October 23, 2003

• I'm going to admit here that I'm a DR. Phil fan 

  
  

  He has this family that he checks on once a week or so.  Today, the 13-year-old daughter said she wanted to divorce her parents & go up for adoption because her family fights, they blame her (for what I don't know), and call her stupid. 

  
  

  ALL 13 year olds hate their parents.  Who hasn't fought with their parents at that age?  I think everyone was a brat at that age.  This girl cops an attitude with her parents & blames them for everything.  In listening to her talk, you can tell she has no idea of the severity of what she said.  She thought that living with another family would be so much better.  She had to have been thinking that a new family would some how be all pretty & roses & puppies.  She said that she didn't want to be told no.  Well, welcome to reality!

  
  

  This kind of mentality pisses me off.  It's not just some 13-year-old girl getting famous from Dr. Phil.  A friend of mine, who's my age (24) just got married in September.  She knew the guy for less than 3 months.  She married him because both their mothers died around the same time (within a week or so of each other) & his sister & grandmother work(ed) for vets (she's a tech too, but doesn't have her license).  I told her while we were in school together that marriage magnifies everything 10-fold.  That every little problem becomes a much larger problem.  My own marriage proved so.  But, Elisabeth was going to do what she was going to do.  16 days after getting married, she & her "husband" had a fight & he told her to get her stuff out of the RV (yes, they live in an RV) so he could leave.  He wanted it to end.  After only 16 days!  I went out to see them, and I spoke to her.  I tried to make my point without being hurtful.  I told her she should consider counseling, etc.  I told her that if Jim, the "husband," isn't willing to work for it, that it was time to end it.  I didn't tell her this, but I disagree with this marriage completely, but want to be there for her (she kicked everyone else out of her life).  But, what kills me is that, she & I are the same age, but her thinking mirrors that of (the above said) a 13 year old.  

  
  

  Yeah, fairy tales are nice.  My generation refuses to accept reality for what it is.  Life sucks.  So what?  You need to learn & grow from the shitty experiences & then move on.  You need to laugh.  Why take life seriously?  You're not getting out of it alive.  I'm just mad at my selfish, naieve "peers."  Everyone is out for themselves & trying to take the easy way out.  What happened to inner strength & beauty?  What happened to learning from experience?  What happened to working?  Not just in a job (even though most kids my age don't want to do that either), but in life.  I am so disgusted by this mentality & I worry about what younger kids are growing up with in terms of morals, ethics/work ethic, life goals, perceptions of reality, etc.  If you expect life to be a fairy tale, EVERYONE will disappoint you.  What makes it worse is that, no matter how much I say it (or think it), most of these people won't get it.  I don't take frustration well.  I want to scream "Wake up!" at these people, but it won't get me anywhere. 

  
  

  I grew up in an abusive home, put up with the shit, and survived.  I think I'm a better person for it.  I'm strong, independent, I work hard, and I have a good sense of reality.  I would be a very different person if I grew up in a different home or divorced my parents.  I would be a spoiled brat expecting the world to cater to me.  From my own experiences, I've learned to rely on no one but myself, and I think I'm doing pretty damn well.  I have goals, and I will achieve them because of the determination I've had all my life.  I needed it to survive, now I need it to thrive & prosper.  I think it was George Karlin who said that if more kids grew up in abusive homes, we'd be better off.  I'm starting to think he's right. 

  
  

  Today, we're too soft.  No one wants to say no to their kids.  So, we're seeing very spoiled kids.  They don't understand the concepts of work or patience.  They don't appreciate what they have because they're used to expecting it due to shitty parenting. I'd never abuse my child/children (if I ever have any), but they will learn the word no, they will learn patience (you may not get it today, but maybe at Christmas), and they will understand that mommy & daddy worked their asses off for them.  Unfortunately, that mind set is the minority.  The parents nowadays are trying to make up for the harshness we dealt with as children, but it's making things worse.  They're not teaching their children responsibility, patience, understanding, hard work, etc.  They're not even teaching their kids to think.  We've become too lax in our educational standards.  And now, that lax, spoiled mentality is breeding.  Stupid creating stupid.  Sigh.  Such is life, I suppose.  Christ, the youth of America (in general.  Of course there are plenty of exceptions) are so selfish, materialistic, naieve, and stupid (yes, there is a difference, and most do have both traits).   

  • 4:29 pm
  • 2 Comments