Why I Fear the American Youth

[codebuster11]

WHY I FEAR THE AMERICAN YOUTH - By Jason Aul (Codebuster11)

In the middle month of June, I attended a program hosted by the American Legion of Missouri. You may or may not heard of the program they put on for Rising High School Seniors. This program is called “Boys State”. Now, before I start with the substance to this essay, I need to detail some things about the American Legion and Boys State.

The American Legion of Missouri (and of the whole United States) is a very generous group of Veterans who host a program for rising High School Seniors. This program, an all boys program, is an 8 day long program where the 1000 or so students build up a mock state government from the ground up. Essentially, from Ward political parties to the entire state government is built up within a week. It is a great and beneficial program for those who are actually interested in Government and Politics.

Now, this is the Missouri Boys State, and I can’t speak freely about the Boys State in the other 49 States of the Union. What I can tell you, however, is that this is a program that invites students from all over the state. I met individuals from every corner of Missouri, every social background, every race, and every economic background. I met those just under the poverty line, and those very far above it. I met those from the city, and those from the farm. I met those that lived in the Southern Bible Belt of Missouri, and those that lived in the Eastern liberal areas of St. Louis. This truly was a mixed group of teenagers.

I got to know individuals that believed in many different things. Many of the friends I made led totally different lives than I did. Some of them were suggested to go by their schools for being captains of their favorite Varsity team, or for other athletic capabilities. Then there were those like me, who were suggested to go by their school for their political and governmental achievements.

The program invited many speakers to speak to all 1000 of us. We were “honored” to be spoken to by Former Attorney General John Ashcroft, Governor Matt Blunt of Missouri (R), Former Governor Bob Holden of Missouri (D), and a few other politicians. This, naturally, was viewed as an incentive by many to express their political views.

Now, this is where I truly began to fear the group I live with today. Throughout this program I thought back to the Civil Rights Movement, and how equality was an issue back then. Never did I think that it would be an issue with a generation twice-removed from a generation of inequality. The men I lived with for 8 days were almost 100% for the abolishment of Gay Rights.

Every speaker that came, including the very few democrats, renounced Gay Rights and the ability for Gay Marriage. The audience of 999 students cheered as I sat there stunned and in disbelief to these comments against a group of people I’ve constantly fought for equal rights. Why was it that almost 100% of those people attending, those people who came from all different backgrounds and all different social classes, hate gays?

I started asking around. Naturally, I got a few answers that referred to it being a Sin above all Sins, but even then these answers were limited. What struck me as odd is that the majority of the answers I got for why they didn’t support Gay rights was more in line with what their group of friends and family said. Even those I knew from the Bible Belt strictly told me that it was simply nasty, and that two men or two women shouldn’t marry because its never been that way. I was told frequently, from those living in the Central West End of St. Louis (a very gay friendly community in St. Louis) to those living in Springfield that their friends and their parents constantly told them that it wasn’t right and it wasn’t natural what Gays were doing, and it wasn’t right and it wasn’t natural that they wanted to marry.

Now, if this wasn’t a governmental and political program, I wouldn’t have been as shocked and appalled. But this was a program that was touted as “A week to shape a lifetime” and a program that flaunted that we were supposedly the best and brightest in our state, and would be the State’s, and the Nation’s, future leaders.

I can clearly say, from my viewpoint, that I have always been, and will always be, 100% for equality in all circumstances, and that includes granting the rights for Gays and Lesbians to Marry and get 100% of the benefits that all heterosexuals get when they marry.

What I fear is that I am growing up with a generation that will backtrack to what we all fought for in the 50s, 60s, 70s, and the present. What I fear is that I am growing up with a generation that will continue to spread these ideals of inequality and hate. What I fear is that not enough is being done on a nation wide scale to curb anti-homosexual ideology.
As a brand new 18 year old (turned 18 in late June), will I spend my life fighting for equality when we should be fighting for better education and health care? What happened to privacy? Why must the “Gay issue” be so public? Why must every politician, Republican and Democrat, always go against the “Gay Issue”.

