Guys you need to get out there and meet some young people. I turned 56 today and I am happy to personally know several young people less than half my age that I am willing to put up against those 2 and 3 times older when it comes to Common Sense.
They are typically more conservative than their parents born in the sixties and show more maturity and at an earlier age than their parents in many cases. I admit at first I missed this fact because they have a different initial appearance as well as a different view of what is important and not important but as I started to listen and see them perform I realized they were far ahead of many of my generation at the same age. They can be very conservative yet be able to relate to those who are very different in looks and mindset of their own generation. Many grew up with two sets of parents they rotated between as well brothers and sisters from other marriages/relationships of the collective parental figures in their lives.
These kids not only survived but actually thrived in their environment while other siblings may have failed to do so. What was surprising at first was the development of their BS detectors and ability to read their environment but then I realized it was a required skill for them to thrive in an environment that many found themselves. I was taken back when I realized how much many of my generation were programmed to think in black and white terms where everything and everyone was either good or bad.
Perhaps having a set of nine year old kids and being concerned being nearly 50 years older as how I will relate to them as the teenage years rapidly approach makes my senses a little keener on the subject of the younger generation. I have to say our kids have a better understanding of people and how to relate to others in a real way instead of judging based on clothes, cars, homes, etc than I did. When I went to grade school most kids had similar home environments but today kids may spend a month each summer living in an environment the is 180 degrees apart from what they experience the rest of the year. Maybe this and other factors are at play but who can know for sure.
All I am saying is I see a very bright future even if it is different from the past. I think when we move pass the Bill Clinton/George Bush generation our country may even be a better place. I think we will see less polarization in the US in fifty years from now, maybe even in the world. Kids without choice think more for themselves today than ever before and are exposed to situations I have yet to be exposed to even at my age.
When I got off the bus for 12 years I knew mother was going to be home and there was going to be something to eat. She was not going to be stoned out of her mind or drunk and at 5 PM my dad would show up and we would eat supper that she prepared from scratch. If there was chicken or fish on the table it may have been alive at 1 PM. That kind of stability is gone of ever and to wish that was not a hard fact means one is not in touch with reality. There are some days of the week our kids from 3 PM to 8 PM have non stop back to back activities and places to be and that is when they are not in a play rehearsal.
We live in a different world that is changing at the speed of light. Common sense changes from generation to generation because what each generation sense in common is different. Common sense by definition can only be between those with things in common. Take the time to get to know someone that you are certain you have nothing in common with and you will be surprised at what you may discover. Ever wonder why great grand parents of teenagers often relate to them better than the kids own parents do? They may see in the big picture the great grandkids are really no different in a real sense than were their kids or grandkids.
These are just some thought from the other side of the discussion at hand and I do understand the points of Tom's post and agree with his examples where common sense has lost ground in my generation. I do both hope and think Common Sense is alive and well in many of the future generations and that it will resurface as we move forward.