2007.01.30: January 30, 2007: Headlines: Speaking Out: Boomers: Generation X: Reading Eagle: Four decades after its founding, the Peace Corps is still in operation, but the imagination of most of America's youth has been captured by something else: money
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2007.01.30: January 30, 2007: Headlines: Speaking Out: Boomers: Generation X: Reading Eagle: Four decades after its founding, the Peace Corps is still in operation, but the imagination of most of America's youth has been captured by something else: money
Four decades after its founding, the Peace Corps is still in operation, but the imagination of most of America's youth has been captured by something else: money
"If you ask the (American) kids what they want or need, they will say an iPod or some sneakers," Winfrey told Newsweek, referring to visits with students in inner-city school. "In South Africa, they don't ask for money or toys. They ask for uniforms so they can go to school." Although America's wildly materialistic culture has fostered this possession obsession, parents are the real culprits, according to David Walsh, a psychologist who heads the National Institute on Media and the Family in Minneapolis. Walsh is the author of a book titled "No: Why Kids -- of All Ages -- Need to Hear It and Ways Parents Can Say It." "A lot of parents have developed an allergic reaction to their kids being unhappy," he said in a recent interview with The Associated Press. In his research Walsh found that when the figures were adjusted for inflation, the current generation of parents spends 500 percent more on their children than the parents of a generation ago. Parents who lived through the Depression or World War II had a keen understanding of the difference between what was needed and what was merely wanted. But that difference means little to baby boomer and Gen X parents, said Ann Fishman, a generational marketing consultant.
Four decades after its founding, the Peace Corps is still in operation, but the imagination of most of America's youth has been captured by something else: money
EDITORIAL: Difference between need, want blurred
Jan 30, 2007
Reading Eagle, Pa.
Jan. 30--In 1961, the imagination of America's youth was captured by President Kennedy's famous advise, "Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country."
In response, thousands of young Americans volunteered for the Peace Corps and were sent to Third World countries where they lived with local residents and worked to improve living conditions.
Four decades later, the Peace Corps is still in operation, but the imagination of most of America's youth has been captured by something else: money.
In a world filled with hightech gadgets, designer clothing and fully loaded SUVs, young people have become obsessed with getting rich so they can have it all.
A survey of college freshmen at UCLA revealed that nearly 75 percent of them put a high degree of importance on being well-off financially. That was up from 62.5 percent in 1980 and 42 percent in 1966.
In another survey conducted by the Pew Research Center, 80 percent of people between 18 and 25 believe getting rich is life's primary goal for their generation.
That attitude is what led talkshow host Oprah Winfrey to open a school for underprivileged children in South Africa rather than in the United States.
"If you ask the (American) kids what they want or need, they will say an iPod or some sneakers," Winfrey told Newsweek, referring to visits with students in inner-city school. "In South Africa, they don't ask for money or toys. They ask for uniforms so they can go to school."
Although America's wildly materialistic culture has fostered this possession obsession, parents are the real culprits, according to David Walsh, a psychologist who heads the National Institute on Media and the Family in Minneapolis.
Walsh is the author of a book titled "No: Why Kids -- of All Ages -- Need to Hear It and Ways Parents Can Say It."
"A lot of parents have developed an allergic reaction to their kids being unhappy," he said in a recent interview with The Associated Press.
In his research Walsh found that when the figures were adjusted for inflation, the current generation of parents spends 500 percent more on their children than the parents of a generation ago.
Parents who lived through the Depression or World War II had a keen understanding of the difference between what was needed and what was merely wanted.
But that difference means little to baby boomer and Gen X parents, said Ann Fishman, a generational marketing consultant.
"They (young people) have a different idea of what's necessary," she said. "For them, a cell phone is normal; an iPod is normal; a Game Boy is normal."
However this is a lifestyle that is going to become increasingly difficult to sustain once young people are out on their own with college loans and large credit-card debts to pay off.
Young people call it the quarter-life crisis, said Jean Twenge, a psychologist and author of "Generation Me: Why Today's Young Americans Are More Confident, Assertive, Entitled -- and More Miserable Than Ever Before."
"There are a lot of young people hitting 25 who are making, say, $35,000 a year, who expected they'd be millionaires or at least making six figures," she said.
