which of the changes to society have you struggled with?

[amylevan]

It really wasn't that long ago we could have a civil debate for the most part and get along.

Really? When was this magical time?

Like the civilized debate that Hamilton and Burr had?

Or the cane beating of Charles Sumner that was literally penned as the breakdown of “reasoned discourse” leading to the civil war, where opposite sides of slavery literally had a war instead of calmly discussing it?

I’m going to disagree that it’s only now that people can’t have civilized disagreements. It’s always been that way and as long as people think they are “right”, it always will be that way.

 

[GoingSince1990]

I’m very jealous of my parents for not having to go through all of their emails each day looking for the important ones. And being able to turn on a device such as the TV without it announcing that it needs to do a software update.

 

[georgina]

Really? When was this magical time?

Like the civilized debate that Hamilton and Burr had?

Or the cane beating of Charles Sumner that was literally penned as the breakdown of “reasoned discourse” leading to the civil war, where opposite sides of slavery literally had a war instead of calmly discussing it?

I’m going to disagree that it’s only now that people can’t have civilized disagreements. It’s always been that way and as long as people think they are “right”, it always will be that way.

Environmental protection was a very bipartisan issue. Regulations to protect clean water, air, endangered species were passed. Now they are being gutted. Not sure when it started changing, maybe 20 years ago? Greed, lobbying by big money industries?

There are actually several issues that polls show most Americans support, but their elected officials ignore.

 

[Robbie Cottam]

I viewed the subject line a little differently than what has been posted so far.

I have struggled with how the left and right can't get along at all. Both sides are now basically yelling and screaming at each other and how the others viewpoints are so wrong. It really wasn't that long ago we could have a civil debate for the most part and get along.

There's battle lines being drawn
Nobody's right if everybody's wrong
Young people speaking their minds
Getting so much resistance from behind

 

[rowan1813]

As a teacher, I would have to say the lack of apathy that I see in my students. There is no drive to learn or to want to better one's self. I have so many that just don't care and can't engage with anything other than their phones. Things were bad before the plague times but now it's so much worse. I think a lot has to do with social media and the fact that their attention spans have shrunk to less than a goldfish. I look at my students and very few seem to have that spark that drives just wanting to know things in general. It's very scary to think about what will happen a few years down the road as these kids grow up and try to get jobs.

 

[Robbie Cottam]

Really? When was this magical time?

Like the civilized debate that Hamilton and Burr had?

Or the cane beating of Charles Sumner that was literally penned as the breakdown of “reasoned discourse” leading to the civil war, where opposite sides of slavery literally had a war instead of calmly discussing it?

I’m going to disagree that it’s only now that people can’t have civilized disagreements. It’s always been that way and as long as people think they are “right”, it always will be that way.

Maybe we need to go back to those Hamilton-Burr debates.

At least in that case it was just those two and when it was done there was nothing left to discuss, or atleast it was a one-sided discussion

 

[georgina]

And so it goes, this is why there can't be a civil debate. THAT SIDE OMG THEY WATCH THAT CHANNEL Oh and is it YOUR reality and facts? You see, by already denying their argument by stating they don't have your reality and your facts, then they are wrong. That is why civil debate is dead and your post showed that.

There are FACTS and there are opinions. My background is in science. Someone's opinion of reality can be built on lies and misinformation. If they strongly hold those, there can't really be a debate. I do think years ago most people were relying on the same facts. The fringe element was much smaller. Now it's huge.

 

[Beezle2]

I am struggling recently with patriarchal tyr

You know, it's funny, because as a kid (80's) I remember that things were getting better as far as acecptance, race relations, inclusivity, etc. Maybe it was because I was a kid, but it felt like we were moving past that. Then suddenly we were not. As the 90's progressed, things became siloed - and not jsut political leanings, but things like what music you listened to. It was noticeable to me. That's not to say things were perfect before that - far from it and I know there were still issues, but it felt like people wanted to at least try to get past that. Now, people have stopped trying.

My husband said much the same. He is a live and let live sort, but he said it feels like everybody has to have an opinion on everything and insists you should know what it is.

You know, it's funny, because as a kid (80's) I remember that things were getting better as far as acecptance, race relations, inclusivity, etc. Maybe it was because I was a kid, but it felt like we were moving past that. Then suddenly we were not. As the 90's progressed, things became siloed - and not jsut political leanings, but things like what music you listened to. It was noticeable to me. That's not to say things were perfect before that - far from it and I know there were still issues, but it felt like people wanted to at least try to get past that. Now, people have stopped trying.

Sorry double post..

 

[Beezle2]

Really? When was this magical time?

Like the civilized debate that Hamilton and Burr had?

Or the cane beating of Charles Sumner that was literally penned as the breakdown of “reasoned discourse” leading to the civil war, where opposite sides of slavery literally had a war instead of calmly discussing it?

I’m going to disagree that it’s only now that people can’t have civilized disagreements. It’s always been that way and as long as people think they are “right”, it always will be that way.