I leave with my schedule for conquering this problem we face. As a rising Senior in High School, I have the ability to speak to my entire student body about the issues we face. I plan to do this hoping that my school, a private school where the student body is around 80-85% conservative, will accept these ideas with an open mind. I plead with anyone in my situation to try to do the same. If we can start by simply spreading the idea of Gay Marriage and the acceptance of Gay Rights to our schools, perhaps we can stop the spread of inequality dead in its tracks.

[codebuster11]

1. and...

and any comments would be wonderful

[Eric J in MN]

2. In general, young people are more likely to support gay marriage

...than older people.

Your experience was an exception.

[Ron Green]

3. My experience with Boys' State

was, unfortunately, no experience. I was keenly interested in government and politics as a high school student many years ago, and I would have jumped at the chance to participate in this program. However, in my neck of the woods at that time, only the athletes were popular enough to be selected for things like this.

I'm wondering if the same criteria might still be applied today, and if so, how this might play out in the "group think" of Boys' State.

[Alcibiades]

5. I had a couple of my students who went to this program

You can visit their website at:

http://www.moboysstate.org/registration/index.asp

You must apply, be reccomended by a guidance counselor, and approved by the American Legion's selection folks. I suspect they like smart, good-looking, athletic, clean-cut all-American boys. Potential soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines.

[AndyTiedye]

20. Choosing Our Future Leaders by Athletic Ability (Sports Rant)

Our society regards team sports as the magic solution to all of the problems of youth.
We rely on them to convey physical fitness, discipline, and teamwork in young people.
It works, more or less, depending on the athletic ability of the particular child.
(In the least athletic, it can and frequently does teach them that cooperation and
discipline are utterly futile).

The best athlete on the team gets to be "Captain" of the team, which is usually the
only opportunity to show leadership that any of those kids will ever see in school.
They grow up and turn into our politicians.

I think that explains, well, pretty much everything.

[pstokely]

39. I had a cousin who went to this a few years ago

OxyRush Limpbaugh's brother spoke at it

[Alcibiades]

4. This is a biased sample

Sure, there's a lot of people at Boys State, but you really should not buy the Legion's propaganda that Boys State is somehow representative of boys in Missouri as a whole. It's not. It's representative of a certain type of boy. Yes, there are black kids from St. Louis (and other places) at Boys State, but the "citizens" of boys state are still disproportionately white when compared to the state as a whole. Boys who attend are those who 1. know of the program 2. think it's a good idea 3. think that the local Legion representatives will recommend them to attend 4. are correct on # 3.

Boys State has the worthy goal of teaching citizenship, but it is sponsored by the American Legion, whose members tend to be old and conservative. Additionally, Missouri is a pretty conservative state, so you've got folks selected from a conservative population by some of the most conservative members of the population: "Only young men exhibiting qualities of leadership, character, scholarship, and citizenship should be considered candidates for Boys State."

In other words, no leftie commie pinkos need apply! Seriously, don't fear the youth. What you are observing is a simple selection effect, all the more powerful since there would appear to be none in operation.

[readmoreoften]

19. 1000 boys incited to hatred against gays by politicans.

That is something to fear. That is not a small sample. The sample in the science article on homophobia that people are commenting on in GD right now had a group of about 65 men and everyone is taking that fairly seriously.


1) <<Every speaker that came, including the very few democrats, renounced Gay Rights and the ability for Gay Marriage.>>

Why is EVERY SPEAKER denouncing gay people? It's frightening.

2) The audience of 999 students cheered as I sat there stunned and in disbelief to these comments against a group of people I’ve constantly fought for equal rights.

Not clapped politely, yawned, fidgeted, but cheered.

3) Why was it that almost 100% of those people attending, those people who came from all different backgrounds and all different social classes, hate gays?

