SWITCHING GEARS

The popular culture of America has seen significant change over the years. As the wheels of change have rolled forward, so have the ideals and attitudes of the American people. This country was originally founded on Christian values which include truth, honor and freedom for all. These founding ideals remain today, but they have become more relaxed and carry less of a weight than they used to. Family standards in general, seem to have dropped in time too. It is inevitable that with progress comes change in many forms. The trick is to uphold the values of our origins that have stood up to the test of time. We should not let the hustle and bustle of life today erode those Christian values, as so many Americans do today. Families with dual incomes spend less time together and more time running round with conflicting schedules. Family life is definitely not as relaxed as it was even a generation ago.

Largely to blame for our nations’ loosening morals is our entertainment industry. All forms of entertainment today have brought a different kind of attitude to the fore which is far removed from past generations. Movies, songs and the activities of our celebrities today adhere to the current trends which prove that the more shocking they can get, the more publicity they garner. The tragedy is that the more we see this, the more we become desensitized and uncaring about the degradation of the morality of our society. Things that are sung about and the daily activities of celebrities today would have been totally unacceptable in previous generations. Why do we differ so much? Because the more we see it, the less we seem to care. This is not good for American families as it allows our children to grow up with very slack standards with regards to morality. With our standards being lowered every year we are teaching our children that it is acceptable, when it clearly is not.

Other changes have come about in our culture today are because of the current economic state we find ourselves in. With the collapse of certain industries and markets, comes the inevitable job loss that so many citizens are dealing with today. This means those people are forced to reevaluate their job situation. Either they stand down to earn less, or step up and re-enter the job market in areas they are not fully skilled at. This in turn has seen an upswing in adults going back to school to get more education, or find a new career path altogether. Kids graduating from college in the near future will be faced with a high percentage of competitors for job openings. In the end I predict America will be overflowing with highly educated graduates, but there won’t be enough jobs to match up with all the graduates. In order to survive escalating living expenses, particularly gas for our cars, society feels pressured to get more degrees in their education. I think it would make a huge impact on our society if salaries went up to accommodate increased expenses across the board. Small towns particularly feel the brunt of continually expanding costs as their already low salaries are not able to keep up with inflation. This actively encourages college graduates to move away from their families to find work in bigger cities that pay more. Even more will leave as the rising cost of education is growing exponentially. College leavers are faced with ridiculously high debt in return for an education that really benefits our society as a whole. All these factors will contribute to the break down in the family unit, and families will end up with more distance between them than ever before. It seems as though this is a vicious cycle and I am not sure it is a good indicator of our future if it continues along this path.

In previous generations fathers usually went out to work, making them the bread winner of the family unit. “Stay-at-home-Mom” is a phrase we are all familiar with. Today, there are not too many of that rare breed left. Necessity has forced both parents out to work, in order to afford mortgage, college and living expenses. Not only has this increased society’s living standards, but it has bred a whole new generation of consumers. Everything adjusted to accommodate these new standards. Sales of material goods went through the roof, especially when the advertising industry got involved and discovered a new way of increasing profit. America today is seen as a nation of consumers. Unfortunately not many of us can afford all of it. Credit cards became another aspect of our society that shaped where we find ourselves today – heavily in debt with too many possessions that are not always a necessity. I think it’s time America took a good hard look at where we are and reevaluated our priorities. Spoiling our children with the newest and latest does not always make them appreciative. What happened to the old fashioned standards of earning something? I’m quite glad at times that I can’t give in to my children’s wishes. After all, they are only wishes, they aren’t a genuine need. They will survive without it, and it will make them better people to wait for it. That way it’s appreciated, treasured, and never taken for granted. I wish all of America could be like this. It would make for a better nation. I see a lot of National pride, but not as much pride in the family unit. That’s the backbone of society as a whole and healthy family unit produces happy, confident people. The family unit is what makes society work cohesively in the end, as attitudes, morals and being closely connected to like-minded individuals who have the same ideals make for better people.

HOW TECHNOLOGY HAS CHANGED OUR LIVES



This is a picture of the 4 generations in my family. It was taken in 1999.



When I think back on conversations I’ve had with my 97 year old Grandmother, I marvel at the changes she has seen in her lifetime. She was born in 1913 in South Africa, which will make her 98 in a few short months. I love hearing stories of her family’s immigration from South Africa to Zimbabwe, formerly Rhodesia. They travelled the distance via steam locomotive. The train engineer used coal to stoke the furnaces and power the train. I marvel at her recollections of travelling to school as a young girl by ox and cart, on unpaved dirt roads. At the end of the day as darkness approached, they would place candles in glass jars and hang them on the ox carts to light their way. There was no phone service. TV had not been invented yet, and certainly there was no technology in place as we know it today.