I'm thinking the anti slavery folks had the better argument and no amount of talking was going to change anything. What kind of argument could you make to people who made money from enslaving people?

 

[Beezle2]

Environmental protection was a very bipartisan issue. Regulations to protect clean water, air, endangered species were passed. Now they are being gutted. Not sure when it started changing, maybe 20 years ago? Greed, lobbying by big money industries?

There are actually several issues that polls show most Americans support, but their elected officials ignore.

Agree. The vast majority of people agree on most things. We are less divided than they want us to believe.

 

[bethbuchall]

I’m not sure if this is considered societal, but one big change that I’m having a lot of trouble with is that so much is subscription now instead of ownership. I want to own music and games, not pay every month and then have things disappear from libraries. If I buy Word or Photoshop, I want to be able to use it for years and not pay every month/year for it. It seems that so much is switching to the subscription model. Lots of money for the companies with loss for the rest of us.

 

[SC Minnie]

While I can relate to many of the struggles above, I'm going to take another angle.

My struggle is the amount of fraud lurking in phone calls, texts and emails. It seems like it increases exponentially each year. While it's always a concern for my personal finances and data, it's made my job increasingly difficult. Clients just don't want to answer their phones and those that do certainly don't want to share any sensitive information without me jumping through several extra sets of hoops these days. I can't fault them, but it's made our jobs that much more challenging.

I agree. Last week I got a text - 'SC Minnie, I'm on a call and need help with something. CEO's first and last name. '

My cell phone isn't a company phone but I do use it for business when I have to. I don't list it as a number when registering for conferences or anything. There should be no way to link my cell number with the company I work for.

The text was a scam but it made a pause for a minute and question it because-- my company is in the middle of combining 3 companies. The director of my dept and her boss were both flying back from our Canadian office that day. With what I do it wouldn't be too out of the ordinary for him to ask me for data of some sort. But when the texter asked for me to get gift cards for a customer that sealed the deal that it was scam. Several others in our company got the same text that day-- stating their names and saying it was from our CEO.

 

[TiggerTrigger]

I agree. Last week I got a text - 'SC Minnie, I'm on a call and need help with something. CEO's first and last name. '

My cell phone isn't a company phone but I do use it for business when I have to. I don't list it as a number when registering for conferences or anything. There should be no way to link my cell number with the company I work for.

The text was a scam but it made a pause for a minute and question it because-- my company is in the middle of combining 3 companies. The director of my dept and her boss were both flying back from our Canadian office that day. With what I do it wouldn't be too out of the ordinary for him to ask me for data of some sort. But when the texter asked for me to get gift cards for a customer that sealed the deal that it was scam. Several others in our company got the same text that day-- stating their names and saying it was from our CEO.

Quite a few companies get hit by boss scams through some kind of phishing or smishing attempts. We're at the point where I feel like we're taking some kind of cybersecurity WBT every 2-3 months. They also like to throw in random testing to make sure it's sinking in... basically sending us fake communications to see how we respond to something designed to look like a real-life fraud attempt. It usually generates an immediate response, either congratulating us for recognizing something sketchy or recommending us for additional training if we fall for their trick. Some of the lower-level attempts are easier to spot, since they have the telltale poor spelling and grammar. The whaling and spearfishing ones we've seen in examples are better crafted, but all seem to convey an abnormal sense of urgency. I used to sit next to our fraud group and my old supervisor now heads up a higher division of this area. It's amazing to hear some of the things coming out of those teams. Still, it's a non-stop battle and the scams are becoming much more complex. So, it’s no wonder that our clients are generally reluctant to give us personal data.

 

[Frwinkley]

So, just checking sides. If you are a person who watches THAT channel.. whatever it is. But THAT channel loses a very large amount of money in court with evidence and a jury for lying to you about something important, what side should a person be on. It seems like there would be 2 sides..the reasonable " holy cow they lied, I wonder what else they might lie about " and the what..pro lie to muh face?

Even with a huge financial judgement against THAT channel, supporters continue to be supporters.

 

[Frwinkley]

Remember that famous phrase "alternative facts"? What????

 

[Frwinkley]

There's battle lines being drawn
Nobody's right if everybody's wrong
Young people speaking their minds
Getting so much resistance from behind

"For What It's Worth", Buffalo Springfield.

"Ball of Confusion" is another one that fits perfectly.

 

[SpaceMan5]

There's battle lines being drawn
Nobody's right if everybody's wrong
Young people speaking their minds
Getting so much resistance from behind

So true...

There must be some kind of way outta here
Said the joker to the thief
There's too much confusion
I can't get no relief

 

[Robbie Cottam]

It's weird how a song from the 60s perfectly describes what we are going through today.

The more things change the more they stay the same...

 

[Tink3815]

crime and the tent cities in what used to be be beautiful cities and no hope of it getting better in the future -so glad I visited these cities in the past before the decline

 

[SpaceMan5]

Really? When was this magical time?

Like the civilized debate that Hamilton and Burr had?

I guess if you want to go that far back it is true. I speak to more of a contemporary view of things.