The Dumbing Down of The USA

There's Still Hope....

Along with all of the high tech improvements in our lives over the past 20 to 30 years, I believe there's also a negative effect that's been happening: We are un-learning how to think/use our brains.

Okay, calculators for use in Trigonometry, Calculus, Physics, and other classes were pretty much a necessity. But do we really NEED them in our daily lives to add & subtract? 

Spelling. Does ANYONE over the age of 40 know how to spell common words anymore? Texting "u r", for example, rather than spelling out "you are" might save someone a few SECONDS, but are you really THAT busy, like the CEO of a Fortune 500 company-busy, that you are THAT pressed for time? 

Which leads to another question: In the above paragraph the words "you are" were used. Often, in this "Gotta run my Fortune 500 company!", world, we use "contractions" of words (does ANY of this sound familiar to anyone...?), which means we combine them, leaving out one or more letters, which are usually replaced by an apostrophe ('). Did you know that hardly anyone knows when to use certain contractions of words anymore? 
(Note: I realize that "gotta" is not officially a word.)

For example, the words "we are" can be contracted into "we're", leaving our the "a"; I'm not absolutely positive, but I'm guessing that this started due to people pronouncing "we are" less & less like two separate words and hence the contracted form was born. However...."we're" is NOT the same as (or interchangeable with) "were", which you can "Google" to figure out how to use it. And don't get me started on "there, their, they're" and other words/contractions which are used incorrectly more often than not.

The point is, we are allowing our brains to get lazy & sloppy. Why "think" when we have these gadgets that will do it for us? And besides, most of our friends won't care or even notice if we misspell something. But guess what? We're ("we are"----see above) raising a bunch of morons who can't spell or add or use proper grammar, never mind construct a coherent sentence. This might all seem harmless, but imagine what things will be like in one or two more generations; communication will have broken down to the point where MAYBE family members will be able to "speak" (no more writing!) to each other and understand what their (look it up) abbreviations mean. Either calculators will become part of our bodies  (implanted or evolved that way) or we will have to rely on fingers & toes (or continuous pointing at the number of things we want/need) to carry out various transactions involving trading/purchasing items.

Look around you---is everyone (except, I hope, drivers) on their cell phones, either talking, texting, or playing some mindless game? I'm betting that about 80% of them are. Why not start a conversation? Unfortunately, many people would rather live in their virtual worlds and send photos of their food to their friends.

I was at AthFest last summer, and I was enjoying the music & dancing (in the street). A photojournalist took a photo of me (for the local paper & it's online site). When I saw the photo I noticed that I was the ONLY person dancing. The other people within the photo were standing around, looking very much as if they had no idea WHAT to do with themselves (unless they were drinking beer). Well, duh, you're at a MUSIC and art festival, there's some great music playing, why don't you DANCE?? This is just one example of how people (especially younger ones, under 25 years old) don't KNOW what to do without some kind of "thing" to entertain them or interact with (not including another person).

The United States has been known for our "can do" attitude. We have always stepped up & (mostly?) done the right thing. Our citizens were proud & worked hard and helped one another. We are losing ourselves, as individuals as well as a "population"...we are caring less & less about the education of our students...we don't know who our neighbors are...we rush around taking the kids to all sorts of lessons & sports & "other" when all they need to do is be kids...and use their IMAGINATIONS! Give them books rather than video games. Encourage them to "play" with one of their neighborhood friends---OUTDOORS. 

Other countries might not have the best "system" figured out, either, but I'll tell you what----THEY are raising students who know how to think! They are kicking our country's butt when it comes to Science, Math, Physics, and probably Spelling, too...

2014---Make it the year when we decided to turn off those techie gadgets and start to learn how to be involved with Life----our own, our kids', our neighbors. Put down the cell phone game & 
start a conversation with the person next to you. Happy, healthy 2014~


Dr Paula Loniak
Vet-To-Pet House Calls for Dogs & Cats
Athens, GA
706-870-7111