only ones who know how to say please, thank you, your welcome, and are coming to know the Lord more and more. They sometimes get weird looks because they are so courteous. And they talk about Jesus, whereas I don’t hear many other kids talk about our Lord. I get some weird looks if I was to give a smile to someone. I thought smiles were contagious, I guess here and other places they make you sick! But if I look serious then I have an attitude.
don’t mean to laugh but i can certainly relate… damned if you do… d- if you don’t…
i guess its all about Satan…
yes, let’s blame him… he hates everybody…
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distracted
Guest
- Fear that you are the only person unmoved by a celebrity’s death [Michael Jackson comes to mine…]. Twitter has become a clearing-house for jokes about dead famous people. Tasteless, but an antidote to the “fans in mourning” mawkishness that otherwise predominates.
- Punctuality
Before mobile phones, people actually had to keep their appointments and turn up to the pub on time. Texting friends to warn them of your tardiness five minutes before you are due to meet has become one of throwaway rudenesses of the connected age. - ***Adolescent nerves at first porn purchase
The ubiquity of free, hard-core pornography on the web has put an end to one of the most dreaded rights rites of passage for teenage boys – buying dirty magazines. Why tremble in the WHSmiths queue when you can download mountains of filth for free in your bedroom? The trend also threatens the future of “porn in the woods” – the grotty pages of Razzle and Penthouse that scatter the fringes of provincial towns and villages. ***
- The myth of cat intelligence
The proudest household pets are now the illiterate butts of caption-based jokes. [not a problem - don’t like cats much…] - Music stores
In a world where people don’t want to pay anything for music, charging them £16.99 for 12 songs in a flimsy plastic case is no business model. - Letter writing/pen pals
Email is quicker, cheaper and more convenient; receiving a handwritten letter from a friend has become a rare, even nostalgic, pleasure. As a result, formal valedictions like “Yours faithfully” are being replaced by “Best” and “Thanks”. - Dead time
When was the last time you spent an hour mulling the world out a window, or rereading a favourite book? The internet’s draw on our attention is relentless and increasingly difficult to resist. - Hoaxes and conspiracy theories
The internet is often dismissed as awash with cranks, but it has proved far more potent at debunking conspiracy theories than perpetuating them. The excellent Snopes.com continues to deliver the final, sober, word on urban legends. - Authoritative reference works
We still crave reliable information, but generally aren’t willing to pay for it. [One exception: I think i want to subscribe to *Human Events - because of Ann Coulter, R. Reagan’s endorsement…] - Enforceable copyright
The record companies, film studios and news agencies are fighting back, but can the floodgates ever be closed? - Reading telegrams at weddings
Quoting from a wad of email printouts doesn’t have the same magic. - Dogging
Websites may have helped spread the word about dogging, but the internet offers a myriad of more convenient ways to organise no-strings sex with strangers]. None of these involve spending the evening in lay-by near Aylesbury. - Aren’t they dead? Aren’t they gay?
Wikipedia allows us to confirm or disprove almost any celebrity rumour instantly. - Knowing telephone numbers off by heart
After typing the digits into your contacts book, you need never look at them again. - Respect for doctors and other professionals
The proliferation of health websites has undermined the status of GPs, whose diagnoses are now challenged by patients armed with printouts. - Privacy
We may attack governments for the spread of surveillance culture, but users of social media websites make more information about themselves available than Big Brother could ever hoped to obtain by covert means. - Chuck Norris’s reputation
The absurdly heroic boasts on Chuck Norris Facts may be affectionate, but will anyone take him seriously again? - Mainstream media
The Seattle Post-Intelligencer and Rocky Mountain News in the US have already folded, and the UK’s Observer may follow. Free news and the migration of advertising to the web threaten the basic business models of almost all media organisations. - Concentration
What with tabbing between Gmail, Twitter, Facebook and Google News, it’s a wonder anyone gets their work done. A disturbing trend captured by the wonderful XKCD webcomic. - Personal reinvention
How can you forge a new identity at university when your Facebook is plastered with photos of the “old” you? - Viktor Yanukovych
The Orange Revolution in Ukraine was organised by a cabal of students and young activists who exploited the power of the web to mobilise resistance against the old regime, and sweep Viktor Yushchenko to power. - The nervous thrill of the reunion
You’ve spent the past five years tracking their weight-gain on Facebook, so meeting up with your first love doesn’t pack the emotional punch it once did. - Prostitute calling cards/ kerb crawling
Sex can be marketed more cheaply, safely and efficiently on the web than the street corner. - Staggered product/film releases
Companies are becoming increasingly draconian in their anti-piracy measure, but are finally beginning to appreciate that forcing British consumers to wait six months to hand over their money is not a smart business plan. - Fanzines
Blogs and fansites offer greater freedom and community interaction than paper fanzines, and can be read by many more people. - Your lunchbreak
Did you leave your desk today? Or snaffle a sandwich while sending a few personal emails and checking the price of a week in Istanbul?
personally, i am not into the internet except for discussing issues…
one reason i dont like the internet is because it is on a computer… ***
:manvspc::compcoff::takethat:
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reggieM
Guest
Actually, I think it’s the exact opposite. As the articles and others have said – technology has degraded human interaction. It does this by destroying the mystery which is inherent in life. It pretends to “understand” things by reducing them to scientific notions or mathematical formulae. This flattens the world, makes it monotonous and mundane – and increases despair.
The most beautiful things are those which are filled with mystery and wonder. A great work of music remains great for generations because it contains mystery. We can wonder how all the pieces came together so perfectly in a whole. How does the melody move us?
It’s the same with love, of course. It cannot be reduced to physical laws and blind-matter. The attempt to make that reduction gives us a society obsessed with “sex objects” and having the “products of conception” removed for reasons of convenience.
Technology ultimately becomes boring, even before it becomes obsolete.
Mystery, wonder, “glorification of God”, innocence, contemplation of the beauty of nature and the glory of heaven – those are values that last and help lift the soul to joy.
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emma411
Guest
So, so true!
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