Every old man complains of the growing depravity of the world, of the petulance and insolence of the rising generation. He recounts the decency and regularity of former times, and celebrates the discipline and sobriety of the age in which his youth was passed; a happy age which is now no more to be expected, since confusion has broken in upon the world, and thrown down all the boundaries of civility and reverence.
Interpretation
This quote reflects on the tendency of older generations to lament the decline of societal values and moral standards compared to their youth.
Lyndon B. Johnson's quote captures a common sentiment among older generations who often perceive the world as deteriorating, particularly regarding the behavior and attitudes of younger individuals. This nostalgia for the past suggests a longing for the discipline and decorum that once characterized society, highlighting the generational gap in values and experiences, and raises questions about societal progress and the cyclical nature of moral standards.
In practice
During a family gathering, reflecting on how different the younger generation is compared to their upbringing.
You do not take a person who, for years, has been hobbled by chains and liberate him, bring him up to the starting line of a race and then say, "you are free to compete with all the others," and still justly believe that you have been completely fair. We seek not just legal equity but human ability, not just equality as a right and a theory but equality as a fact and equality as a result.
Peace is a journey of a thousand miles and it must be taken one step at a time.
We do this in order to slow down aggression. We do this to increase the confidence of the brave people of South Vietnam who have bravely born this brutal battle for so many years with so many casualties. And we do this to convince the leaders of North Vietnam-and all who seek to share their conquest-of a simple fact: We will not be defeated. We will not grow tired. We will not withdraw either openly or under the cloak of a meaningless agreement.
So far are we generally from thinking what we often say of the shortness of life, that at the time when it is necessarily shortest we form projects which we delay to execute, indulge such expectations as nothing but along train of events can gratify, and suffer those passions to gain upon us which are only excusable in the prime of life.
You do not examine legislation in the light of the benefits it will convey if properly administered, but in the light of the wrongs it would do and the harms it would cause if improperly administered.
If government is to serve any purpose it is to do for others what they are unable to do for themselves.
All writers - all people - have their stores of private and family legends which lie like a collection of half-forgotten, often violent toys on the floor of memory.
Yet this is trash that the Church imposes upon the world as the Word of God; this is the collection of lies and contradictions called the Holy Bible! This is the rubbish called Revealed Religion!
I went to India and was quite taken with it. There's a feeling there that things are holy first and useful second.
Oddly, I feel more protected when I write in Italian, even though I'm also more exposed.
None but an armed nation can dispense with a standing army
We regard God as an airman regards his parachute; it's there for emergencies but he hopes he'll never have to use it.
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