[redwitch]

"Our youth now love luxury. They have bad manners, contempt for authority; they show disrespect for their elders and love chatter in place of exercise; they no longer rise when elders enter the room; they contradict their parents, chatter before company; gobble up their food and tyrannize their teachers."

This was written by Socrates. Seems like the same complaints we have today about kids. We're always going to rail against the younger generation (except, of course, our perfect children and grandchildren).

Like all societies, we have good and bad elements. If you have doubts, look at how many around the world have come to the aid of Hurricane Sandy victims. You may not read about how someone helped a stranger, but I'm sure you've heard about it and not just here in TV. And, of course, there is the bad -- that we hear about on a daily basis on TV, on the internet, from neighbors, here.

There have always been people willing to take advantage of others. There always will be. There will always be flaws in any form of government. Let's face it, anything run by groups rather than ethical individuals is going to have problems -- at best, mediocrity will be the norm. We've abdicated our rights for comfort and security.

Personally, I'm getting tired of being policed for my own good. A friend just told me that when she flew up north all women's handbags had to be given to the flight attendant before the plane could take off. Excuse me???? I'm supposed to be searched, x-rayed, have personal items go through machines and now give up my purse and property to a stranger. To me, the biggest problem with this society is the willingness to give up personal freedoms for "security". I flinched when Homeland Security laws were announced and cried when they came into effect. America was based on the right to be free; the right to make personal choices. Those rights are being taken away on a daily basis and that truly scares me a lot more than the bad behavior of some or the risk of a mass murderer.