Whats happening to America?

Hey everyone,

This is getting pretty frightening.

One in three U.S. high school students say the press ought to be more restricted, and even more say the government should approve newspaper stories before readers see them, according to a survey being released today. The survey of 112,003 students finds that 36% believe newspapers should get "government approval" of stories before publishing; 51% say they should be able to publish freely; 13% have no opinion.

Asked whether the press enjoys "too much freedom," not enough or about the right amount, 32% say "too much," and 37% say it has the right amount. Ten percent say it has too little.

Source

Now today we learn that 'AMERICAN IDOL' tops network coverage for State of the Union (Source). More people would rather watch freaks sing out of tune than listen to President Bush describe the condition of the country, outlines the nation's most serious problems, etc

Whats happening? What are we turning into? Or what is the youth turning into?

The first point of your post has already been discussed. In the end, you can't really know since any poll can be worded in a certain way to obtain a desired result.

I find the second point more disturbing. Apathy in the government is a dangerous trend.

[edit on 2/3/2005 by djohnsto77]

At this rate there is a huge danger that the youth, but not just the youth are being do dumbed-down they can't make a decision or form an opinion for themselves. These are people who will never question their government. The future isn't smelling much like democracy and that's just the way the elite rich would like it.

Scary times ahead for sure...

The kids are being conditioned and brainwashed by the media. It will make them easier to control down the line. I wish I could prove this theory, but I can't. I just watch watch who their idolizing and the mixed messages that are being given to them by our government and the media. Girls are becoming sexually active at a younger age nowadays because of the media's influence. The media is most definitely the downfall of our society.

Peace

I do not find this to be surprising. In today's society and especially in our younger generations, They do not want to think for themselves. The goverment though is not solely responsible for this. We as parents are guilty in this.
Look at the schools today. Many of the books that we had in school or even in the public libraries are now banned books. Books that made you think such as "The Red Badge of Courage", "Where the Buffulo Roam", etc.
These books and many others that we had to read as students back in the day are not even offered to our children today.
Add this to the fact that our youth spend much more time glued to the T.V. or playing Nitendo, PS2 etc. or even on the computer.
We are weeding out independent thought. So it is not surprising that our children believe that the goverment should control the media. Then they do not have to decern what to believe or not. They do not have to discover the facts etc. Let the goverment do it for them or anyone else for that matter.
We as parents, need to take the reins back and start teaching our children to think for themselves. Not to believe everything that they read, see or hear.
At this rate, ATS will not have much of a future for iteslf either as the next generation will not be asking the questions.

America is in decline...there is no doubt. How sad. I don’t know about you people but that pisses me off.

In my opinion, the following reasons are responsible for Americas decline:

Decline of family values
Ideals and morals start at home

Economically driven society
People have lost sight of what is really important

Out sourcing jobs
Saving a buck! Saving is good but not at the expense of our country

Foreign oil dependence
Car companies are responsible

Need for politically correctness
If you don’t like America and its ideals get out or don’t come.

God Bless America!

I think Horizon hit the nail on the head. Every point he mentioned is a major problem here in the states. But there is one thing that he left out and that is the lack of interest people (especially young people) have with staying informed. The people here at ATS are exercising their minds in the search of/or defence of truth as they see it. In doing so we are doing our best to stay aware and informed of the world around us allowing us to be capable of sorting out the problems that confront us. Unfortunatley if this disterbing trend continues in America and the world(and I believe this really is a world wide problem) the future looks bleak. It will also be easy for those with evil intentions to gain power in the future. This whole thing sounds like something straight out of the book of Revalation.