After a discussion with my husband the other night I thought I would post to get your comments and thoughts.
We were talking about the changes in society for the worse- crime, obesity, teen pregnancy, health problems, entitlement attitudes, waste, debt, and so many other issues that the majority of people did not have as a regular part of their life 50 years ago.

We came to a few conclusions we think strongly contribute or caused these:

1.  Moms going to work.

with moms going to work to provide a “better” life financially for the family, or because of the need as a consequence of single parent homes, there were a list on consequences such as:

• lack of supervision for children
• less time spent teaching children life skills
• daughters not being taught domestic skills such as cooking, sewing, etc
• meals changed from home-made to quick and easy freezer meals, processed foods, and fast foods
• kids not supervised in doing chores and/or expectations decreased
• more teen pregnancy from lack of both supervision, and education
• guilt of the parents for not spending time with kids result in spoiling and letting them get away with more
• financial spending of the family increase according to available income until it becomes necessary for both parents to work
• obese and unhealthy family members from eating quick but unhealthy foods
• lack of emotional support for children and validation for parents
• kids left to the influences of the world- friends, TV, books etc without guidance

without the mom (or dad) at home to teach, give example, and offer an adult presence kids are left to raise themselves.  Just like if you were to have your kid clean the bathroom without showing them how, the quality of work would be a lot less than if they were taught step by step what to do and how.  I can only imagine what my house would look and smell like if the kids were left to do everything to their standards!! Picture a house from the show “Hoarders” and a menu from Charlie & the Chocolate Factory.

 2.      More foods processed and less home-made.

As time became an issue for most Americans, the microwave came to the rescue!  Then along came TV dinners because heaven forbid we should miss our favorite TV show because of dinner time.  Then since heating up a TV dinner became too time consuming we were offered fast food.   Dollar menu’s offer the illusion of a meal cheaper (but not healthier) than you could make yourself.  If you don’t think fast food makes you unhealthy or affects your body I dare you to watch the show “Supersize Me”.  It will change the way you look at fast food forever.
We have to remember, the companies that process foods for cheap sale are in it for a profit.  So in order to make the product stretch further they add things to it.  Don’t believe me? a simple google or bing search of the ingredients of some of your favorite processed or fast foods will be enlightening.  Here’s just a couple that I have read that have taken my desire for processed and fast foods away:

McDonald’s Chicken Nuggets– check out the ingredients list.

Fake blueberries in advertised products

What’s in your fast food?

Who serves wood in your food?

One site that I like the suggestions of for eating healthy is:

7 rules for eatting

 Bottom line= READ THE LABELS OF YOUR FOOD!!  Don’t trust the marketing of the company trying to sell you their product.
I’ve never been big on fast food, or soda pop so they are fairly easy for me to avoid.  But I must admit there are a few items I was disappointed to see on the lists.  So the plan is to avoid as much as possible- knowing that my 3 weaknesses: pizza, ice cream, and chocolate  will keep me from going too paranoid and extreme!

3.      Violence in media- TV, movies, music

Some may suggest that the news can be just as violent as a superficial reality of TV, movies, or music but here is my opinion:  Media takes what is acceptable, known, or tolerated by society and goes one step further to create the “shock” factor that interests us and keeps us spending our money.  Then once people witness the shock factor over and over again it becomes tolerated and accepted as a new standard of what’s ok.  Crimes then begin to mirror this new standard, and in turn the media needs to take another step to create a new shock factor.  So they build upon each other by taking what one has taught to be acceptable and going further.  That’s my opinion and analysis of it at least 🙂

4.      Standards becoming “grey”

OK, I know I’ll probably get some heat for this one but it was part of our discussion.  It seems that right and wrong have been blended into grey areas of what’s not right but ok, and not wrong but not that bad.  Justifications and rationalizations are seen everywhere.  When you stop to take something at a simple context of what does it truly mean then the answer is usually obvious.  It is also easier to justify your actions if there is no consequence of a God, or the option of believing in a God that will let you do the things you want with little or no repentance.

One thing my husband pointed out to me was that society has taken people and done the following: 
when there’s an abnormal issue or behavior it’s first classified as a “condition” which may or may not require medication (conveniently)
then the condition becomes an identity- it’s just who they are, not a choice or anything they can do anything about.
With this evolution in attitude comes lack of personal responsibility and accountability.

5.      Selfishness & Entitlement

Lastly, I have to mention the observation of selfishness and entitlement as a society.  It seems more and more people are concerned about themselves and what they get or are entitled to rather than a desire to help, volunteer, and serve others to better the whole.  It’s an attitude about “me me me” rather than spending time thinking about what we can do ourselves to improve our life or situation, I’m willing to bet that the majority of people spend time thinking about who can help them.  Yes even day-dreaming about the lottery counts! (I’m TOTALLY guilty of this one haha)  Think about the story of stone soup.  A Village that was so poor no one could feed their own family, yet they were so selfish none wanted to share for the whole.  It wasn’t until a stranger came and convinced them all into sharing what little they had and before you know it there was plenty of food for everyone! 

Well there you have it! This was basically the conclusion of our conversation.  What do you think?