<p>I agree that it’s a mean-spirited, self-congratulatory piece of … um, nonsense. “Tongue-in-cheek” usually means funny, doesn’t it? This wasn’t. Remember Paul Lynde’s song in “Bye Bye Birdie,” circa 1960? (Boomers, he meant us.)</p>
<p>Kids! I don’t know what’s wrong with these kids today!
Kids! Who can understand anything they say?
Kids! They’re disobedient, disrespectful oafs!
Noisy, crazy, dirty, lazy, loafers!
And while we’re on the subject:
Kids! You can talk and talk till your face is blue!
Kids! But they still just do what they want to do!
Why can’t they be like we were, perfect in every way?
What’s the matter with kids today?</p>
<p>And this quote, of course, is older by several thousand years:
<p>Frazzled- I thought of that song, too (my kids have been in a lot of musicals, including Birdie)</p>
<p>Recently I listened to the rant of a late 30 something regarding the younger people in her office. Funny thing is that about 15 years ago when I was in my own late 30’s I felt the same way about her generation…</p>
<p>Now as a parent of teens I find myself less judgmental.</p>
<p>It depends. My H has not worn a suit to work for as long as he has worked. His bosses, founders of a successful company, come to work wearing jeans, as do many of their employees (H, who wears dungarees or twills, is one of the best-dressed members of the firm). When prospective clients come, employees are asked not to wear jeans. That’s all.</p>
<p>“Life’s not fair.” I’ve never heard this cri de coeur from my kids; however, they are very aware that not everyone is as fortunate as they are. They even try to do something about it.</p>
<p>Rules 1 through 13 are a real killjoy and rule 14 is a total non-sequitur.</p>
<p>For every day a teacher takes outside of a “reasonable” time frame voted on by the students, the teacher should be forced to raise the students’ grades one full grade point.</p>
<p>And for every day our tax refunds are late, the IRS should be forced to pay the same penalties and interest we’re forced to pay when our taxes are late.</p>
I will confess to a certain, shall we say, resonance with rule 7, though.</p>
<p>
All this stuff about fairness is reminding me of the wonderful Randy Newman song, “The World Isn’t Fair.” Does anybody know it? It contains the immortal lines, “If Karl Marx were living today/he’d be rolling around in his grave.”</p>
<p>No dude, the power is in the taxpayer’s hands to demand interest and penalties on late tax refunds. It’s exercised every other november. It’s called a vote.</p>
<p>The funny thing is that I’ve been reading too many laments from baby boomers (my own generation) about how their children’s generation is not sufficiently idealistic, rather than too much.<br>
The author sounds like an elderly curmudgeon (not at all like our own Curm!). How old is he? Do his kids’ closets really need delousing? Ugh!</p>
<p>Randy Newman, now there’s a song-writer without bias, or at least without tongue planted firmly in cheek:</p>
<p>Short people got no reason
Short people got no reason
Short people got no reason
To live</p>
<p>They got little hands
Little eyes
They walk around
Tellin’ great big lies
They got little noses
And tiny little teeth
They wear platform shoes
On their nasty little feet</p>
<p>Well, I don’t want no short people
Don’t want no short people
Don’t want no short people
`Round here</p>
<p>Thanks for the blast from the past, though.</p>
<p>I always found it truly astounding that there were (and I imagine, still are) so many people who took that song at face value and were offended by it. Some people are just satire-proof. There must be a gene.</p>
<p>(The only thing I’m offended by with Randy Newman is the grating sound of his voice. It’s full of character, and I know others enjoy it, but it’s like nails on a chalkboard to me…)</p>