Slowly but Surely Right Before Our Eyes

I'm going to guess with reasonable confidence that through the years most elderly folks have reflected on their lifetime journey and concluded that a good deal of social innocence was lost during their generational ride. I know I certainly feel that some innocence vanished, some purity was lost and simple joys and once important things became mundane.

Teens from my youth were at home more and visited and interacted with family members more. We were not distracted by social media devices. School and church held a higher place on the activities-totem  pole. The weekend school athletic events drew greater crowds of students than seen today. Athletes seemed proud of Letter jackets and monogrammed sweaters and their mentors dressed in suits and ties. Today our athletes seem more interested in assimilation and coaches appear casual,in dress and discipline.  Teenage beer party's were prevalent back in the day but drug abuse and youth suicide was a rare event.

Once in awhile, in the 1940's & 1950's, I saw tattoos on military guys and inner-city gang members. I never recall seeing a woman with tattoos. I went to college games but never saw the tailgate drinking party's I see today. Major League Baseball games saw mostly men in the stands back in the '40's and '50's and seldom did I notice any spectator inebriated. Today at professional games, I notice great beer consumption, more vulgar language and fewer knowledgeable fans.

Seemingly far more young couples live with one another before marriage than ever before and yet the divorce rate remains higher than those decades previously mentioned.

I've noticed the perception of 'lying' has changed drastically since my youth. When I was 8-years old, I lied about where I had gotten a pocket knife. When my mother discovered her son's lie, she washed my mouth out with soap. President Trump's lawyer, Rudy Giuliani said that Trump lies, "But he is not under oath." Now how 'bout that sports' fans? There you go 21st Century American parents,' that's a great template for your children.

Finally, I think we can all admit that with 24/7 cable network news and sports coverage with all those spinning-pundits, we may be better informed but digesting the plethora of elected-leadership garbage, we sure are less innocent as is our America...the not so innocent nation.