Moving up a generation, I spoke with my parents about growing up in their era. Their family shared a telephone “party-line” with several other families. The mining community they lived in was too far out of range for each home to be hooked up to the phone system. This meant they shared one line and each line had a distinctive ring; like two short and two long rings to let the families know which call was theirs. They did have electricity and running water. However, the water had to be heated up in large outside drums. These were built up on bricks with fires lit underneath to heat the water which was then channeled inside by pipes. Much to my children’s horror, their grandparents had outside toilets which were called “long drops”, or otherwise known to Americans as outhouses. Memories were shared of low-level bridges which were flooded during the rainy season, making crossings impossible. When my Mother moved into town they did have telephones, electricity and hot, running water as well as flush toilets. There was only one cinema in town, and wind-up gramophones with 8 inch records were popular at that time.

As for my own generation, we’ve seen some incredible changes in technology too. As a “tween” I was the proud owner of an electric record player, one step up from my own mother! This played the old vinyl L.P.’s. My siblings and I later on were delighted to own our own Walkman’s which played tape cassettes. I recall going to night school to learn how to type on a manual type writer. Every error was painstakingly “whited out”, or erased with an ink eraser until a hole appeared in the paper. This forced the poor typist to start all over. I recall my very first job at a print shop. I pasted up an entire book or two, page by painstaking page. Every single “tick mark” for the borders had to be carefully drawn in. Each cursed correction or addition had to be pasted over the original, line by line. Yes, computers were in use, but they were early versions of what they are today. Personal computers were finally introduced to most homes. Our kids today laugh at the technology of our time. It makes me feel like a dinosaur from a time long ago. It’s amazing to think that the most changes we have seen in technology have only occurred in the past 20 years. For me the most precious addition is the introduction of personal GPS systems. Not only are they portable, but I no longer have to fight with the pages of a map book. Nor do I have to print out directions from MapQuest, which was the next step forward in progress. Now we just plug in the address we are driving to, and lo and behold a voice directs you every step of the way, along with a visual map that changes as you drive. I love this little piece of technology. It is a blessing to those of us who are directionally challenged!

Last but not least, the generation of now, my children’s’ era, are privileged. They get the chance to own items like iPods, laptop computers, cell phones with internet access, 3D flat screen or widescreen TV’s. These TV’s have evolved to a whole new level. They can be transformed into total entertainment centers with the purchase of a dazzling array of extras. These can include things like Wii, X-box, or Play station. Interactive games like Wii can come with stand on surf boards, simulated guns to shoot moving targets and more than I even know about! My grandmother has been left way behind the times with the advances in technology. It’s more confusing to try and explain to her how things work than what they are! Granted, technology will always develop at a rapid rate. The trick is to keep up with technology and it’s offshoot of products. If you can’t afford to buy them, do some on-line research. This way someone from my parents or my generation can converse with my children’s generation. We can at least understand the world we occupy together. It was fun digging up old memories and touching on generational roots and long forgotten habits. The joy my family received in rehashing history made me realize just how far we have come, and how technology has shaped the very fabric of our lives. 

THE EFFECTS OF MEDIA AND TV ON CHILDREN OF ALL AGES

Children spend so much time watching TV it is no surprise to realize how much it can influence their outlook on life. When I think back to my childhood, it is almost a shock to remember how new TV was to our generation and recall how few hours a day it aired. There were no early morning children-only channels. We considered ourselves lucky to have one channel. TV started at around 4pm and closed with the Zimbabwean national anthem at 11pm. These days TV is on 24 hours a day, with far too many channels to watch, and a format, range, station and network for every imaginable age group and personality. I fondly recall family oriented shows like “Scooby Doo, Where are you?” Other child friendly shows like “The Wombles”, “The Muppet Show”, “Tom and Jerry”, “The Flintstones” and “The Famous Five” were regulars. These shows were on for limited early viewing and aired for the younger audience. There was no need for parental TV screening and special editing controls as nothing controversial or harmful was shown.

Children’s TV shows today have advanced along with the technological growth of the whole of the entertainment industry. Think back to the first TV’s introduced into society. They were small, black and white TV’s with snowy screens aided by “bunny ears” and set in wooden cabinets on spindly legs. Modern TV’s have advanced to 60 inch or more hi-definition flat screens which use digital and cable to be transmitted globally. Today standards in technology have allowed special effects and movie makers to make shows that have incredible visual imagery. However, moral standards seem to have been left behind in the process. Parents now have to be aware of shows with content that may be inappropriate to children of a certain age. Age restriction limitations provided on all movies shown on TV are a must for the vigilant parent. These depict the level of violent, sexual and language content. How sad that things progressed to this level. It is not necessary to include inappropriate material into TV shows and movies aimed at the young audience it’s intended for.  