Some people would say that it's because they're all gay! All 999 of them. But the reality is that they hate gays because we are being set up to the new enemy of the American people and I not only fear for my right to marriage, I fear for my life sometimes.

[Alcibiades]

27. 100 out of 100 Nazis agree: Jews are bad

I am hopeful that the reported cheering does not represent the actual views of even this group of 1,000 Missouri boys. In a crowd of 1,000, how many 18-year-olds would have the courage to be the only ones not to cheer?

In a group that's truly diverse, it's well-nigh impossible to get unanimity on anything, which is why I think there has been a strong selection effect here. After all, it is among younger voters that gay marriage and other LGBT issues draw the most support in actual national polls. Not in any way to minimize the problem or the danger, but I do hope that such hate is found only in a minority of young people. I have taught political science at a university in Missouri, and I didn't find the political views of the kids there to be all that much different from the kids I taught in California.

[pstokely]

40. My cousin (no neocon) went to this a few years ago.

Must have been his skills on the wrestling mat that got him selected.

[alittlelark]

6. You fear a Tiny percentage of insecure youth.....

I am surrounded by that age bracket - they are soooo 'with it'. These Young people are ahead of me in corporatist ideology, consumerism.....

perhaps I live in a progressive bubble, but the youngsters I know in NM and MN are the same.

I am NOT afraid of our countries youth.

[otherlander]

7. If they're thinking that way now, it's probably because

it's just what they've been told to believe by the older generation. When they go to college, they'll be in a more intellectual environment, and it'll probably change the way many of them think.
If we can start by simply spreading the idea of Gay Marriage and the acceptance of Gay Rights to our schools, perhaps we can stop the spread of inequality dead in its tracks.
I definitley agree with that. Where I live, it's fairly liberal, and most of the people I go to school with seem alright with the idea of gay rights/ gay marriage. We had an assembly last year that was about tolerance in general, where this guest speaker talked about racism, sexism, gay rights, emotional problems, eating disorders, and just about everything you could think of.

About fifteen minutes later, a bunch of the guys were just making crude jokes about everything, but I'd be willing to bet that other people learned from it, or that maybe, at a later day, somebody would remember that, when they weren't surrounded by their mocking friends, and really think about what was said. Just getting people to think in new ways can make a world of difference.

[NYC]

8. I commend you on your position.

You are the American youth as much as they are. I'm sorry to hear about their views, but pleased to hear about yours, and that you are taking action to accomplish a worthwhile goal.

...I have the ability to speak to my entire student body about the issues we face. I plan to do this hoping that my school, a private school where the student body is around 80-85% conservative...

People like you can and will make a difference. Congratulations on being who and what you are. We need people like you.

:hi:

[omega minimo]

9. Cuz they're horny virgin boys who wanna get laid!

"Why was it that almost 100% of those people attending, those people who came from all different backgrounds and all different social classes, hate gays?"

[SheilaT]

10. For all that it seems

you spoke with a broad cross-section of young men, you really did not.

Boys' State attendees are selected in slightly different ways in different states. In Missouri, the filter will tend to give you the more conservative youth.

My son attended Kansas Boys' State in the 2000. In Kansas, any young person who has completed junior year and has a GPA of 2.0 or 3.0 (or at least be in the top 50 percent of your class) is eligible to attend, unlike when I was in high school and you had to be selected by your school. But even though it's open to pretty much anyone who wants to go, it's still somewhat more likely to attract conservative, small-town boys.

Again, I don't know as much about Missouri as I do about Kansas, but in Kansas a significant portion of the population is in the Kansas City metropolitan area, Wichita, or Kansas. A very large number of the boys come from the rural areas rather than one of those three metropolitan areas.

Keep in mind that these young men are often parroting what they've heard at home or in their churches. They may think they don't know any one who is gay. Gay Rights are basic human rights as far as I'm concerned, but we have a very long way to go to make everyone else understand that.

