in big touble!!

They say the children are the future. If this is true, then we are in for some big trouble.

If we must label everything, I dub these children “Generation Y,” (as in ‘why’). They are the most ill-behaved brutes to disgrace the face of this earth.

Here’s what I mean. When I was growing up (and most of my friends concur), we never talked to adults the way kids today do. We didn’t talk back to teachers—if we did, we knew punishment was inevitable at both school and home. We didn’t have the foul little mouths the latest generation has developed. The educational disciplinary system and/or our parents must have instilled the fear of God in us, because we knew we’d catch hell for misbehaving.

Young boys in this degenerate generation are completely out of hand. I have witnessed boys making sexual innuendos and gestures at grown women, probably with little idea how serious their little jokes are.

For boys to get away with this behavior is to condone it. In essence, adults are permitting these boys to grow up completely disrespectful of women, and viewing them as merely sexual objects. Their intent is to get a rise out of women; they say and do things for shock value. But these attitudes become ingrained and carried through to adulthood.

This “generation Y” also is the most apathetic, lazy one yet. As incredible as it may seem, they are worse than us. The idiot box is the most interesting thing in their lives. If it says so on TV, it must be true. Who needs to read when “Beavis and Butt-Head” are on with their social criticism?

In general, these children just lack any sense of respect. They torment teachers, parents and strangers alike. They don’t “question authority”—they reject authority. The problem is, they often play one authority off another to get what they want.

For example (I know you’ve all done this), children develop a skill for playing one parent off the other (assuming there are two parents around). They say, “But dad said I could,” and “Mom said it was OK.” In the end, they often get their way through manipulation.

The same idea happens on a larger scale in the judicial system. Lately, minors have been suing their parents for divorce and such. Yes Hillary, children do have rights, but that is ridiculous.

But instead of just whining about this problem, I actually have a solution in mind: We need to go back to good old-fashioned “wait until your father gets home” punishment.

This younger generation lacks discipline. You know, a good smack on the butt would do them a world of good. Hey, we were reprimanded as children. It may have been verbal as well as physical, but I know people who got the strap, the belt, the bar of soap or the open hand. And you know what? They’re all mature, responsible, respectful adults who are glad their parents actually cared enough to punish them.

Today’s parents are wimps. I’ve seen a lot of parents who could care less that little Tommy beat up someone at school, extorted money, or blew off class. These parents are too absorbed in their own lives to shape those of their offspring.

And the parents who actually do care face an obstacle produced by those of the “kids are people too” mentality: accusations of child abuse. Granted, they shouldn’t be hitting their children to leave any telltale marks. A good slap on the butt is appropriate, even in repetition. It’s padded enough to withstand punishment and out of common sight. Yes, I am condoning spanking.

But then if little Susie gets the idea (say from the media) for a sympathy ploy, she can point to her parents and scream, “Child abuse!” And you know damn well that someone will take up the case, embarrassing the parents and causing unnecessary legal complications. Save the time and energy for real abuse cases, of which there seems an abundance.

If these young’uns were spanked once in a while, maybe they would learn some real values and some respect for authority. But that is provided you could pry them away from the all-powerful magic entertainment box.