The advance in technology has improved the quality of the production of children’s movies and TV shows, but to offset that cost, these same shows now have to rely on the popularity of the show or movie to turn a profit. Along with viewing, these show characters are turned into even more profit with well advertised merchandise catering to children. DVD’s, books, toys, branded clothing all add to the profits. Children whine to parents to purchase said marketed name brands and the profit margins increase accordingly. It’s all about how much money these shows and programs can generate. When I recall my own son as a toddler, he was obsessed with the “Power Rangers”. We bought him the advertised videos, pajamas, dress up costumes and action figure toys. Inadvertently, he learned these action figure hero’s scripted moves. He then went to kindergarten and practiced the moves on his playground friends! Needless to say we had to talk to him about this. He had to be taught that it was fantasy only and real boys can’t behave like that. That’s the hard truth about children watching TV. They imitate art, they don’t understand it is make believe, and basically they learn that their TV hero’s use violence to beat the bad guys.

 In our culture today there is the additional and untasteful aspect of advertising commercial products during children’s TV scheduling. Not only are toys pushed into the brains of children, but the unhealthy aspects of our society too. Fast food commercials, sickly sweet cereals and soda commercials are introduced and marketed to entice children. Fast food is as much a part of our culture today as 24 hour TV. Sadly we are introducing our vulnerable children into this way of life too early. It leads to obese, unhealthy and lazy children. Most children watch far too many hours of TV per day. Families would do better to limit TV time and interact in more productive and healthier ways. Eating healthy, playing outdoors and spending less time in front of the TV screen watching movies or playing video games are far more beneficial to the well being and mental development of children.

Advancing into the adolescent age group TV, movies and popular music are just as harmful to this portion of society. We have created this bubble we find ourselves in today. TV, movies and music follows trends and creates new standards of behavior, but it has also acted as a tool for shaping what is seen as acceptable from the adolescent viewpoint. If we as parents had spoken up, protested or made waves sooner, our current situation of world wise adolescents would be different. Movies like the “Twilight” series have glamorized teen romance and cults like werewolves and vampires. My younger son was crushed to hear the final in the series, still in production, is rated R. This is because of the sexual content. Why market this to teenagers and adolescents then place a restrictive ending like that? As a result of this degeneration of standards, our cultural standards have slipped too. Allowing so much violence and sexual content has created a new crop of problems. This is teaching our impressionable teens that sex early on is acceptable. The entertainment industry has lost touch with reality and has encouraged teens to experiment with sex. In a failed counteractive ploy, certain TV stations are producing programs like “16 and Pregnant” and “Teen Mom”. These TV shows turn these fallen “girls” to into reality TV stars. They have the dual effect of trying to show how hard their lives are, yet they are supposedly paid huge sums of money to be filmed. How much is scripted and how much is real? The bottom line is that it’s reality that’s not authentically real. The sad fact is that it’s too little, too late. I don’t think many adolescents have the maturity to see the difference and this could lead to poor judgment in their actions.

As I write this blog, my 17 year old daughter is living with a far more realistic view on life. She brought home a school project to incorporate into her life for five days, 24 hours a day. This is an electronic baby, valued at $1000, which her CNA (certified nursing assistant) program at school initiated. The baby is programmed to cry at random (usually 2 hour) intervals. “Baby” as we have taken to calling it, has to be fed, diapered, rocked and burped. My daughter has an electronic swipe card which records her response time to the cries. She also has to figure out what the cry means and record in a journal each time the baby cries and what she wanted. Sensors in the bottle and the diapers record the correct corresponding calls my daughter makes on “baby”. This hands on approach to the teenage dilemma of early pregnancy and the challenges of child care, is far more beneficial to my daughter than watching it on TV. TV shows like “Teen Mom” have a surreal two dimensional, and not entirely true, feel to them. Having as close to the real thing for five days, is as real as it gets. Glamorizing, objectifying and giving teens the wrong message which TV shows and movies tend to do, is far more harmful to them than we realize.

