My take is that the hypocritical praise of posterity is the result of actions that demonstrate lack of actual and proper provision for posterity, starting with family planning.They say that we should pass this bill for the sake of posterity. I say, "Why should we do anything for posterity. What has posterity ever done for us?" - Archetypical (and historical) Irish bull
I report and link. You decide. - J :)
From a Reason Magazine article, Have We Raised A Generation Of Narcissists?:
Have We Raised A Generation Of Narcissists? [/] It's 10 p.m. Do you know how big your child's ego is? [/] Steve Chapman | May 21, 2007
Growing older has many drawbacks and one unalloyed pleasure: passing judgment on the younger generation. Lately, people have been scrutinizing the members of Generation Y and finding them deficient. [/] What's wrong with the kids? A recent article in The Wall Street Journal reported that because they have been told since infancy that they were special, they believe it and expect to keep hearing it. "Bosses, professors and mates are feeling the need to lavish praise on young adults, particularly twenty-somethings, or else see them wither under an unfamiliar compliment deficit," it said.
To critics, this generation is an army of self-absorbed narcissists with a swollen sense of entitlement. In my house, I have tried to prevent this outcome by reminding my kids, "The world does not revolve around you. It revolves around me." But apparently some parents didn't dispense that wisdom. [/] Jean Twenge, an associate professor of psychology at San Diego State University, reports that college students increasingly agree with statements indicating oversized egos, such as "I am an important person." Marian Salzman, a senior vice president at the advertising agency JWT, told The Christian Science Monitor, "Gen-Y is the most difficult workforce I've ever encountered," because they "are so self-indulgent."
But before Gen Y-ers start to feel bad about themselves, they should know that worse things were said about their parents. Back in the 1960s and '70s, it was universal wisdom that the kids of that era suffered from too much coddling. Vice President Spiro Agnew blamed student unrest and other problems on "spoiled brats who never had a good spanking."[My ellipses and emphasis]
