What is our country becoming?

[Deleted]

Sort of an off-topic rant here but this one got me a little worked up yesterday when the news broke.  What is our society coming to these days when a TV network pulls a show like the Dukes of Hazzard because there is a confederate flag painted on top of one of the most beautiful muscle cars ever built by man?  Everyone is over-reacting to just about anything in the news lately.  The show was produced over 30 years ago, anyone remember all the controversy and outcry around the confederate flag even just a month or 2 ago before the tragic church shooting?  Nope I don't either.  Good for Tom Schneider to speak out about this topic too:  time.com/3944399/dukes-of-hazzard-john-schneidertv-land/ 

Tired of our society thinking everything has to be so damn PC.  Where is the outcry to pull any show or movie where there is gun violence since that is what started this whole thing in the first place with everyone all the sudden becoming so offended by the sight of the confederate flag.  Before long we're going to start erasing anything bad in our history books such as slavery, segregation, and a time when women could not vote because we might "offend" someone by bringing up the subject?  Amazon, Ebay, Wal-Mart, and other retailers are vowing to ban sales of the confederate flag now but do a search on Nazi merchandise or ISIS and you'll find items for purchase by some of those same retailers.  I guess those aren't offensive?  Look I understand what the confederate flag stands for, it's probably time to take them down from flying at government buildings but it's still part of US history and you won't make it just go away by banning anything like a TV show that it appears in.

[jayh]

I have said for a long time that the American people do to much reclining in there chairs and not enough hard work like we used to. T.V has become the downfall as well as an all electronic world. Its not the T.V fault its our own fault for letting our kids have what they want and not working for it.

THEY HAVE TO REPORT SOMETHING ON THE NEWS WHY NOT THAT. Makes no difference to me one way or another if they ban it but I agree with you on the subject.

[Deleted]

Completely agree with you jay! That is one thing I really have come to appreciate now is that my parents made me earn every bit of what I had or got to do growing up and didn't just hand it to me. I may not have liked it growing up but as a father now I really can appreciate the lessons and work ethic my parents taught me and plan to use that in my own parenting. I see it with how some of my nephews and nieces are being raised, my oldest nephew is going to be a senior in HS, his dad farms with his grandpa and the kid has no accountability with farm stuff and instead usually is allowed to sleep in and play video games as much as he's allowed to. He's probably 6 foot 2 around 250lbs and plays sports so he's plenty capable of physically doing things yet I don't think he even knows how to drive a tractor, pouts and acts disinterested whenever when he's "forced" to help out working cattle or doing something on the farm, and his scrawny younger brother who I think is 11 or 12 if he was physically capable to do more around the farm would and basically spends more time with his brother's 4-H calves than his brother does himself.

A couple years ago we were all out helping pick up rock in a field that was plowed up, grandpa (my father in law) was driving the loader tractor while all of us and the grandkids would walk the field picking up rocks and 2 of the younger boys probably in 4th or 5th grade at this time who think farming is "fun" start complaining half hour into it. Grandpa tells them "boys this is part of farming, if you want to farm this is one of the things you'll have to do." One of the boys chimed back in kind of a snotty way "no we won't! we'll just drive the tractor and pay someone else to pick up rocks!" Grandpa tells them "how are you going to pay anyone when you start farming? When you farm for over 30 years then maybe you can finally get someone else to pick up your rocks while you drive tractor but this is part of farming boys, you can't just pay everyone to do everything you don't like to do." I was just cracking up at that interaction, those 2 boys just got a valuable lesson from grandpa. I could get into even more examples I have seen with the junior show circuits too but I'm sure a lot of you already know what I am talking about. If a kid is capable of doing certain tasks the parents need to step aside and teach their kid that skill and not do it for them. When these kids are on their own they are not going to have mom and dad around to do everything they don't want to do. There is no reason a kid in HS should need mom or dad to do anything other than drive them to the show, help them get setup and basically be their "assistant" while the kid does most of the work.

[larso]

Kids aren't bad it's how they are brought up, the responsibility lies on the parents.

[bookcliff]

Jul 2, 2015 14:22:59 GMT -6 larso said:

Kids aren't bad it's how they are brought up, the responsibility lies on the parents.

Never more apparent than what I saw this Wednesday in grand island. I dropped my 15 year old off Friday night with her steers and a friend of ours who volunteered to go along and watch out after her since we were still cutting wheat here and went back back on Wednesday to watch the steer show and bring her home She did everything herself, in my estimation 75% of the kids, either dad, the herdsman or the hired fitter did it all.

[larso]

I was probably a bit blunt but for the last 17years I've chaired a judicial panel for the Central West Rugby zone of NSW and I see these issues every week. Every time we have a bad case of referee abuse and bad sportsmanship you can bet London to a brick there is trouble on the home front. Either there is no father around or the mother is living with another man and the kids at home just do what they like. Someone said once that the greatest thing you can do for your kids is to love them, I say the greatest thing you can do for your kids is to love their mother, everything else falls in to place after that. Divorce has become the easy way out for society and the breakup of the family unit, unfortunately society is now reaping what it has sown.
This is a cattle forum so I would be better to keep my opinions to myself, sorry.

[mehf]

Jul 3, 2015 14:33:55 GMT -6 bookcliff said:

Jul 2, 2015 14:22:59 GMT -6 larso said:

Kids aren't bad it's how they are brought up, the responsibility lies on the parents.

Never more apparent than what I saw this Wednesday in grand island. I dropped my 15 year old off Friday night with her steers and a friend of ours who volunteered to go along and watch out after her since we were still cutting wheat here and went back back on Wednesday to watch the steer show and bring her home She did everything herself, in my estimation 75% of the kids, either dad, the herdsman or the hired fitter did it all.

Way to go, Katherine !

[guffeygal]

Jul 3, 2015 14:33:55 GMT -6 bookcliff said:

Jul 2, 2015 14:22:59 GMT -6 larso said:

Kids aren't bad it's how they are brought up, the responsibility lies on the parents.

Never more apparent than what I saw this Wednesday in grand island. I dropped my 15 year old off Friday night with her steers and a friend of ours who volunteered to go along and watch out after her since we were still cutting wheat here and went back back on Wednesday to watch the steer show and bring her home She did everything herself, in my estimation 75% of the kids, either dad, the herdsman or the hired fitter did it all.

You can be proud of your daughter and I know you are. She is getting more out of the experience in the long run and does an excellent job with her cattle.

It is certainly a stretch calling The Nationals a JUNIOR SHOW any more. We are amazed at the facebook posts thanking their fitters. One post out of one of the big boys out of the adjacent state to our south showing them leaving 10 days before the show. Another with heifers all in the stalls being worked on. NOT A JR. in sight in either picture.

[picketwire]

Good for Katherine!! It is what we make it, so make it a good one!!

Oh, and nice to see more and more eyes recognizing all for what it is!