 According to the University of Michigan Health System, “The number of sex scenes on TV has nearly doubled since 1998, with 70% of the top 20 most-watched shows by teens including sexual content. Fifteen percent of scenes with sexual intercourse depict characters that have just met having sex. Of the shows with sexual content, an average of five scenes per hour involves sex.” (http://www.med.umich.edu/yourchild/topics/tv.htm). Those are pretty shocking statistics and our children are subjected to that. To me that is unacceptable. In a National Survey by Public Agenda, USA Today, 10/30/02, “90% of parents say TV programs are getting worse every year”. The bottom line is that TV shows, movies, music and the media in general today are failing to teach any values to our children. I don’t want my children to become statistics. I miss the old standards. Call me old fashioned, but I long for movies that don’t need censoring, that are wholesome and can be watched by mixed generations without causing either age set to cringe.

While I think about it, does anyone remember the fuss some nutty adults made about the content of “Noddy and Big Ears”? The “Teletubbies” too, were subjected to ridicule and dissected in detail. Both shows were deemed inappropriate for sensitive young children. I thought that was ridiculous. Children under six have no comprehension of homosexuality. A certain group of adults thought that showing “Noddy and Big Ears” sharing a room was wrong. I ask you, what 1 to 6 year old wonders about that? After six, they are no longer watching shows like “Noddy”. They would have moved on to other age appropriate shows and forgotten all about it. Upon reflection, the “Teletubbies” did show a boy character holding a lady’s handbag! That could be questioned by a child, but the resulting fuss was over the top. At the time I thought that particular program was merely annoying and the educational content was questionable.TV shows like this should be left to the very young, and more effort could have been put into shows aired to slightly older children. Who am I to question that debacle? I just wish the effort to censor was pushed further and had more of an effective reach to our adolescents of today. In my opinion, this is the age group that is most susceptible to the influence of the media in our society today.

CONSUMERISM IN AMERICA

“The term "consumerism" was first used in 1915 to refer to "advocacy of the rights and interests of consumers" (Oxford English Dictionary) but in this article the term "consumerism" refers to the sense first used in 1960, "emphasis on or preoccupation with the acquisition of consumer goods" (Oxford English Dictionary)” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Consumerism)

American’s are famous for their talent and proclivity for shopping. It amazes me at their consuming need to spend, put themselves in debt and seemingly not worry about it. As an immigrant, I’ve seen life from the other side of the world. Growing up in Africa, material things are harder to come by, therefore they are treated with more respect. Not only are many African countries poor, they don’t have the means to produce, import or even pay for some seemingly frivolous material items. Necessity is the name of the game, and because citizens are forced to save earnestly before buying them they are looked after lovingly. Credit is not handed out as easily as it is in America or other developed countries. High priced items like refrigerators, stoves, microwaves and washing machines are like gold in some countries. Many people never get to own these items. They live simply by washing clothes in streams, cooking over open fires and live life with just the basics. Middle class citizens, who are able to buy these items, know they are hard to come by so they are carefully used. Because these possessions are so expensive, the cost and hardship to have them fixed when they malfunction is high. Replacement parts are often unavailable and if they are, they are usually imported at an exorbitant price. In comparison to some African countries, American spending seems wasteful, rash and unnecessary. Recently our microwave and dishwasher needed some TLC. We were, I admit, afraid they would need to be replaced. Understandably a cheap version of a new microwave can be found for around $50, but I am not working at the moment. Understand too, that we have been brought up with the mindset of those who always “make a plan”. I was so very proud of my husband when he found a repair shop to buy replacement parts. The dishwasher cost $6 to replace one broken part, and the microwave part was free because they let my husband cut the part to fit. We are used to using our possessions until they are at a point beyond repair. To us, this is living simply and making use of what we have.

Consumerism in America can largely be blamed on advertising. Slick, polished, hypnotizing adverts are made to entice the weak and the lazy. Another major reason is that credit is offered too freely where the credit companies are to blame because they want to increase business. Offers for zero interest and easy set up fees entice the unsuspecting consumer. I have often seen salvageable items and appliances on the side of the road waiting for the city trash trucks to take them away. These sights are foreign to us. Nothing in Zimbabwe goes to waste. That old saying “one man’s trash is another man’s treasure” could have originated in Zimbabwe. Old car tyres (spelt tires here) are reused there to make shoes and sandals for the very poor. Abandoned cars are stripped to bare shells and everything of any use is salvaged. Ten years later it still bothers me to see waste on such a large scale. There are so many underprivileged nations in our world, yet Americans seem to have got used to replacing goods at the drop of a hat. “Out with the old, in with the new” is the custom here. Before the Baby Boom, the United States of America’s products were well made. This is evident by TV shows like “American Pickers”, who travel all over America looking for old American treasures hidden in sheds, back yards and garages. Any antique items, particularly American made, is in demand at auctions and by collectors, and is sold at high prices. Consumerism increased after the Baby Boom where imports started coming into the country. This is the point where we find ourselves today, having a vast array of goods to chose from that have come from all over the world.