[queenbdem87]

11. I was selected to go in 2005 and refused....

It was held at Jerry Falwell's college (Liberty University, Lynchburg, VA)...
I consider this to have been the first time I was able to stand up for my principles in a substantive way.
Besides....I am gay...I would melt at Liberty
Not to mention we were required to bring 2 pairs of white walking shorts....if that's not strange I don't know what is!

[smokey nj]

12. I wouldn't be too afraid.............

Many of those who cheered probably did so because almost everyone else was cheering; I wonder how many of them were actually gay, and cheered because they were afraid that not doing so would have drawn unwanted attention. As another poster pointed out, when they go to college and move on with their lives, hopefully their view of the world will broaden and their minds will open. Yes, some are homophobic assholes and will always be, but certainly not all of them.

[PassingFair]

34. I wouldn't be too afraid.............

Um.....

"Many of those who cheered probably did so because almost everyone else was cheering; I wonder how many of them were actually gay, and cheered because they were afraid that not doing so would have drawn unwanted attention." WTF?

[smokey nj]

36. Are you calling me a nazi? n/t

[PassingFair]

43. Were YOU cheering?

If not, then NO.

But your "they're just going along to get along"
explanation does nothing to assuage anyone's fears
for (and of) that particular group of young people.

[smokey nj]

44. I was merely suggesting that at age 17 or 18, one's opinions.......

aren't necessarily set in stone, That perhaps some of the participants' minds would open with age and experience. Is it absurd to think that at least some of the young men involved were influenced by the reactions of their peers? I wasn't there and I didn't speak to any of them, I was merely speculating, based on my own experience. Your snarky response was unnecessary.

[PassingFair]

45. If THESE words:

"Many of those who cheered probably did so because almost everyone else was cheering; I wonder how many of them were actually gay, and cheered because they were afraid that not doing so would have drawn unwanted attention."

Don't call for "snark", then
I don't know what would.

[smokey nj]

46. Whatever n/t

[PassingFair]

13. American Legion = Facist Organization

Google Smedly Butler and American Legion...

[tritsofme]

15. What a load of BS

Butler died 70 years ago, and today the Legion continues to act in the interest of veterans.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

30. He's right, the American Legion's full of shit.

They don't act in the interest of veterans.

It's only a pale shadow of what it used to be.

[OneBlueSky]

14. interestingly (or not), in the 7th grade I won an American Legion . . .

essay contest on a theme something like "What America Means To Me" . . . if I recall correctly, I viewed America as a book, with separate chapters on things like freedom of speech, equality of opportunity, etc. -- basically regurgitating all the lies I was told in elementary school . . .

the prize was a $25 savings bond and a picture of me (with the second that third place winners) in the local paper . . . needless to say my dad, a career Army officer, was proud as a peacock . . . I think it was around this time that he started talking about me maybe attending West Point at some future date . . . I never followed up on that particular notion . . .

[insanity]

16. I passed my chance to go to Boy's State

It was in the summer of 2004, and being the President of the Young Democrats at my high school, I was the obvious choice (YDA was the only political club at the time). I talked to a lot of people who went in the past, and they all told me it was sort of a joke for the same reasons you mention. I ended up doing real work for Kerry and a bunch of local politicians.

[ninkasi]

17. Any time you fear American youth

think of our Ava, and what she has accomplished. Think about this, too...some of us my age, born in the 1940s and early to mid 1950s, have a great deal of influence with our grandchildren. I see grandchildren, my own, and those of my friends, who are more liberal than their parents. Don't give up hope in the youth of our country.

[AndyTiedye]

18. Those Are Not the Kidz We Are Looking For

Hang out with the ravers. MUCH more open-minded. Much more of a grasp of collaboration, teamwork and the whole "community" thing.
They throw the best parties too!

