Did we ever think we would see the day the college students say they need “safe spaces” on campuses across America?! The first time I saw this, I just laughed and made a comment about not ever sending my kids to one of those “institutions of perpetual childhood!” College students crying about election results and being so distraught that they can’t even function should scare the living daylights out of us!
This problem doesn’t just start in college. These kids don’t know how to compete. They have no idea how to lose with dignity and they most certainly have no clue about what it means to be an American. They are “traumatized and offended” if anyone disagrees with them, raises their voice at them or looks at them “wrong”. Winning, losing and competing are all part of the real world. Remember the days when sports, the classrooms, churches, the media, homes, etc., taught our kids important life lessons? We became “politically correct, lied to and coddled our youth so much that kids don’t know how to win and lose! This is not good for the future of America.
When I was growing up, my entire summer was centered around the softball field. This was “serious business.” We practiced hard and played hard. My dad and his friend coached one of the teenage girl teams together and, believe me, there was no favoritism if you were the coach’s kid back then. My sisters and I had to play hard in order to play! Favoritism was looked down upon. The rules were always the same. If you didn’t run for the ball full speed, you were reprimanded, loudly, by the coach and probably the spectators too! It wasn’t a big problem to motivate your players. We all knew, the best players played the most. Everyone wanted to do well.
If a team got ahead by 15 runs there was a “Slaughter Rule”. That’s exactly what it was called. It was embarrassing to be slaughtered! Can you imagine a league even using that word today? We would hang our heads in shame if we got “slaughtered”. Every team tried really hard to avoid losing by the “Slaughter Rule”. If you did, more than likely extra practices were called by the coach.
Now the “slaughter rule” changed to the “five run rule” on many leagues, to keep things “fair”. I watched a few of these “five run rule” games. It seemed like the more kids were slow and overweight than in the past. It was annoying to watch the ball fall two feet in front of a kid. I wanted to yell “two more steps and you can catch it! Move!” Coaches and spectators didn’t say a word. The temptation to call my old teammates and challenge these young, unmotivated girls to a “real game” was intense. At the end of the games, in my day, the winning team ONLY got a free coke from the concession stand. Nowadays we have “team moms” and snacks for everyone after each game. Many times, these kids aren’t even breaking a sweat! Of course, everyone gets a trophy at the end of the season. Wouldn’t want to hurt anyone’s “feelings”.
And what’s up with “Test Re-take Days?” We rarely ever got to re-take a test in school! Now it’s the norm, even in some private schools. We knew that we had to study to the test the first time we took it. If you did poorly, your grade for the ENTIRE SEMESTER would suffer. This was known and understood. It was embarrassing to flunk a test! Second chances were only given in rare circumstances. We were very motivated to get good grades the first time around. Do we get the job if we “bomb” the interview? Does anyone get the part if they “bomb” the audition? Yes, we used the word “bomb” all the time! Do we make the deal or sell our product without proper preparation? No way! We wonder why our youth is unemployable and crying on college campuses?
You know what? Mostly everyone I grew up with became a well-adjusted productive adult a lot sooner than thirty-year’s-old! We are not doing America any favors by raising up a bunch of “middle aged” adolescents that don’t know how to compete. This needs to change ASAP. American youth are being raised to be very “soft” compared to previous generations and America as a nation will suffer for it. Bring back competition and motivation and stop the “political correctness” or America truly will get “slaughtered” by other countries.
Image: by USAG-Humphreys; https://www.flickr.com/photos/usaghumphreys/3616407032l CC by 2.0
