From: decay@cbnewsj.cb.att.com (dean.kaflowitz)
Subject: Re: The March in D.C.
Organization: AT&T
Distribution: na
Date: Tue, 14 Apr 1992 15:41:29 GMT
Summary: Ooh, I missed a good one

The problem with some children is they don't have a sense of history.

In article <18127@oasys.dt.navy.mil> bense@oasys.dt.navy.mil (Ronald Bense) writes:
> In talk.abortion, mal11@po.CWRU.Edu (Matthew A. Lewis) writes:
> >>In <18037@oasys.dt.navy.mil> bense@oasys.dt.navy.mil (Ronald Bense) writes:
> >>>In talk.abortion, mal11@po.CWRU.Edu (Matthew A. Lewis) writes:
> 
> >>>>world would be a better place. Damn, I love the ME generation. NOT
> 								 ^^^
> >>>Another juvenile clueless....
> >>>Matthew, if we didn't work for ourselves first, we never would be in
> >>>a position to help others.
> >>>The ME generation
> 
> 
> >gee Ron.....your generation has done a whole fuckin' lot to
> >make the world a better place. Now I have to deal with drugs,
> >abortions, teenage pregnancies, etc.
> 
> As I said, another juvenile, clueless, immature twit (sorry about the
> redundancy, everyone.:)

Quite right, Ron, although I am trying to be polite with Steve,
just to see how he handles courtesy.

The Me Generation was a phrase coined to describe the yuppies
and college students of the late 70's and 80's.  Curiously enough,
abortion, drugs, and teenage pregnancy are generally blamed on the
generation of the 60's, which was the generation noted for activism
in the area of social issues.  I believe, Steve, you have your
pop-social science confused.  This is not hard to understand.

Interestingly, it was the social conservatives of the 70's
and 80's, most closely identified with the anti-abortion
movement, who ahd the most to do with cutting programs aimed
at bootstrapping people out of poverty.  Such programs would
have possibly been of great help in getting people out
of the cycle of poverty which contributes to teenage
pregnancy and drug use.

The issues surrounding drug use and teenage pregnancy are very
complex and have very little, at least in the case of urban
teenagers, with any Me Generation.  In fact, urban teenagers
are not by any means included in the group described as the
Me Generation.

By the way, that group  most closely blamed for the problems
Steve cites, that group of activists from the 60's, were also
the people who were involved in things like the Peace
Corps and Vista.  That was the generation that brought ideas
like Head Start to the fore.

Finally, Steve, I think your understanding of history
is far too narrow, as well as your focus.  Every generation
has its problems, and the main accelerant for the problems of
today is not a Me Generation.  If there is a Me Generation, that
is a product of cause, not a cause itself.  I am also
more than a little concerned for the future of this country
when I hear a 19 year old student spouting doom and gloom
philosophy, which is how you have come across.  I am sure you'll
deny that, but you read very much like the fellow with the
sign saying "The End is Near."

The End is Always Near, every time someone your age discovers
that there are problems in the world which seem huge and
intractable.  I am far more sanguine and far more hopeful
than that, because what I have realized is that all one needs
to stave off these horrible apocalyptic visions is a small
shovel for each of many hands.

Dean Kaflowitz
Newsgroups: talk.abortion