This Crazy World

I just really need to vent right now.

I don't really watch the news because it's mainly negative. Yet, I still manage to know what is going on in my area, as well as across the country. I do daily searches and I am told the rest. But, even if I didn't, I'd still know how crazy the world really is. (As I write this, a news report flashed up saying man punched and stabbed randomly at a restaurant... I am watching MTV. You can't get away from it.)

I've seen 2 car accidents in the past week, both due to people not paying attention. A month ago, someone hit a person riding a bike right outside my house. There was NO WAY he didn't see her.

My town has a pretty high crime rate. Not as bad as a few others nearby, but for such a small town, it's a little excessive. Most of it is drug-oriented, but there was an armed robbery right down the street the other day!

I know the world has changed since I grew up, but I remember not being so afraid to step out the front door. I knew my neighbors, and it was rare we had to worry about keeping the doors locked at all times. Even in a "bad area", we didn't worry so much about crime. We knew it was happening, but we still felt safe enough to walk to the store or keep our front door open during the day.

The reason I felt the need to vent is because I feel sad about my girls, as well as my friends' children, growing up in this scary, sometimes horrifying world. Society as a whole is less empathetic and more selfish. (Easy example: if someone cuts you off while driving, and you beep, they will cuss you out and blame you for being on the road in the first place.) There is so much more anger now, and not enough caring. There are tons of videos of people, including children, getting beaten up, and no one stops it. Everyone is worried about getting video hits or whatever, they don't even stop to think, "Is this okay?"

I have an insane amount of empathy. I have stopped watching all those violent videos because they make me cry, and I can't fix it. I have to change the channel when those sad commercials come on (you know which ones I mean). So when I think about how horrible the world has become, it really breaks my heart. I just feel like it's going to get worse as time goes on, because how do you come back from evil?? Crime is easier than work, and being selfish gets you more.

I guess all I can do is be as nice, loving and selfless as I can, and teach my girls to do the same. But, at the same time, I have to teach them to not be naïve, and to guard themselves, because there are plenty of people who will take advantage if you let them.

How do you deal with raising kids at a time so different from when you grew up?