The average American is burdened by credit card debt. This too, is another major reason why we are famous for our consumerism. It should be a natural instinct to be afraid of racking up debt, more debt in fact, than you actually earn. It should be a matter of logistics to most people who spend carelessly. “How am I going to afford to pay it back, how many months or years will it take me to pay it back”? This should be the deciding factor before putting it on plastic. Sadly, most people seem to bury their heads in the sand and face their mounting debt when a tragedy occurs. Currently, this tragedy seems to be when one or both parties lose their jobs. In this economic climate of hardships and cutting back all round, consumerism should be on the decline but I don’t see much evidence of that.

Another contributing factor towards the debt many Americans are in is that spending makes you feel good. It gives a false sense of self worth. It also boosts flagging moral in a temporary solution. Because of this temporary lull in our senses, owning something new and shiny can block out the pain of everyday life. Christmas, Valentines, Easter, and all other major celebrations are used by manufacturers to add to our confusion about shopping. How many couples are “guilted” into buying commercialized gifts for their partners? We don’t buy into this phenomenon and consciously avoid such traps. We would rather celebrate our Wedding anniversary which falls after Valentine’s Day. Unfortunately for us, we are not strong enough to resist on our children’s behalf. Peer pressure, guilt and traditions are a hard habit to break just to teach your child a lesson. For us, that comes later when we can reason and explain how consumerism and commercialization just make Mom and Dad poorer! By the time our children were old enough to realize Santa Clause is just a fantasy and the Easter Bunny is a big myth, we were able to decrease the amount we spent on them.

As we have become accustomed to the American traditions and way of life, we have adjusted to a certain point. To be fair, if money wasn’t so tight right now, maybe we too, would have been lazy and gone out to buy a new microwave. In the end, I’m glad we didn’t. It was a great source of pride to us and we let our children know it too! What an excellent way to pass on our morals and attitude. On our arrival here in the USA, we would tell our children when at the shops “don’t look because we can’t have”. It became a familiar song to us. The dazzling store displays of an endless supply of material items were beyond tempting, considering the country we came from. That rule still applies to us. We don’t have a lot of extra, but we aren’t cheap, we are careful.

GENDER ROLES: MEN-VS-WOMEN

Since the beginning of time, society has tried to define the role of man and woman. Gender roles were set firmly as far back as the caveman era. Cave “man” hunted outside, while cave “woman” kept the home fires burning and gathered food nearby. Up to the 1960’s women were generally considered “housewives” and their husbands the “breadwinners”. Life for women changed dramatically with the advent and introduction of the pill. In the 1960’s this miracle pill not only changed the face of women’s options, but their behavior too. Women now had the freedom to choose the timing of pregnancy, but it also allowed them to enter the workforce. Without the fear of unexpected pregnancy, women became more work orientated. They became more confident in themselves and their role in aiding the family’s financial needs. This changed the rigidly set dynamics of gender roles in our culture and around the world forever.

Even today with this blurring of roles, gender differences are still apparent. Women are generally burdened with having to wear multiple hats. Not only do most women work, some full time, they are traditionally cast as the majority shareholders in all household duties and child care. Granted, most men have their own traditionally cast workload. However, working and bill paying whilst maintaining the status of “head of the household” hardly seems fair.

Inspiration for my next blog struck one weekend in our own household. My husband, bless his soul, works long, hard hours, often traveling for days at a time. Our household is split evenly, one man, one woman, one boy and one girl. As it so happened, I was working diligently on my homework and no-one had offered to make dinner. As night fell, so did my patience! I was too involved to want to stop for my “Mom” duties. Everyone was asking “When’s dinner?” Our daughter too, was busy working on her homework, and both man and boy were watching TV. I asked my husband to make a salad and my daughter to cook the frozen pizzas. Both recipients moaned and groaned, but eventually did as asked. Earlier that morning my daughter had already asked me why just she and I were cleaning the house. She felt we had already done our “share” of chores so the boys should do dinner. Neither man nor boy offered to do anything. It struck me like a blow to the head. I asked my husband why neither he nor our son ever offers to help. They wait to be asked (more like told), nagged, or we have to plain old beg. Just how far have we really evolved? Not much at all as far as I can see! How biased are these gender roles?