[tavalon]

21. Kudos

to a man among sheep. You are a good soul and a strong man. Blessedly, despite their loud brownshirt quality, they will lose. It is a slow, painful process with fits and starts and it's easy to become discouraged in the face of the opposition but tolerance and acceptance will win. We are hearing the last, rageful cries of the losers.

[Vidar]

22. Unfortunately, this is to be expected from the American Legion.

[no_hypocrisy]

23. I'm surprised you didn't report them singing "Tomorrow Belongs To Me". n/t

[tomreedtoon]

24. Videogames are teaching them to SHOOT liberals.

Long before this (apparently failed) Christians-killing-Atheists videogame, there were the Tom Clancy videogames where you, the tough-guy, were shooting down evil ecologists.

I always cringed when I saw the books under Clancy's name - most of which were "based on concepts by" rather than written by him. What was that series of paperbacks called..."Tom Clancy's Facist Force" or something? And now kids are being taught that this is a patriotic ideal?

Not to mention the "Grand Theft Auto" series, where killing various ethnic enemies is almost as much fun as hiring a hooker and then killing her to get her money.

But, of course, it's the sex that's the problem, not the violence.

[politicat]

25. My experience with Girls' State 15 years ago lends me to believe there

is bias in the selection process.

I was valedictorian and had the high GPA for all four years of high school. I was highly involved in Speech and Debate, drama, Mock Trial, Academic Decathalon, Swim and Track. I was in the band and was drum major my junior year. Girls' State is usually the summer between Soph and Junior year. I was well known in my high school as stable, smart, capable and "going to go far." My guidance counselor and two of my teachers recommended me.

I was also a not-Mormon in a Mormon (with quiet polygamy, so VERY conservative) town, and a Goth.

The American Legion in town was a Mormon men's club. The girls they selected for Girls' State were uniformly compliant, conservative and vocal only on two things: virginity until marriage and their opposition to abortion. Neither had my grades, my involvement, nor my brains. (One got pregnant the next year, dropped out of high school and married the guy - 15 years her senior. The other managed to graduate with some special exemptions - i.e. no grades - and dropped out of the CNA program at the local community college. The 20 credit hour, sleep through the class CNA program.)

[bling bling]

26. I hate to say this, but you DO live in Missourah, after all.

I was equally as shocked as you are now when Missourians overwhelmingly voted to amend our state constitution to ban gay-marriage. I was stunned to see that 71% of people voted yes for the amendment.

I think that living in St. Louis clouded my perception of the state as a whole. I am out of touch with how people outside of my city live and think.

Although, when it comes to gay marriage, you cannot blame the "white rural folks." Lots and lots of non-whites and Democrats voted "yes" to the amendment as well.

One more thing, in response to one of your sentences: "What struck me as odd is that the majority of the answers I got for why they didn’t support Gay rights was more in line with what their group of friends and family said."

That's not odd at all. It's EXACTLY how bigotry, racism, and discrimination thrive.

[pstokely]

41. Could this be related?

http://www.themaneater.com/article.php?id=22520
http://themaneater.com/article.php?id=22407

[bling bling]

42. Sure it could. And you know what's scary,

I'm about 14 years out of high school and a few years out of college and throughout my entire educational life I don't remember such attitudes towards gay people as I am seeing now (in this state). The people in this state have apparently succumbed to the divisive "gay marriage" issue thrown at us by the Republicans and it's blown up. There's no doubt that all the fear-mongering towards gay people and legislated denial of their civil rights has negatively impacted people here of all ages.

I think all the time that a couple of generations from now the people are going to look back at us (rather, down on us) and wonder what the hell was wrong with us that seemingly enlightened people voluntarily closed their eyes and turned back the clock 50 years on civil rights and equality during one President's term of office.

[FairVotes4all]

28. Wow, I know how you feel.

Actually, Where I live, we have had a lot of "sensitivity" activities, and when we do the anonymous polls it seems to come out 90% in favor to gay rights. However, on other issues, my fellow students are ultra-conservative. In my AP-Gov class there are 3 of us who are very vocal, and unfortunatly, the other 2 are big conservatives. It sucks being in the minority.