The truth is very few Americans are going to become rich. And as hard as it may be for young people to believe, it's possible to live a satisfying life on a modest income. Just ask someone who lived through the Depression or World War II.
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Headlines: January, 2007; Speaking Out; Baby Boomers
When this story was posted in May 2007, this was on the front page of PCOL:
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| Warren Wiggins: Architect of the Peace Corps Warren Wiggins, who died at 84 on April 13, became one of the architects of the Peace Corps in 1961 when his paper, "A Towering Task," landed in the lap of Sargent Shriver, just as Shriver was trying to figure out how to turn the Peace Corps into a working federal department. Shriver was electrified by the treatise, which urged the agency to act boldly. Read Mr. Wiggins' obituary and biography, take an opportunity to read the original document that shaped the Peace Corps' mission, and read John Coyne's special issue commemorating "A Towering Task." |
| Chris Dodd's Vision for the Peace Corps Senator Chris Dodd (RPCV Dominican Republic) spoke at the ceremony for this year's Shriver Award and elaborated on issues he raised at Ron Tschetter's hearings. Dodd plans to introduce legislation that may include: setting aside a portion of Peace Corps' budget as seed money for demonstration projects and third goal activities (after adjusting the annual budget upward to accommodate the added expense), more volunteer input into Peace Corps operations, removing medical, healthcare and tax impediments that discourage older volunteers, providing more transparency in the medical screening and appeals process, a more comprehensive health safety net for recently-returned volunteers, and authorizing volunteers to accept, under certain circumstances, private donations to support their development projects. He plans to circulate draft legislation for review to members of the Peace Corps community and welcomes RPCV comments. |
| He served with honor One year ago, Staff Sgt. Robert J. Paul (RPCV Kenya) carried on an ongoing dialog on this website on the military and the peace corps and his role as a member of a Civil Affairs Team in Iraq and Afghanistan. We have just received a report that Sargeant Paul has been killed by a car bomb in Kabul. Words cannot express our feeling of loss for this tremendous injury to the entire RPCV community. Most of us didn't know him personally but we knew him from his words. Our thoughts go out to his family and friends. He was one of ours and he served with honor. |
| Peace Corps' Screening and Medical Clearance The purpose of Peace Corps' screening and medical clearance process is to ensure safe accommodation for applicants and minimize undue risk exposure for volunteers to allow PCVS to complete their service without compromising their entry health status. To further these goals, PCOL has obtained a copy of the Peace Corps Screening Guidelines Manual through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and has posted it in the "Peace Corps Library." Applicants and Medical Professionals (especially those who have already served as volunteers) are urged to review the guidelines and leave their comments and suggestions. Then read the story of one RPCV's journey through medical screening and his suggestions for changes to the process. |
| The Peace Corps is "fashionable" again The LA Times says that "the Peace Corps is booming again and "It's hard to know exactly what's behind the resurgence." PCOL Comment: Since the founding of the Peace Corps 45 years ago, Americans have answered Kennedy's call: "Ask not what your country can do for you--ask what you can do for your country. My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man." Over 182,000 have served. Another 200,000 have applied and been unable to serve because of lack of Congressional funding. The Peace Corps has never gone out of fashion. It's Congress that hasn't been keeping pace. |
| PCOL readership increases 100% Monthly readership on "Peace Corps Online" has increased in the past twelve months to 350,000 visitors - over eleven thousand every day - a 100% increase since this time last year. Thanks again, RPCVs and Friends of the Peace Corps, for making PCOL your source of information for the Peace Corps community. And thanks for supporting the Peace Corps Library and History of the Peace Corps. Stay tuned, the best is yet to come. |
| History of the Peace Corps PCOL is proud to announce that Phase One of the "History of the Peace Corps" is now available online. This installment includes over 5,000 pages of primary source documents from the archives of the Peace Corps including every issue of "Peace Corps News," "Peace Corps Times," "Peace Corps Volunteer," "Action Update," and every annual report of the Peace Corps to Congress since 1961. "Ask Not" is an ongoing project. Read how you can help. |
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Story Source: Reading Eagle
This story has been posted in the following forums: : Headlines; Speaking Out; Boomers; Generation X
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