While I was pondering the subject, I realized my own role has recently changed. Until two months ago, I was a full time working wife and mother. I was laid off, and as a result I have lost my favorite argument. I used to say I work as many hours as Dad does and we all live here together. Therefore our chores should be equally shared, split between four of us. The loss of my full time job was also the loss of my winning hand. I have been relegated back to full time Mom, housekeeper and cook. I have no legal case to fall back on, so I shoulder the familiar gender role. It is strangely soothing and comforting, this safe haven of being home. I have less stress and more time to do my Mom duties, and fit part time school work in between. I don’t kid myself that this is temporary as finances are fragile. I often wonder how much of a Superwoman I would have to be if I found work soon. Something would have to be sacrificed in order for me to fit it all in. That would be me and my sanity. Of that I have no doubt. For now I actually relish my peaceful circumstances and do whatever I can to save pennies. It is amazing how much women fit into their lives all in the name of gender expectations.

Why do women seem to shoulder most of the cooking and cleaning? When I question my husband on our gender roles, he asks me why he does all the bill paying. I can’t answer that. Has he fallen into the gender trap too? How do we break this habit, and do we really even want to? I start to think about it and wonder if these gender roles have been ingrained in us from past to future generations. Is it instinctual, or have we bred the habit unknowingly? All I care right now, is how do I get the men in my family to shape up? How do I force my son to change and start volunteering? How do I ensure he grows up to be a respectful and responsible adult who can share the burden in his own household?

I have attached a cartoon version of men versus women. I thought it was perfect for my blog. It illustrates the fundamental differences between the genders. I had a good laugh at the part where it shows how much the woman does in the home, while the man watches TV!

From: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YIwWS2atEmc&feature=player_embedded

THE GENERATION GAP

Who isn’t aware of the generational gap between parent and child? There are many areas where we don’t connect and there is no meeting of the minds. How many of us have uttered the phrase about our own children: “I don’t understand them”? A generational gap occurs between age groups from cultural changes as one generation grows to adulthood. In our ever-changing world the younger generation adapts and grows at the same rate as the changes that are occurring in their environment. The older generation is more set in their ways, and the learning curve is slower, hence the gap where minds meet. As children change from impressionable youngsters to emerging teens or young adults, their own opinions begin to shape who they are. Once again the differences become apparent. I know for a fact that my teenager has a lot more freedom than I had at the same age. My parents were stricter on my curfews and outings than I am on my own children. I, as a parent will naturally try to use the same values that I grew up with, only to fall short sometimes as times have changed, but MY attitudes haven’t.

Take for example the 1940’s where the youth were not allowed to mingle freely. Gents were allowed to “court” ladies in supervised or chaperoned situations. As the years went by, the attitudes of our culture changed. Young people of today date without supervision, without parental interference and their choice and frequency of partners is not questioned. The phrase “The Generation Gap” was coined in the 1960’s. The late 1960’s was a pivotal time in history where attitudes changed. Due to the hippy era, the younger generations’ use of experimental drugs and their opposition to the Vietnam War, took its toll on the older generation. The old school attitude of obeying the Government’s wishes to support the war was made apparent in the youth who opposed the war with a passion. Here, too came the phrase “Make Love Not War”.

The years marched by and the 1970’s and the 1980’s produced the Generation Xer’s. Children of this era were, yet again different to the eras before. Their parents brought them up with less supervision. This was because economics forced both parents to work leaving children to go home alone after school. These kids became known as the first “Latch key kids”. Without parental supervision these children grew up to be more independent.

The 1990’s and 2000’s have so far proved to be the era of most radical change. Sexual behavior, political differences between generations, constantly updating technology, has all contributed to a totally different way of life. If I am Generation X, then that makes my children Generation Y. As information has become more available via instant access of the internet, so have attitudes loosened up. I am far more open with my children than my parents were with me. Why? If I don’t pave the way with parental talks then my children can take to the internet and learn on their own. I would rather I be the one to apply my version of ethics and values on sex education than they learn from a sterile computer screen. Knowledge of today has a way of opening previously closed doors. Communication needs to be initiated by the parent at an earlier age than previous generations. This is to prepare these children to the ways of the world. Children have to be more street smart in order to survive the technical world they live in. I would rather give my children knowledge in person about the child predators living in our towns, than have something bad happen. I would rather educate my children about their sexuality than one of them is injured by their innocence. It is sad that today’s children have to grow up so soon, but it is a matter of survival.

We as a generation of children had so much more freedom. Freedom to roam our neighborhoods without fear. Freedom to just be children and enjoy playing outdoors in the sunshine. Today’s generation of youngsters get bored if they don’t have the latest electronic gadgets to keep them busy. Computers, video games which are constantly updated, internet accessible cell phones, all these weren’t available to us as children. We grew up at a slower, more natural rate. How sad is it that childhood innocence has been lost to technology?

