I feel like a dinosaur

Toward the end of my teaching career, I felt like a dinosaur when things had changed so much compared to when I started teaching. Behavior that wasn’t acceptable in the 70’s and 80’s was being tolerated. Overwhelming regulations from the state and the school administration continually increased, interfering with actual classroom instruction. The younger teachers who didn’t know what it was like in the past didn’t seem to mind the new status quo. I knew it was time to retire.

I’m now beginning to feel like a dinosaur in present day society. Traditional values which had once been accepted by everyone are now being ignored. Right and wrong has become conditional and open to interpretation. Honesty, once a given, now seems to be a rarity in our government and media.

People are no longer ashamed of their own embarrassing behavior. In fact outlandish reality shows actually celebrate and reward ignorance and boorish behavior. Uneducated dim-witted athletes and “entertainers” have become celebrities and role models. It seems rude and selfish behavior is more and more becoming the norm.

Accepting responsibility for one’s own actions has become a rarity; it’s much more common to blame someone else for your problems and mistakes (from the President on down) sometimes even leading to outrageous lawsuits based on one’s own stupidity.

Good work ethic and taking pride in self-sufficiency is being replaced by rewarding the lazy with government handouts in exchange for their votes.

And now an extremely divisive and failed administration gets re-elected by a majority of Americans who obviously favor this new status quo.

 

I feel like a dinosaur....