Doom?

[Scarpia]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20101221/ap_on_re_us/us_military_exam

The jist of it, 25% of high school graduates are unable to pass the military entrance exam.  75% of Americans 18-24 years of age don't qualify for military service because they are physically unfit, have a criminal record or didn't graduate high school.  The conclusion that the US is headed to the dustbin of history seems inescapable.   

[Josquin des Prez]

Don't worry, Europe its going down right along with America.

[karlhenning]

Maybe we could compete with Thailand in sex tourism? . . .

[Scarpia]

Maybe we could compete with Thailand in sex tourism? . . .

Have you seen the statistics on obesity?   

[MN Dave]

De-evolution is real.

[Daverz]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20101221/ap_on_re_us/us_military_exam

The jist of it, 25% of high school graduates are unable to pass the military entrance exam.  75% of Americans 18-24 years of age don't qualify for military service because they are physically unfit, have a criminal record or didn't graduate high school.  The conclusion that the US is headed to the dustbin of history seems inescapable.   

The educational problems are troubling, but the problem is solvable if we start to take it seriously.  What really disturbs me is the studied ignorance of the people that lead us (I'm looking at you, Senator Inhofe).  (And do we know that the military entrance exam isn't designed to reject that percentage?)

After my two pieces of meat lover's pizza, and given my general loathing for physical exercise (I blame the PE coach), I'll skip the obesity issue, but that also seems solvable.  Making cities and exurban areas more walkable would be a start.

[Josquin des Prez]

(I'm looking at you, Senator Inhofe).

Yeah, sure, its all Inhofe's fault. Nothing to do with the culture of permissiveness and excess which replaced wholesome middle class values during the "liberation" of America (including the part where mothers stayed at home and took care of their children, rather then chase after some dream of becoming a corporate slave, that great pinnacle of feminist achievement). Naaaa, lets just blame some random Republican. After all, we can't expect parents to actually be responsible for their kids. Nay, it would be irresponsible if we allowed them to do something about their kids. Let the government deal with it!

[Daverz]

Yeah, sure, its all Inhofe's fault.

I think you need to work on your reading comprehension.

Nothing to do with the culture of permissiveness and excess which replaced wholesome middle class values

Wholesome middle class values, circa 1930:



What a fantasy world you live in.   

[Philoctetes]

Daverz's image wasn't showing for me, so here it is:

[snyprrr]

Maybe we could compete with Thailand in sex tourism? . . .

Did you know that Iran is right after Thailand as mecca for transvestites? Apparently, man on man is a no no, but hey, you wanna go post-op, who is the ayatollah to kvetch?

[snyprrr]

btw- wait,... oh,...it's coming,... wait a sec,... oh, ok, here it is,...

The voice predicted doom for this Thread! gosh, and it was really just starting to hit that nuanced phase ...

[Gurn Blanston]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20101221/ap_on_re_us/us_military_exam

The jist of it, 25% of high school graduates are unable to pass the military entrance exam.  75% of Americans 18-24 years of age don't qualify for military service because they are physically unfit, have a criminal record or didn't graduate high school.  The conclusion that the US is headed to the dustbin of history seems inescapable.   

Those numbers seem grim out of context. What were the rates 25, 50 and 100 years ago? 

[Philoctetes]

Those numbers seem grim out of context. What were the rates 25, 50 and 100 years ago? 

Before the dark times....
Before... the EMPIRE!

[Gurn Blanston]

Before the dark times....
Before... the EMPIRE!

Yeah. Then.

[Philoctetes]

Yeah. Then.

I should have just linked to the other topic. It's equally relevant.

[Scarpia]

Those numbers seem grim out of context. What were the rates 25, 50 and 100 years ago? 

Interesting question.   Certainly incarceration and obesity rates were lower.   I'd imagine in olden times a larger fraction of high school graduates were competent, but a lower fraction of people actually graduated high school.

Besides, I just read that Lindsey Lohan is now accused of assault and battery of a worker at the Betty Ford Clinic.  Did we ever hear of such things happening to Rita Hayworth?

[jowcol]

Yeah, sure, its all Inhofe's fault. Nothing to do with the culture of permissiveness and excess which replaced wholesome middle class values during the "liberation" of America (including the part where mothers stayed at home and took care of their children, rather then chase after some dream of becoming a corporate slave, that great pinnacle of feminist achievement). Naaaa, lets just blame some random Republican. After all, we can't expect parents to actually be responsible for their kids. Nay, it would be irresponsible if we allowed them to do something about their kids. Let the government deal with it!

'Madness is something rare in individuals -- but in groups, parties, peoples, ages it is the rule.'   Nietzsche, Friedrich

I guess I have a Hobbesian world view that assumes that organized societies will always do their share of stupid things.   

If we look at the past, it helps to remove the rose-colored glasses.  Someone has made the obligatory lynching reference.  Think also how spousal abuse was far more tolerated, as well as institutional racism.  Smoking was more commonly supported.  (Although obesity was not as much of an issue). 

As far as the "corrosive" effects of having women  act as human beings-- I don't think that is as bad.  A common problem these days is not so much the liberated women, but the absent fathers in low-income regions.  Crime and drugs have a lot to do with that-- many women wage-earners are not ascending the corporate ladder so much as struggliing to raise kids without support.  Kids in this sort of family are much more likely to end up on the wrong side of the tracks than a two-income home with better educational opportunities.

Now I'll flip and take your side. I'm just as skeptical of our "modern civilization"  The blind progressives Panglossian mantra of how we are always getting better seems to be equally unrealistic.  There are corrosive forces acting on families (although I may disagree which ones).    I'm equally skeptical about letting businesses have a free hand OR letting the government run things, given that the former is more incentivized for short term growth at the cost of long term, and the latter is inept, and remains in power only by making contradictory promises, and can't make any lasting improvements while eying the polls.


As far as "letting the government deal with it"-- wasn't the New Deal a major government intervention that happened during the "good old days?"  Also, per capita, there were more government employees in 1960 than today (but in today's government, there is a more vertical structure and complex chain of decision making.)

My personally belief is that overly romanticizing either the past, or the current time  is just a different way of putting one's head in the sand.   The dark side of the human condition has always been around, and will remain as long as there are humans.