This is going to probably end up as more of a rant than a blog. I can tell you I am growing tired of the constant softening of the world we live in. There is a reason that my grandparents’ generation was referred to as “The Greatest Generation” They fought wars on foreign lands, they built massive factories and revitalized cities. Many built their own homes, and did not call someone to fix things when something broke, they knew how to do it themselves. Some lived on small farms and were largely self-sufficient. They built an economy that served the many, not just the elite few. Everyone willing to work hard had a chance to make their lives better, and THEY NEVER COMPLAINED ABOUT IT. All they wanted was an opportunity to improve their lives and make their children’s lives better than their own.
Fast forward to today, only a few generations later, and we find ourselves in a cancel-culture world where anything and everything can be found offensive. And God forbid you should ever find yourself offended, I mean…think of the consequences!!! Oh wait…they’re aren’t any!!! Nothing happens when you are offended…literally nothing. You may feel bad for a moment, maybe you think about that something later. That is it. There are no damaging consequences to you seeing the world differently than someone else. If porn offends you, don’t watch it. If Sunday Night Football is too violent and confrontational for you, watch 90 Day Fiancé instead. If a politician has a plan that you don’t like, don’t vote for them. If that policy or idea gets a majority vote, deal with it. Or move, that works too.
We are losing sight of the things that really matter, at least in my opinion. We abuse our natural world like it is somehow going to going to be ok forever and ever. We pollute our own water supply, we raise animals in captivity in the most inhumane and unsanitary conditions, jack them full of hormones and antibiotics and think that we won’t have consequences from these actions.
In today’s world, we are far more concerned only about ourselves. We dwell on what we don’t have, how we can get it, and most of all, how we can show it off to others. Our social media accounts become our lives, and we lie to world as we lie to ourselves about the status we hold. We fake a happy life, lean on a car we don’t own for a photo, and go deep into debt trying to live a life we simply cannot afford. It is shallow and short-sighted and many don’t understand the ramifications of this. We are setting ourselves up for a serious crash-and-burn scenario in the not too distant future.
We are losing the ability to take care of ourselves, asking Alexa to turn lights on and order something from Amazon. Did you know that Home Depot and Lowe’s are seriously concerned about the ever-dwindling Do It Yourself mentality of our society? They may be focusing their business model of the future on those who still CAN fix things, build things, and do repairs. That skill set is diminishing quickly in our automated and disposable world. These two largest chains in this space predict that most local hardware stores and the like are going to suffer and go out of business due to lack of demand.
We are getting softer by the minute,
and lots of people don’t care.
We sit in front of computer screens all day at work, and then we come home and do more of the same. As the gamer culture continues to grown, and eSports continues to be on the rise, the world gets softer simply by being observers instead of participants in many cases. Being active used to be a critical part of life; there was much to do every day just to keep food on the table. Wonder why insomnia and poor sleep habits are so common? It is in direct correlation to lack of physical activity. Obesity is completely preventable, and yet kills more people than almost every other disease out there. And yet in many cases it is largely preventable, but we have grown too lazy to save ourselves.
The amount of people who have no idea how to cook for themselves is staggering. Soon, we won’t know how to walk into a grocery store and determine what is needed for dinner, so we’ll order through DoorDash instead. We go to college and rely on a “meal plan” to feed us instead of buying our own food and preparing it. We bend towards convenience and speed far more than the satisfaction of doing it ourselves.
The knowledge of this and all of the above for being self reliant is fading fast and shows no sign of subsiding. The world wants more and faster and easier all the time. None of the skills above lend themselves to that trend, and I think this is the problem. I am not very good at fixing things around the house, but I do try in most cases. I ask for help when needed, and usually my Dad or my father in law come to the rescue. Yes, someone from the previous generation who has this knowledge and skill has to assist me. My ego hates it, but it is reality, and I don’t want to flood my house incorrectly putting in a dishwasher by myself, so I ask for help. I buy all the parts, I do the prep work and I assist in every way possible during the process. I clean up afterwards, not making them stay any longer than needed. It is just how it is; neither one of them does public speaking or can hit a racquetball 140 mph, so we all have our own talent stack. However, theirs seems more real-world applicable than my examples did. :-)
We can’t all be good at everything, but there is some real benefit to having some level of knowledge about the things that make us healthy, wealthy, and self-sufficient. I encourage you to try more things for yourself and learn along the way. It’s not easy, trust me I know, but it is important. You never know when the world will go on lock down and you’ll have to fend for yourself for a while…
I wish you luck in your endeavors
by Darrin Schenck
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by Darrin Schenck
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