The bottom line is that this generation has evolved with the technical times. The generation gap can be significantly small, or insurmountably large. Technology has made our children grow up too fast; we need to keep up in order to bridge that gap. My generation has to reboot itself, adjust our way of thinking so we can aid in the preparation of our children’s future. Cultural standards have changed. We need to keep up with the times in order to keep those lines of communication open with our children. Let’s bridge that Generation Gap and build a better future.

I love the image and words of the joke I posted below. This was sent to me via email, so there is no source to quote from. It says it all so eloquently, with a little bleeped out word to emphasize the main point!

REALITY TV SHOWS

After our class discussion on TV shows, good and bad, it got me thinking about a related issue. Reality TV Shows. I will admit to the fact that I am totally against the majority of them. I feel like TV entertainment has gone too far. American culture has let its morals slip. The question most often on my mind is how did we degenerate to such low standards? I am horrified beyond words at the loose morals and backstabbing that is shown by the characters in some of these shows. What kind of impression does this give viewers outside our borders? Not a very good one in my opinion.

These characters know cameras are on them 24/7. Is it all just a bid to become famous? This has allowed such bad behavior to let the so-called “stars” of these shows become the media attention grabbers they are. Ask any actor with real talent how much they loathe these “stars”. These people become famous for being famous, with no talent at all to show for it. Look at the likes of Paris Hilton, Tila Tequila (really… is that even a real name?), and my least favorite, Snooki, The Situation and the other equally lame cast members of Jersey Shore. I am actually proud to say I have NEVER even watched a single episode of that junk they call entertainment! Despite my best efforts to avoid watching such drivel, I still know who the cast members are. Because of the media attention they get, these slovenly characters have been forced into my world. I don’t want my children growing up thinking this sort of behavior is entertainment. Drunkenness, debauchery and partying are what the cast of Jersey Shore are famous for. How do I know this? I already admitted to not watching them on principal, but their most famous, eye catching and newsworthy antics are recorded for posterity. These are broadcast on the internet channels, and documented in magazines, which I do watch and read.

       
Two lines in the song “1985” sung by Bowling for Soup, struck a chord with me. The lyrics talk about Ozzy Osbourne who is famed for his heavy metal band “Black Sabbath”. The lines go something like this: “When did reality become TV? And when did Ozzy become an actor?” I too would like to know when Ozzy became an actor! Does fame mean so much to him that he pimped out his family for the sake of the reality show “The Osbournes“? Why could he not stay with what he’s most famous for, singing in a well known and highly successful band?

Video from: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K38xNqZvBJI

The Amazing Race and Survivor are other shows I started watching. That was until I discovered the ugly backstabbing that goes on between contestants. It just put me off. There are more disappointments I can add to my ever growing list: Fear Factor (not just the gross factor but the competitiveness seems to bring out the worst in people), The Bachelor (why would a woman with any self respect let herself be pitted against conniving rivals?), my list could go on.  

The reason why I am so set against these types of shows is engrained forever in far recesses of my mind. I would prefer to keep it there, but will bring it out for the sake of my blog. Many years ago, (the details have been blocked out due to the trauma I suffered); I watched a reality TV show. The setup portrayed a house full of young people living together. They showed the usual bad behavior of getting drunk, sleeping around and generally behaving like they never would in front of their parents. Cut to a night shot of one of the cast members being so drunk they were unaware of what they were doing. It all boiled down to this person defecating on the lawn, in full view of the camera. Of course, to get the FULL entertainment value, the shot was replayed over and over! It was enough to put me off Reality TV shows for the rest of my life. I do not EVER wish my children to see that sort of behavior, let alone act out that way and think it’s acceptable.

That in itself is the reason why I am so against the degeneration of standards and the way today’s reality shows have turned out. How can we be proud of a nation that allows such shocking behavior to become the norm, all for the sake of entertainment? Personally I prefer to look at the morality and the context of the show before I commit to watching it. There are far better shows out there for me to watch, ones that don’t offend my sensibilities. I will stick to watching gentler subjects portrayed, like those in Secret Millionaire, Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, and even the touching “Teach” starring Tony Danza.

The Wikipedia definition of this subject explains it all: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reality_television

Reality television is a genre of television programming that presents purportedly unscripted dramatic or humorous situations, documents actual events, and usually features ordinary people instead of professional actors, sometimes in a contest or other situation where a prize is awarded.^[1] The genre has existed in some form or another since the early years of television, began in earnest as a television formula in the 1990s, and exploded as a global phenomenon around 1999-2000, via series such as Big Brother and Survivor.^[1] Programs in the reality television genre are commonly called reality shows and often are produced in series. Documentaries and nonfictional programming such as news and sports shows are usually not classified as reality shows.

