Are old people more patriotic than younger ones?

[FroMan]

This question was given to us in " socialogy" the other day...and I was wondering what you all thought.

Are older people more patriotic? What defines an " older" person as opposed to a younger one. If so, why are the elders more patriotic then the young ones? I wrote a paper on it, I' ll tell ya what I think later.

I figured yall might have opinions about this one, figured it' d be a good discussion.

[1eyedfish]

Are older people more patriotic? What defines an " older" person as opposed to a younger one.

Older- more miles on the odomiter?
In general yes maybe older are more so -in general ppl from the past it seems where more trusting of the goverment to do the right things & questioned less... do it , maybe that was also from how they/we where rasied.

You didnt get a vote or to debate & some even you could not speak unless asked too etc.
all figured i think you do your part of what is nessary to keep your country strong.

Now it seems more about poltices & choices , including bowing out if your so inclined, someone else will do it.

I dont think all young ppl feel that way tho at all either- just more so then in the past.

[hntngirl]

I' m not going to try to pin an age on " older" . They older I get, the older " old" gets. But I do think of my grandma as " older" .
I do think, for the most part, that older people are more patriotic than younger people. Many of them are first or second generation Americans who grew up listening to their parents and grandparents telling stories about war and oppression in the countries they came from. Many of them lived through the Depression and learned to be truly grateful for everything they had. During their lives, they have seen wars that lasted not weeks or months, but many years. They have had members of their own familes make the ultimate sacrifice for their country during those wars. They were taught respect---for their parents, their elders, people in positions of authority, and for their country. They learned that if they wanted something, they needed to get off their butt and earn it.
These are lessons that the younger generation has never had to experience.
Great topic, FroMan!

[1eyedfish]

Yep i agree Hg things now are instant wars, gradafacations , plenty of food& everything ,most taken for granted. Havent done without hard to know the diffence, nothing is expected of some or ..nothing much is important either or given . respect? Decline in society& civialazation in general. yes.

Buti belive theres goodones taught right some still& hope.yungins

Im older but not to crothady always?lol

50yrs is not even half way there for some& should increase more with each generation.

i could use new parts...but dont think i will get a clonelol

[1eyedfish]

I fly a small American flag everyday - not because i have too or special events or 9/11.
(not that is all it takes- retailers went all out making/ red,white& blue everythings & had to discount those goods because the fad wore off)

Someday maybe they will have a law that it offends some ppls?
And someday maybe i will get a flag pole... not 52 storys high tho lol![]

My grams had 3 *** stars on her window. tht was just the police actions.

[James B]

Well thats a tough question and may depend more on where they are raised rather that thier age. I am almost 60 and very patriotic. My children are now 34, 33,and 32. They are also patriotic. However they were raised in the midwest and in rural america. Having traveled a lot and having met a lot of people it seems that rural americans are a bit more apt at least to display there feeling on this matter. I may be wrong. But I think as with everything else it depends mostly on the example that was set for them. I must add that my children are very conservative.

[CalHunter]

This is a very good question. On the surface, I' d be tempted to say yes due to the simple fact that there are more older veterans than younger ones and for many of the same reasons huntingirl listed. Each generation still has its' share of patriots (Thank God) but I' m thinking yes on this one. Curious to hear your take on this froman.

[Tazman]

Hntngirl put it pretty well, Viet Nam was the ongoing war when I was in HS, the patriotism of the youth of America at that time was really low, most youth were anti-establishment and non-materialistic. I was very patroitic due to my upbringing, my parents lived through the depression, my father started off WWII in No. Africa and came home from Berlin, then when the Korean war broke out he spent 18 months there.

When I was a kid our main fantasy games were WWII and cowboys and Indians. Many of the films and tv shows revolved around WWII, Russia and communism were the nemisis! Our biggest fear was the russians nuking us. We were taught in school the sacrifice that the Allies made to crush the evils of the Axis powers. Our heroes were patriots, not sports stars or entertainers.

The schools of today in my opinion do not spend nearly enough time on WWII or any of the other historical events that inspire patriotism and pride in what America is, as a result the youth of today for the most part have no idea how good we have it, nor do they have any real grasp of how many people made the ultimate sacrifice to give it to them.

Sorry, I am rambling, but over all there is no coubt in my mind that percentage wise the older an American is the more patriotic they are, the younger the less. The main reason I feel it is this way is due to the lack of history taught in our schools and the Patriots of WWII dying off. May God bless every American Patriot that fought for and in many cases made the ultimate sacrifice for what we have today!

[logs]

As I see it, Yes the 45 year and older crowd is more patriotic.
I guess there are two lines of thought (or more )on the idea and I think Htgrl hit a lot of good points. I and my peers are the sons and daughters and grandchildren of Vets of WWI and WWII. We were taught or raised to have certian values and trust in our freedoms, government and our responsibility to maintain the valves and freedom. Those lessons are not erased easily.
The younger ppl as I see in this issue are those who were raised by the 60' s crowd up to say the late 90' s.
They cut their teeth on the after effects of Korea, the Cold War, Vietnam. They were raised to Question Authority. Their definition of what is Patriotic is different. They see us as blindly following the lead of government and not questioning each and every move as old and foolish, uninformed and unpatriotic. They see themselves as the Thomas Paines and Jeffersons. Sort of like how clinton sees himself. They lack a connection to history.
The older crowd has the connection to their parents, first hand experience of the bad times and the value of those combined life lessons to establish and judge their own beliefs. Those younger may still have time to learn.

[fng]

Yes, and more intelligent. A good indication of this is the " self loathing" that the public schools are instilling in younger people. They now talk about the " horrible white man" and how the United States is nothing but a war like colonizing beast.

I would really like to punch a public school teacher.