GOOD KIDS? – AT 11:58 A.M. ET:  In every generation we start to believe that the country is doomed because of the young.  Look at them!  Look at the way they dress.  Listen to their music.  Look at the movies they like.  We are doomed!

Well, even the sixties generation hasn't yet succeeded in destroying America, and we must remember that the other part of that generation fought in Vietnam. 

But there is now a serious body of thought suggesting that the new young generation actually is getting many things right, that maybe they'll be a fine generation after all.  From WaPo: 

The news media likes to characterize today’s young people as risk averse, narcissistic, app-dependent, over-scheduled, entitled and “pornified.” Among the culprits are too much praise, not enough challenge, helicopter parents, cellphones and of course, the Internet.

But by many measures, young people are actually showing virtues their elders lacked. They have brought delinquency, truancy, promiscuity, alcohol abuse and suicide down to levels unseen in many cases since the 1950s. Rather than coming up with ever more old-fogey complaints, we should be celebrating young people’s good judgment and self-control — and extolling their parents and teachers.

Here are some of the most impressive developments.

You’ve probably heard that crime is down. But most of the remarkable facts about crime and delinquency among young people have not been trumpeted enough in a country just 20 years removed from fears that it was facing a generation of young “super-predators.” In fact, arrests for serious violent offenses by juveniles have dropped about 60 percent from 1994 to 2011. Juvenile arrests have receded faster in the past 10 years than adult arrests. Property crime by youth also has sunk to its lowest point in 30 years.

COMMENT:  I went to a speech by Scott Rasmussen recently.  He said that many young people are fiercely devoted to personal freedom.  Remember, they are part of the 9-11 generation.  They are tech savvy and have been burned by the Obama hoax.

I've met a number of young people who listen to classical music and the great American songbook.

There is hope.

November 29, 2014