Moral collapse

If the initial response to the debate is anything to go by, harking back to the good old days has returned to fashion. Memories can be selective, however, and I suspect what constituted ‘good’ in times gone by probably falls well short of contemporary expectations. When I was born the population was defined as 70% working class and 28% middle class. In 2011 the direct reverse is true. People hope for more from life. Back then many didn’t expect a lot and were rarely disappointed. I guess you could argue that life, for us, has been a pleasant surprise. I doubt the current generation are so easily satisfied.

Whilst it’s become a truism that baby boomers have had it all, when I left school less than 10% of kids went on to university. Of course you need to balance this with England winning the World Cup and decide whether it was a worthwhile trade. Nowadays it seems everyone goes to university and England can’t win shit. I wonder which generation will prove the happiest.

Although a lack of discipline in schools is held as partly to blame, I’m not so sure those beatings with the tawse did much good. As with ASBOs it was more a badge of honour than deterrent. And whilst parents were probably stricter, peer groups – like today – were often the determining factor. The most effective discipline I can recall as a teenager – whether in the workplace or on the streets – were adult males, their readiness both to serve as role models and to give you a smack when you stepped out of line.

A moral collapse or the inability of John Terry and Wayne Rooney to do the necessary: your call.