The scary thing is that Jim just described me between the ages of 11 and 16. Only 44 skipped days?
I don't think there is any one answer. I do agree that there are a lot of problems with society.
Values that ought to be held in high esteem (honor, compassion, respect, etc.) are considered laughable and anachronistic. Acts of common courtesy (offering an old woman your seat on a crowded bus, for instance) are likely to get you labeled as "soft". In school, intelligence is more often a liability than an asset, and should be kept under wraps.
There are people in cities who, though they wouldn't hesitate to stop and pick up a grimy dollar in the street, wouldn't stop to pour their iced latte on a burning man -- they would consider it "embarrassing" to get involved. If a woman is being beaten in her apartment by her abusive boyfriend, a neighbor is more likely to file a noise complaint ("I was kept awake by crashing and agonized screaming") than call 911 on her behalf.
Grown men and women base their political opinions on those of their favorite Hollywood stars; this is because they'd rather be colossally stupid than unpopular. If I hear one more person say, "Well, <vapid actor/actress> said.." I'm going to vomit all over them (OK, no, not really). I have had people who are normally very intelligent tell me, "Well, that's how they do it on TV, so it must have SOME truth in it, right?" Sure, fictional characters are deserving of your trust. Just ask that chick who killed her boyfriend last year (he was standing behind her at the range, she pulled the pistol into a full "Sabrina" (just like on the X-files!) and accidentally shot him in the face).
We have a popular culture which either demonizes or deifies youth (and, as someone mentioned before, every time we turn around it's "the children, the children, we have to do it for the children"). For some reason people get it into their heads that children are better than adults, and that we should try to be more like them. Unfortunately, when adults try to emulate children, self-reliance and personal responsibility take a right kicking. We've seen a lot of this in recent years. It's Unacceptable to tell children that they're anything but perfect, so is it any wonder that so many grow up with the attitude that they can do no wrong? "I lost a finger by sticking it into a high-speed metal fan, so I'm suing the manufacturer. After all, it couldn't possibly be my fault, I'm really smart, everyone says so." The result? We try to idiot-proof the world, thus proving the old adage about Building a Better Idiot.
The old, rather than being valued for their wisdom and experience, are ridiculed as being stodgy and obsolete by young people, who don't seem to realize that you learn a lot more when you shut up once in a while. The young, rather than being schooled in the ways of right and wrong, are written off as worthless by the same older people who could potentially guide and salvage them. Religious people blame everything on the "moral decrepitude" of non-religious people. Non-religious people blame everything on the "dogmatic brainwashing" of organized religion. Everything is Someone Else's fault, so the answer we usually end up with is "the problem with humanity is all the danged humans." Everyone loses.
I'm good at complaining, but have no answers. I'm not sure if any of this crap is any different from the way it's always been, but I have a limited sphere of experience. Perhaps things have always been this way, but now we are just more aware of them. Or perhaps we live in a time when sociopathy has become unusually fashionable. In any case, I do try to be a "good" person and give people the benefit of the doubt, but I still strongly believe in the benefits of watching one's back. I hope that Yangdu's doctor recovers soon. Sorry about all the ranting.