[codebuster11]

29. Thanks for all your comments....

And i'd like to address a few things here:

I've read a lot of the comments, and a lot of them mentioned the selection process.

Now, I can't speak for the Boys State programs in other states, but this is how it was done this year in Missouri. Your school must first recomend you. I know that if your school didn't recomend you, you wouldn't get accepted/ get a sponsor for the program. I'd say that probably 75%-80% of those selected this year were Jocks of a sort, and this may have jolted my view slightly. Even if this is true, I still would venture to say that of those 75-80%, the majority of which were not simply Gay-Bashing to show some sort of masculinity, but because thats the way they were brought up.

I spent a good 8 days in this program, and my city i was assigned to had 65 individuals, most of whom I got to know very well. My roommate was an intense Jock. Wrestled, played football, lacrosse, and had done a lot of other things. He was the kind of guy who would always talk about how must "ass" he could get and whatnot. As each night dwindled down though, My polar-opposite and I would talk about whatever came to mind. One evening the issue of Gay-Marriage came up. It turned out the man was a very verbose individual and could hold his own in a debate. Even though that was true, he still brought up the issue of how he was brought up to think against the Gay-Community, and how his religion had told him that, though he vowed to try not to put religion first.

So I asked him what his friends viewed. He said that they pretty much were the same. He went to a public school in West County in St. Louis, and I had friends at that Public School, so I knew the kind of economic and social backgrounds that they all came from. It was almost as diverse as the Boys State program.

So after all of that, I would still say that, bias included, that I still fear what our American Youth and my generation is being taught and what they are told to believe. I feel that its simply startling that there is still that much animosity towards the Gay Community.

So I thank you all very much for your comments. This is why ive grown to love DU, because all of you who care and all of you who take time to care. Thank you all very much, and I look forward to more comments.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

31. Fuck that.

The youth of today is the most liberal towards homosexuality in history.

Where as things get progressively worse the older the American gets.

Now my generation, we're a bunch of fucking bigots and it doesn't stop with homosexuals. We're the same generation that fought against civil rights forty years ago. If you want to be afraid of a generation, only look in the direction of your nearest old folks home.

[meganmonkey]

32. Kick

so I remember to read this more carefully tomorrow...

Thanks for posting this!

[newportdadde]

33. I attended Boys State in the Summer of 1994.

It was an interesting experience, it was Missouri as well. I was a country bumpkin and beat out 4 jocks for the only spot. After that happened, all 4 got picked up independently by either a fathers well to do business partner or various clubs the young mans mother might have belonged to.

My roomate was a Latino kid and was a very nice guy. I remember that the housing we had was not air conditioned, not particularly a big deal to me as I grew up in the middle of nowhere in an old farmhouse without AC but the 'city kids' were dying.

Our two adult leaders were both in the Military, the head leader was a real nice guy, the secondary leader, the one who spent the most actual time with us was a paratrooper who had broken his arm. I don't think the guy was too crazy about being there. I remember the bugle morning muster getting played etc we then rushed into our lines to go eat breakfast and taps at night. Everywhere we went as a 'unit' we marched etc, now everyone marched in lines but we got to do the drill sergant type chants etc.

Rush was all the rage there, I think his TV program was in full swing then, I called Rush a 'fat dumbass' and got a ticket for offensive language. I really didn't care about Rush either way at the time but wanted to see what the reaction would be for defaming this icon in 94.

All in all it was an interesting experience, I won't say that I particularly liked it or hated it. My roomate got to argue a 'case' in front of the entire group of boys staying there, on stage in the school auditorium, that was pretty cool. I qualified for a scholorship because of it... 1k in my pocket for that week.

I wouldn't personally want to do it again but I would encourage my sons to give it a try.

