This weekend I marathoned That 70's Show on netflix. Sunday I found I needed some down, "veg" time and decided that marathoning that show would be the perfect soloution to some much needed brain check-out time. And it was...to a point.
I love that 70s show. It's the epitome of what society was at that point in history and, quite frankly, maybe exactly how things should be today. I watch the show and laugh because Red (the dad) is exactly how my family was...there were consequences for your actions, parents and adults were there to keep you from being complete and utter morons, and there were societal standards in dress, conduct, and gereral decorum.
When I sit and look at today's society, all I have to say is "yikes". Parents today want nothing to do with disciplining their kids and actually being "parents". Maybe they had Red as their parent when they were younger and remembered how much they wished they had more freedoms, but that doesn't mean the opposite extreme is parenting either. Don't want to be a parent? DON'T HAVE A KID.
Remember when you used to dress up to go do a nice dinner or even church and Sunday brunch? Now I attended a church event where people wore jeans and sandals. I went to dinner at Lawry's in Chicago (a NICE prime steakhouse...5 star kind of restaurant) where a teenage girl walked in in ugg boots and jeggings. I dress up in a cute skirt and dress shirt for work (remember I'm a teacher) and I get, "Gosh, you look so good. Why are you so dressed up?" So dressed up? Since when did a skirt and cute top become "so dressed up"?? Oh.....right...when it became acceptable to wear pajama jeans and go to the grocery store in Uggs, sweat pants with letters across the butt, and a sweatshirt. What has happened to our society?!
Standards have dropped. Seriously. We're not talking a little slack here and there, we're talking downright chaos and revolt. I'm not saying you have to dress to the nines or become a parent dictatorship or even return to 1800s gender roles, but I am saying that it's about time we took a seriously hard and critical look at our society and fixed it up. Caulk gun that shit back into place and then plaster it back together. Remember when please and thank you were expected not a surprise? Or when people held the doors for one another because that's just what you did to be nice? Where did that go?
So, dear America, WTF?! I'm going to go back and watch That 70's Show and laugh at all the appropriate points because it's ironic that social standards used to be a norm. Then I'll check into facebook and post a big "sad face" as my status showing my true feelings about what society has become to the 734 people I am clearly best friends with. Then I'll text and surf the web and IM chat with friends from the reclusive state of my home instead of actually going outside and enjoying the weather by playing a game with my friends, talking to the IN PERSON, and enjoying the fresh air. Aaaaah 2011.
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