I was just getting ready to write about the potential economic collapse of Spain and Japan (and Greece, and Portugal). The obvious impact of this on the U.S. is obvious and on Europe (and Asia) even more so. If the EU falls (via economic collapse), the resulting chaos could be something similar to the post WWI Germany. Ugly indeed. The "socialist democratic" dream would be replaced by...what? Scary. As for Japan's economic collapse (as was warned of by Japan's new Prime Minister today), the chaos that would occur in Asia would be immense.
But, those huge problems were supplanted for me personally today when a student came in and asked me "You got any scissors?" It wasn't so much what he asked as how he asked it. Generally speaking, when I was in my late teens and twenties, when I asked an adult for something, I usually did it with some attempt at politeness. This young man not only was fairly impolite, but when I "reflected" his question, giving him a chance to ask more politely, he simply asked the same thing in the same way, again. I am not sure when it became okay for young people to be rude to adults. I have been teaching at this university for 20 years, I don't ask for much, but it would be nice, occasionally for some respect to be shown by students. His need for scissors overrode his understanding that he was in a position where he needed to ask another for help. He was "owed" the scissors (and, no, he was not a minority...this malaise of the young crosses ethnic, cultural and socio-economic lines). I do realize there are some fine and polite young men and women, but, I also realize this isn't the norm any longer.
I suppose both the economic collapses and the disrespect are signs of the time
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