[farmbo]

35. In Ohio attendees are selected by essays...creative writers need not apply

Any writers who deviate from the expected "I support the Troops Because..." theme will not make the cut...guaranteed.

[marmar]

37. This generation is more accepting and embracing of diversity...

than any other. I would say that this group is the exception, not the rule. They've grown up seeing Pedro Zamora intimate with his boyfriend Shawn on MTV, and with Will and Grace, and so on and so on. Are there homophobic and racist youth? Of course there are. But there are a whole lot more for whom diversity is an accepted and essential part of life.

[calmblueocean]

38. My class voted to keep slavery.

Back when I was a Senior in High School in the early 90s, my class had a mock Constitutional Convention where everyone was assigned a state to represent. In the course of hashing out our Constitution, we had to make a decision about the institution of slavery. Would we give slaves the right to vote, or some fraction of a vote, or abolish the institution altogether?

Each state had their own goals and needs to be met at the Constitutional Convention, and the point of the exercise was to give us some semblence of an idea of how difficult the framers of the Constitution had it. But I wasn't prepared for how assertively and profoundly those *playing* the slaveholding states would rush to the defense of slavery. It seemed to me like the roleplaying aspect of the exercise gave some people a cover under which they could finally indulge their prejudices in public without fear of reprisal. It quickly became clear to me that for many of my classmates, this wasn't a joke. In just the 2 hours of class time that the exercise lasted in total, they had wholeheartedly invested themselves in prolonging the institution of slavery.

"But it was just a game!" you're probably saying. "They just wanted their side to win."

Competitiveness undoubtedly played a role in our exercise, as I'm sure it did in the real Constitutional Convention. But as we argued back and forth, in small groups and as a full class, an emotional dynamic emerged that went beyond competition. What started as a game became much more, and we all felt it. In a sense, we were reliving the start of our nation, and we knew we had a chance to set things right. Some people cared, and fought passionately for freedom. Some people laughed, and fought spitefully against it. We philosophized and argued and fought and bargained and begged and condemned. We offered land, money, titles, everything a government has the capacity to offer. They had nothing to gain and quite a bit to lose by refusing to free the slaves. But the obvious glee some of them took at being able to dominate and control an entire race of people -- even in an imaginary high school exercise -- was quite tangible. Not all of them, of course. Just a few who led, and a few more who followed. But that's all it took.

The Constitution we ended up with was so grotesque that one of those on our side decided to turn the whole thing into a joke. At the last moment, he proposed replacing the Presidency with a Grand Poobah. Enough of the other side thought that was a funny enough idea to pass. The bell marking the end of class rang, and I remember feeling this enormous feeling of disgust and failure at the whole event.

The lesson I'd like to draw from this, however, is counter to the one you might think. Reading your original post, it reminded me that this sort of behavior is common to teenagers. If we could assemble all my old classmates together, and have another Constitutional Convention, I doubt very much it would happen the same way again. We're older now, and the kind of cruelty and showboating that are often part and parcel of the teenage years would now, over a decade later, seem embarrassing and even shameful. Give the American Youth a chance to grow up. My bet is that they'll surprise you.

[sendero]

47. My humble opinion.....

.... there are several factors at work here. Firstly, ever since 1980 and the Reagan Revolution, attitudes as reflected in movies, TV, culture at large has been very hostile to the idea of dignity for everyone, equal opportunity, etc. How much of this is orchestrated and how much is just the ideas of the times showing through I don't know. I think that, in a nutshell, too many laws were passed over the objections of too many people - in other words, progressives got what they wanted but many felt like it was shoved down their throats - and we are still feeling the backlash.

Secondly, life in these United States is getting harsher and harsher for everyone except those at the very top. Middle class folks now have to scramble to make ends meet. People work harder just to stay even. When resources become scarce, hostility towards anyone real or imagined who is standing between you and your piece of the pie becomes rampant. Put more simply, when there are hard times, people want sombody to blame. The Republicans are good at feeding them false choices.