I used to argue exactly the same case as EH has been laying out above. I was emphatic and vehement and had a lot of stats to back up my point of view (I did a degree in economics and had a strong thread of sociological research running through it to go with the maths and history).
I have had the same debate internally too i.e. are things really getting worse or is it just a symptom of the media-age and my middle-age?
My conclusion from experience? Things are getting worse. The stats are not a lie precisely but they are misleading and are manipulated to give the required view by the compiling body.
One important thing to bear in mind is that many 'crimes' are just not reported anymore because, through no fault of their own, the police are incapable of solving or resolving them. I've been attacked a couple of times and had an attempted an break-in to my home and not reported them because I've learned that nothing comes of it.
The media rumour-mill is powerful and can strongly influence peoples perceptions but what my conclusion is based on is personal observation and that of my friends and associates.
Part and parcel of the general nastiness is that the attacks that occur are just so cowardly. When I grew up, even tho' violence was an integral part of the 'entertainment' machine, it was violence of a last resort carried out by people with a sense of honour.
That carried through all over the place. Bear in mind that, despite my education, I was a biker in my younger days and hung out in the most unsavoury places imaginable. My view is not some rose-tinted, 'Ivory Tower', wistful false rememberance of past golden times - I've had a shotgun stuck up my nose 'with intent' because I walked through the wrong door at the wrong time
.
A corrosive fluid is undermining our society and it's fed with the best of intentions. I've argued before (as others have here) that one of it's it's sources is a lack of proper discipline in the new members of society we're bringing up.
Schools are the simplest example of the change. When I was a youth, in the main, noone dared to challenge the authority of the teachers and those that did faced the humiliating consequences of public corporal punishment if they did not mend their ways. Now teachers are hamstrung by the 'bleeding hearts' and schools are more or less run by the children - is it any wonder that all they learn is how to gratify themselves and harbour an inflated sense of self-worth?
Anyhow, I have to leave this topic now as it's too complicated to effectively discourse via quick-fire posting (as, sadly, are most things worth dicussing
).
I have had the same debate internally too i.e. are things really getting worse or is it just a symptom of the media-age and my middle-age?
My conclusion from experience? Things are getting worse. The stats are not a lie precisely but they are misleading and are manipulated to give the required view by the compiling body.
One important thing to bear in mind is that many 'crimes' are just not reported anymore because, through no fault of their own, the police are incapable of solving or resolving them. I've been attacked a couple of times and had an attempted an break-in to my home and not reported them because I've learned that nothing comes of it.
The media rumour-mill is powerful and can strongly influence peoples perceptions but what my conclusion is based on is personal observation and that of my friends and associates.
Part and parcel of the general nastiness is that the attacks that occur are just so cowardly. When I grew up, even tho' violence was an integral part of the 'entertainment' machine, it was violence of a last resort carried out by people with a sense of honour.
That carried through all over the place. Bear in mind that, despite my education, I was a biker in my younger days and hung out in the most unsavoury places imaginable. My view is not some rose-tinted, 'Ivory Tower', wistful false rememberance of past golden times - I've had a shotgun stuck up my nose 'with intent' because I walked through the wrong door at the wrong time
.A corrosive fluid is undermining our society and it's fed with the best of intentions. I've argued before (as others have here) that one of it's it's sources is a lack of proper discipline in the new members of society we're bringing up.
Schools are the simplest example of the change. When I was a youth, in the main, noone dared to challenge the authority of the teachers and those that did faced the humiliating consequences of public corporal punishment if they did not mend their ways. Now teachers are hamstrung by the 'bleeding hearts' and schools are more or less run by the children - is it any wonder that all they learn is how to gratify themselves and harbour an inflated sense of self-worth?
Anyhow, I have to leave this topic now as it's too complicated to effectively discourse via quick-fire posting (as, sadly, are most things worth dicussing
).
