[graciegirl]

I think that the greater population and the greater diversity is a great challenge. Most of us as children lived in JudeoChristian communities and the Catholic kids went to their school and the rest went to public schools and the moms were home and they were on the schools side and you had better not get into trouble or...

Our moms knew what we were doing...and even THINKING.

We knew what our kids were doing, and even thinking.

Now small children are being raised by people sometimes that the parents would NOT hand their car keys to.

I wish we could make this new generation WANT smaller homes and more real time with family.

It is what it is. We have so many different kinds of people now, Most of us came from not much and no shame to that. It is hard to TRY to understand so many different points of views and we become frustrated sometimes and feel isolated.

We are all born with a need to feel important and sometimes we are swallowed in a sea of population and lose our identity and bearings. We are urged to be politically correct, but unless we can talk about real issues and what really is happening we might just lose our real information gathering skills and our mental health. It is good to talk about frustrations, but we can no longer call a spade a spade or say...anything that would hurt someone, even if it is meant to help. We envy youth and we envy money and we envy success and we worry about money and we worry about safety and we worry about health and we don't know if what we have will cover our needs and keep us healthy and safe and not a burden to those we love.



BUT..... It is another beautiful day in The Villages and Seniors rule.

[manaboutown]

Bottom line: I do not feel anywhere near as safe as I used to feel. I know I am now 71, not 21 and that is certainly part of it, but it goes beyond that. The use of illegal drugs and the number of violent crimes seem to have dramatically increased over the last 50 or so years. The SAT scores peaked in 1965 and have been down ever since. I wonder if there is any correlation? Too, the rates of illegitimacy have skyrocketed from where they were back then. The number of single parent households as a percentage of all households has increased. Family structure is breaking down. Many younger people, especially those committing crimes, appear desensitized to the feelings of others.

[TrudyM]

I use to feel safe in suburbs and was on watch when in the city. My dad said the large numbers made people feel they could get away with anything and in neighborhoods the fear their family and neighbors would find out kept people especially kids from running amuck . Now the kids kill for something to do, and not just in the city. I think the media gives them attention as those have stated.

[perrjojo]

I read a lot of historical books. We have nothing on our ancestors from centuries ago. They were far more cruel and unjust. Life didn't have much value. I do think it is a combination of two things. Certainly we have far more instant information and from all parts of the world. I do think we may be becoming more desensitized to violence once again due to TV, movie and video games. I hope we do no digress.

[looneycat]

I grew up in NYC, the Bronx specifically and lived most of my life in the tri-state area (ny, nj, pa) and never heard so many cases of violence and ridiculously exaggerated stories of violence as I've heard on the 'local' Orlando stations. These stations ply the news as if they are The Enquirer on the air. I don't believe anything has gotten that much worse...only the quality of news desks locally!