This has been going around:

Audie Murphy (Left) WWII hero, Congressional Medal of Honor, and (lastly) entertainer.

While I feel like Pat Tilman may have been another good (only because it’s more modern) comparison, the bottom line is still true. A lot of the commentary I see about this meme isn’t, though. People blame the singer and they blame this generation of kids. Justin Beiber is the last person to blame. In fact, unlike the generation of kids currently growing up, thinking the world owes them something, he found his niche in music, made something out of it and is now likely supporting his own mom (versus a lot of guys I know who are about ten years older and still living in their parents’ basement).

That hard working mentality is something to emulate for sure. It is not, however, a reason to bestow upon him hate or heroism.

As for “the generation of kids” I mention above? Yes, they are self entitled brats. But you can’t blame them. It starts at home and it starts with the parents. This generation is raised by Twitter and Facebook. The danger in the that being, not what they say, but who they choose to be their heroes. The young and impressionable tend to plug an unseen umbilical cord between celebrities and “The Truth” – from what they wear down to who they want to vote for.

(I could add a lot more to that list)

In neither case, are the parents involved. Likely, it is because they’re too busy trying to earn an income in this ridiculous economy just to survive. While breaking their backs to maintain a certain standard of living, their standard of loving suffers, as a result, when it comes to the kids. After a long day and a long commute, it’s just easier to acquiesce and let them have whatever they want to show that, “Although I didn’t have time to make it to one soccer game this year, I definitely still love you! See?! Here’s an iphone! Now you can have Twitter piped into it, and Justin Bieber can tell you what’s right or wrong instead of ME!”

And that’s the real danger when your kids choose their “heroes”. If the children of this generation survive or thrive, it largely won’t be because of their parents, but in spite of them.

xoxo
<3~A