The genre covers a wide range of programming formats, from game or quiz shows which resemble the frantic, often demeaning shows produced in Japan in the 1980s and 1990s (such as Gaki no tsukai), to surveillance- or voyeurism-focused productions such as Big Brother.^[1]

Reality television frequently portrays a modified and highly influenced form of reality, utilizing sensationalism to attract viewers and so to generate advertising profits.^[2][3][4] Participants are often placed in exotic locations or abnormal situations,^[1] and are sometimes coached to act in specific scripted ways by off-screen "story editors" or "segment producers," with the portrayal of events and speech manipulated and contrived to create an illusion of reality through editing and other post-production techniques.^[2][3][4]

The American Way

Video from
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GN1iI-DaJNw

I discovered American culture from many miles and a whole continent away. When I recall my initiation into the American lifestyle, I think back to my youth in Africa. The American way of life seemed, well, larger than life. The preconceived ideas I had of America were ones derived from years of observation broadcast via media channels.  Most of it filtered down by intermittent viewings of movies, music and TV shows. Zimbabwe, formerly Rhodesia, was a British colony. This meant most of the culture surrounding us, including the schooling, was of the British influence. TV shows were broadcast by the BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation). Occasionally some American sitcoms were aired. Music was partly international, but the main focus was locally produced and relevant to the African culture.

We didn’t get a lot of country and western music. What little did come through showed me early on of the intense patriotism most Americans have for their homeland. A perfect example of this patriotism is one of country and westerns greatest, Brooks & Dunn. Their song “Only in America” touches on some of the fundamental American rights and cultural classics. The lines in this song that portray this perfectly go something like this: “Only in America, Where we dream in red, white and blue, Only in America, Where we dream as big as we want to, We all get a chance, Everyone gets to dance, Only in America”.

Whilst we did live in a third world country, it was a civilized nation and we did have movie theaters. Here, British and American movies were shown. The American movies were a huge influence on my ideas of life in America. Movies depicting American culture of Halloween and Thanksgiving, in particular were fascinating as we did not celebrate those traditions. Living here now, I can see that these movies accurately portrayed Halloween with all the fervor, fun and dedication that people put into this legendary night. We as a family, have years of lost participation to catch up on. Our children will seemingly never outgrow the delight in preparation, dress up and candy collection! Thanksgiving in the movies I watched always depicted family gatherings round a table overflowing with food and of course a huge turkey as the center point. Celebrating Thanksgiving now, I can see this ideal I had grown up with is correct in all its details.

Movies, having been such an influencing factor in my thought process on America, were fascinating to me. My younger self was awed at the scenes shown of traditional American life. “Grease” the movie showed typical high school life, with jocks, cheerleaders, locker rooms and school buildings. Football, baseball, softball and basketball nearly always featured in these movies. Fraternizing and partying was always shown with youthful abandon. It was so different to my way of life. We didn’t have football, baseball or cheerleaders. Instead we had rugby, cricket and drum majorettes (who marched in more clothes than cheerleaders wear!).

Other life altering impressions I got from American movies were depictions of Christmas in all its glory. It is with the same fervor we live it in the here and now. Lights on trees, lights in front yards and round the house, neighbors competing to outdo each other, all were proved to be reality on our arrival in America. I will never forget our being driven around the best neighborhoods to see Christmas displays. Our extended family already settled here, loved to see our jaw dropping reaction to such an excess of lights. You couldn’t do that back in Zimbabwe. If it’s not nailed down, chained down or secured, it will be “liberated”. This was a sarcastic term we used for the theft rampant in Zimbabwe.

Coming from a war ravaged nation of the third world, with material and basic goods in short supply, it was a slow adjustment to the excesses in America. We had been brought up reading and watching movies about immigrants moving to America to better their lives. We fit that description to a tee. The hard work my husband and I put in will only better the lives of our children, and gives them a better future. In return they will have to earn it themselves by excelling in school. Once again, the lines in the Brooks & Dunn song mean a lot to me, as we are living the American dream. “Where we dream as big as we want to” was seemingly written with us in mind! America is the land of opportunity, if you have the strength of mind and the will to work for it. This year will mark our tenth anniversary here. Since we became citizens of this great country, we have put down our roots. We rejoice in the fact that we can live here with all the civil rights due to all Americans. How lucky are we?