DOBSON: DIFFERENCES IN GENERATIONS

James Dobson recently wrote about the difference between the current generation and the WW II generation of fifty years ago:

"Commitment, dedication, and patriotism have given place to sensuality, hedonism, and selfishness. If the decade of the '40s was characterized by commitment and sacrifice, the '70s were driven by the 'me' generation. And so it has continued to the present day. Who would have believed that by 1996, for example, lawmakers in 22 states would be trying to decide whether or not to legalize marriages between two or more men, or two or more women? Who would have expected 49 state governments to be promoting neighborhood casinos and lotteries to encourage gambling? Who would have thought that federal government would have spent nearly $3 billion promoting safe sex nonsense among teenagers? Yes, we've drifted far afield from the world our forebears knew in 1946.

"Now we're paying dearly for that shift away from traditional values. Sexually transmitted diseases are rampant, 30 million babies have been aborted, marriages are in shambles, unsupervised children roam our city streets, gambling is a national epidemic, and violent gangs are spreading in rural communities. All of us can see that something has gone terribly wrong."

(Source: "Focus on the Family" newsletter for March, 1996 Page 4. From a sermon by David Scudder, How Can We Change our Neighborhood? Part I, 5/30/2010)