Comments on: Courage

By: Josh Maddox

Josh Maddox — Sun, 08 Mar 2009 00:17:33 +0000

insert \”fan\” between country and either and I might not sound like a moron

By: Commonsense

Commonsense — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 19:33:16 +0000

After reading these many great comments. I do not feel quite alone anymore.
I live in the ultra liberal state of Massachusetts. I can’t tell you how many times I have wnted to move to Texas or someplace where they kids are expected to become self-reliant human being, not overfed, undereducated, text messaging, computer surfing, MTV morons.
I was a teenager when MTV started, I never watched. I always thought that listening to music on the radio or album, was the best way. It taught you how to be creative and imagine what the song was about. That all got ruined when MTV(the artist) provided you with their image of the song. So much for having an imagination.
I will be damned if my 6 year old daughter turns out like these dumb bratty twits that I encounter nowadays.

What to stump a teenager, give him a rotary phone.

By: Mitchum

Mitchum — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 12:34:07 +0000

Orson, Another great post. I am beyond fed up with the daily news. I heard that Peublo actually banned all indoor smoking, even in your own home. NY state is working on added taxes for sugared soda. Malls here ban smoking OUTSIDE now (is the air ans atmosphere owned by anyone?) and it’s only getting worse with each day. I could go on and on, but what I dubbed the “subtle fascism” of liberalism and the politically correct has outrun even the most insane limits of my imagination.

It is not unreasonable to think that in the near future we will be required to remain safely secured in our own homes with helmet intact and only “pure and safe” regulated food and media supplied by the government/media complex to avoid any harm, upset or injury.

By: shana

shana — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 05:59:44 +0000

Mr Bean,

Thank you for a good laugh!

I could not agree with you more, either.

We have 8 kids. We are simply terrible parents by today’s reckoning because we have standards, and we stick to them.

We got rid of TV. We watch movies, and do have the internet and radio to get news as needed, but largely, we don’t use much media. If kids aren’t indoctrinated by TV commercials, they don’t whine in stores for stupid hunks of overpriced plastic and sugar disguised as ‘breakfast cereal’.

Our house is a kind of library. We have books on everything that interests us from ciphers and spies, wars and founding fathers, saints and sinners & fact, fiction & comedy. Nearly all the books were bought used. As was much of our furniture and most of our clothing. Nice stuff, though. Just didn’t have to go into debt to own it. And we do have debts (made that credit card mistake most Americans have done) and we are paying back our debts honestly and without b**ching about it. Its our own fault. Another thing we’re teaching our children: you can’t own everything you want, so don’t try, and you probably don’t need it now and may not need it at all. Think things through carefully before you spend.

We have sacrificed a lot for the last 21 years so we could finally buy our own house, with fruit trees and a enough land to have privacy & a few chickens. We have old cars that the kids have to help their father fix. We do much of our own work on our older house, learning how to do what needs done. We eat well, but simply, and mostly from scratch ’cause its a heck of a lot cheaper and tastes better.

If the kids want a big ticket item like a Wii or whatever the fad toy is, they have to work at odd neighborhood jobs and babysitting, save up, pool their money and buy it together. That means they take care of it, too, since they all had to work so hard for it. It also means they have to share it and they already know that if they whine to me, it goes into a closet for a week and no one plays. Keeps perspective.

Also, since they are out of doors quite a lot (which is safer than being indoors all day, as the punishment for saying “I’m bored” is being set to clean a closet or the basement or garage) they fall off bikes and out of trees, and can sit on a lazy summer day with their feet in the creek and a fresh-fallen apple in hand. After they mow the lawn and rake up the remains.

And we home school. The kids are involved in 4H and Scouts and stuff at church. They are well behaved, helpful and a lot of fun to be around and so are their home schooled friends. They also don’t seem to develop an aversion to their own flesh & blood in public. My kids and their friends don’t seem to consider members of the opposite sex prey. The respect they show family seems to ooze out into other relationships. We watch them and correct them, and instruct them. And pray it all works out in the end.

Basically, we let our kids be kids. But they are old-fashioned kids, too – they have to work, be respectful and we set high standards. There was a lot of wisdom thrown out by ‘experts’ who change their minds about every 5 years on how to raise children. Their ‘expertise’ has ruined a lot of families.

By: Miko

Miko — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 05:39:08 +0000

Mr. Bean,
Your essay reminded me of quite a few conversations between my Grandfather and I. Now my kids are accusing me of the same old-timer sentiments! I just wish I was half as articulate as you when expressing these sentiments!

By: Burbank

Burbank — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 05:01:17 +0000

Great commentary. As with Trent, though, you lost me at the mention of illegals voting Republican within a generation. Hasn’t happened and won’t happen any time soon. They didn’t vote for McCain, architect of amnesty and American Malinche. The great American work ethic is not being kept alive by foreigners, as unions are being revitalized by those foreigners, whom they court with entitlements. As for the poster who said illegals work rings around Americans, that’s as false a stereotype as the one promulgated by Bush’s oft-repeated reference to the “jobs Americans won’t do”. Some illegals work hard, some don’t, and some make long distance phone calls from the phones of the buildings they’re being paid to clean at night (a personal experience). People are people, and some work harder than others, regardless of their heritage or citizenshiip. Part of the problem is just what this piece is about, the weakening of future Americans through kid-gloved coddling (”Eek, a peanut!”). Most kids don’t know what a running lawnmower feels like, nor a manual lawn edger nor soapy rags with which to wash a car. We’re in large part raising a generation of soft, entitled sucklers who aren’t psychologically prepared for the real world. Good luck to us all, and keep writing, Mr. Bean.

By: LiberalU

LiberalU — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 03:21:12 +0000

Great article!! I could not have said that better myself. Perhaps I can get some of my liberal professors to read this! Unfortunately MN is getting as bad as CA when it comes to this story.

By: Harley

Harley — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 03:08:12 +0000

Orson, you’re old, but there’s no reason to be stupid. The idea that people who disagree with you don’t love their country is part of the *Wingtard* theology — not to be confused with conservative ideology, btw — but I can’t imagine why you’d waste your/our time with it here. (Except to rile up the hooples, I guess. But they’re pretty riled up already.) The listed idiocies are just that, inane efforts by hapless folks who think they’re doing best by their families and their communities. They’re wrong, in your opinion and in mine. But the idea that they don’t love their country is absurd, lazy, and lackwitted.

But other than that, loved you on I’ve Got A Secret. What was Laraine Day like?

By: Eva Damato

Eva Damato — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 02:29:42 +0000

What a wonderful piece of writing! I’m sending it to my 84 year old father who will love reading what he’s been saying for years. Thank you so much, Mr. Bean.

By: elia amo

elia amo — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 00:30:37 +0000

Great article. Many parents coddle their children and turn them into spineless, whining adults. Have anyone wondered why young boys don’t take after school (or weekend) jobs of mowing their neighbor’s yard anymore? It used to be that jobs like this helped build a young boy’s character, now they spend their time in front of the TV or computer playing endless video games with unlimited access to fat laden snacks. What a sorry bunch! The parents are worse than the kids themselves.