Tooting their own horn

I'm sure most of you have received emails similar to the one below. So read this one and then read what I have to say after it.

TO ALL THE KIDS WHO SURVIVED the 1930's, 40's, 50's, 60's and 70's!! First, we survived being born to mothers who smoked and/or drank while they were pregnant. They took aspirin, ate blue cheese dressing, tuna from a can, and didn't get tested for diabetes. T hen after that trauma, we were put to sleep on our tummies in baby cribs covered with bright colored lead-based paints. We had no child-proof lids on medicine bottles, doors or cabinets and when we rode our bikes, we had no helmets, not to mention, the risks we took hitchhiking. As infants &children, we would ride in cars with no car seats, booster seats, seat belts or air bags. Riding in the back of a pick up on a warm day was always a special treat. We drank water from the garden hose and NOT from a bottle. We shared one soft drink with four friends, from one bottle and NO ONE actually died from this. We ate cupcakes, white bread and real butter and drank Kool-aid made with sugar, but we weren't overweight because, WE WERE ALWAYS OUTSIDE PLAYING! We would leave home in the morning and play all day, as long as we were back when the street-lights came on. No one was able to reach us all day.And we were O.K. We would spend hours building our go-carts out of scraps and then ride down the hill, only to find out we forgot the brakes After running into the bushes a few times, we learned to solve the problem. We did not have Playstations, Nintendo's, X-boxes, no video games at all, no 150 channels on cable, no video movies or DVD's, no surround-sound or CD's, no cell phones, no personal computers!, no Internet or chat rooms....... WE HAD FRIENDS and we went outside and found them!We fell out of trees, got cut, broke bones and teeth and there were no lawsuits from these accidents. We ate worms and mud pies made from dirt, and the worms did not live in us forever. We were given BB guns for our 10th birthdays, made up games with sticks and tennis balls and, although we were told it would happen, we did not poke out very many eyes. We rode bikes or walked to a friend's house and knocked on the door or rang the bell, or just walked in and talked to them! Little League had try outs and not everyone made the team. Those who didn't had to learn to deal with disappointment. Imagine that!! The idea of a parent bailing us out if we broke the law was unheard of. They actually sided with the law! These generations have produced some of the best risk-takers, problem solvers and inventors ever! The past 50 years have been an explosion of innovation and new ideas. We had freedom, failure, success and responsibility, and we learned HOW TO DEAL WITH IT ALL! If YOU are one of them CONGRATULATIONS! You might want to share this with others who have had the luck to grow up as kids, before the lawyers and the government regulated so much of our lives for our own good . While you are at it, forward it to your kids so they will know how brave (and lucky) their parents were. Kind of makes you want to run through the house with scissors, doesn't it?!

If you've read my blog before you realize the respect that I do have for the past generations, and how weak our society is today. But let's stop and think about this email and the people that are patting themselves on the back for being so tough.

These people who were born in the 70's, 60's, 50's, and 40's are the same people who invented child proof bottles. Made laws so that kids have to wear bike helmets. Make laws so that hockey coaches have to wear helmets. Put up nets behind the goals in hockey rinks. Invented cell phones and bought them for their kids so that they can check in every couple of hours. Invented GPS technology for cell phones so that you can track your children. Purchased Nintedos, Playstaions, and X-Box's for their children. These parents are the people who told all of their kids they can be anything they want to be, they are special, and if you meet a bully, tell on them. These parents are the lawmakers that made the drinking age 21 instead of 18. They made it illegal to ride in the back of pickup trucks. These generations were the greedy people that needed to come up with 150 channels instead of 10. These are the parents that need an FBI bio on each friend, before they can hang out with them. They are the parents who thought not keeping score at competitions was a good idea. They are the parents who sued the coaches and schools when their kid didn't make the team. Those generations have produced some of the best risk-takers, problem solvers and inventors ever, but they've also produced some of the biggest pussies too! They had freedom, failure, success and responsibility, and they learned HOW TO DEAL WITH IT ALL! Now that they are in a position of power they've forgotten all of this. They've taught us WE DON'T NEED TO DEAL WITH IT ALL! Nothings ever our fault, it's gotta be someone else. They are the pedophiles and perverts out there that they didn't have to worry about when they were kids. You might want to share this with others who have had the luck to grow up as kids, before the lawyers and the government officials who were all born in the 30's, 40's, 50's, 60's and 70's regulated so much of our lives. Kind of makes you want to run through the house with scissors, doesn't it? But I'm sure that's against the law now too.