Wussification[i] of the BC’s!

By Gall

Yeah … I never … ever … would’ve thunk it.  Momma Roo and Patches must be rolling over in their graves… not to even mention Miss Hardway!

Understandably, dad (and mom-D too) took it pretty rough when we had the snake attack … and I must confess, it had me shaken up for a little while too!  Dad says that for the longest time that he would (and still does at times) … dread driving back up to the house – afraid of what “might be”.  So, he started making us stay in the casa during the day, and always at night – even when it is beautimous weather outdoors!

Yeah – I admit – snoozing on the comfy doggy bed behind the couch or the La-Z-Boy (… or just spread eagle on the tile floor in the summer) is REALLY NICE and we do appreciate it!  But come on … not only are we dogs … we are the Premier Working Dogs!  I mean … we ARE Border Collie’s – a working and herding dog breed developed in the Anglo-Scottish border region (that’s the border between Scotland and England folks … an area not really known for its warm weather and sunshiny days!) for herding livestock (including rabbits and pocket gophers! … well, around this place anyway!).  We were specifically bred for intelligence and obedience.  Yeah, we're highly intelligent, extremely energetic, acrobatic and athletic.  We are medium-sized dogs (except for our freakishly humongous brother) with a moderate amount of coat, which is most often thick and sheds often.  We have a double coat which varies from smooth to rough, and is occasionally curled.

We are built tougher than “ram tough”, “ford tough” or “like a rock”!  While, I do encourage all dog owners to bring their Bupps in during the most of inclement weather … I think that dad and mom-D have taken it overboard!

Yep … we’ve all been officially wussified!  Now, all of us (sadly, me included), think that we probably need to come in just about every time the door opens!  Taffy and Merritt both had to be scolded numerous times before they learned that they needed to be asked in!  I still usually wait for the “double ask” – 'cause that’s just the way my momma raised me!

I wish I could say that it was just my dad and mom-D that are wussificating the kids (and grown-ups too!) of this country … unfortunately, they’re not!  One school district in Florida is eliminating the opportunity for students to get a “zero” as a grade; now, the proposal is that the lowest possible score a student can get is a 50[ii].  That’s right, a kid can turn in a BLANK sheet of paper and still get 50% on it!

Now, they’re not talking about raising the bar for an ‘A’ to 150 points, just eliminating the zero grade.  The hope is to ‘motivate’ students by not putting them down and hurting their self-esteem with a zero grade score. - Or maybe it’s that if they eliminate the zero grade and bumping it to 50%, there’s more of a chance for a higher graduation rate … which, of course, means more money for schools in the district.

This mentality that our society is heading in … well, it’s just plain nauseating to me, my friends.

Dad, JC, PF – and even the “old ones” like DZH and even the Pope’s buddy (you know … the illegitimate father of RG3 … our neighbor!) – tell stories about when they were kids that they would run around with their toy guns (Ronny’s was proably a muzzle loader) killing the bad guys.  You could take the toy guns away from them, and they would soon find something else around them – a stick, their fingers, etc. – and they’d pretend that it was a gun.  Today, they – if caught doing that – would be labeled as threats, and immediate action would be taken to remove that threat from the group.

There was also a time – not too long ago – when bullying was defined as slamming someone up against a locker and stealing their lunch money.  That was when the kids got called names and got picked on, and they brushed it off and worked through it (though … dad still cringes when he hears someone say “Gilligan”!).  Now, if little Sally calls little Susie a bitch, little Susie’s whole world crumbles around her, she contemplates suicide, and society encourages her to feel like her world truly has ended, and she should feel entitled to a world-wide pity party.  And little Sally – phew!  She should be jailed!  She should be thrown in juvenile detention for acting like – gasp – a teenage girl.  Hell … me and all my sisters are bitches!  My momma was too!  We’re all ok with it!  Bullying is NOT ok and should never be tolerated ... I'm just thinking that we need to look at the definition a little.

This kind of “modern” parenting and thinking makes me crazy.  The new generations of today are being taught that they shouldn’t have to ever put up with anything doesn’t make their hearts feel like rainbow colored unicorns are running around pooping skittles onto piles of marshmallows.

I believe that this “modern” society is creating a generation that’s not going to be able to function in society and that scares the heck out of me!

“Modern” parents, who drop everything, all the time, to sit and play with the child, who “needs attention,” or drop what they’re doing to help the child the instant that the child gets frustrated?  How is little Joey going to deal with the fact that there won’t be anyone in his adult life who’s willing to stop what they’re doing, stop living their busy lives, to cater to his every whim?

How do you think little Billy is going to cope in the real world, when his boss gives him a vague task to complete, and offers no helpful information as to how to complete this task?  Mr. Boss is certainly not going to hold little Billy’s hand and help him through the task.  Mr. Boss expects it to be completed by Monday.  How has little Billy been prepared to use his critical thinking and problem solving skills to be able to complete that task?  I’m afraid that, with this new mentality, he hasn’t.

Everyone parents differently, and I respect that (and yes … before you tell me ... I do realize that I have never had kids and; therefore, I have never raised kids), but, the current generation may be the one that expects nothing less than everything from this world.  But - we need kids that are going to be able to accept failure and move on having learned something from it.

These kids need to understand the value of hard work, and know that hard work is required to get where one wants to be in life.

They need to understand that there are about a bazillion people in this world.  While they are incredibly special to their people, they are not special to the ALL of the bazillion people!  That probably sounds terrible, but folks … it IS the "harsh" truth, and it must be embraced at some point in the tender childhood!

Your kids (and us BC’s to dad and mom-D) should not be the center of the universe, because we all need to love them enough not to allow them to be!

Hey, if you don’t believe me …

Hello, Wussification of America[iii] - WATCH THE VIDEO.

"With few challenges all their own, kids are unable to forge their creative adaptations to the normal vicissitudes of life.  That not only makes them risk-averse, it makes them psychologically fragile, riddled with anxiety.  In the process they’re robbed of identity, meaning, and a sense of accomplishment, to say nothing of a shot at real happiness.  Forget, too, about perseverance, not simply a moral virtue but a necessary life skill.  These turn out to be the spreading psychic fault lines of 21st-century youth.  Whether we want to or not, we’re on our way to creating a nation of wimps."

Hey … it’s just my thoughts folks - I hope I didn’t hurt your feelings snowflake!

Lots of Love!

Gall