I remember the wondrous feeling I had as a child when I'd look up and down the street during Christmas to see all the beautiful lights.   Nearly every house had multi-colored lights up.   In fact it was an oddity to see one without lights.

I remember back when the work ethic was much stronger than it is today.   My father and his father believed in earning their way.   If a man got rich it was because he worked harder than his competitors and it usually took him a lifetime.   Today people look for the quick buck.   They've nearly ruined our economy by trading stocks on a daily basis.   In my father's time a company's stock went up because it introduced a new product or managed to shave cost off of the current product.   Today, a company's stock has almost nothing to do with its performance.   We're in a market ruled by supply and demand.   Stock prices fluctuate based purely on how many people want to buy or sell that stock - not on the company's performance.   We don't have time to waste on a company's performance - we want to make a profit today!   If we can't get it by day trading, then our next two viable options are to try to scam it out of someone or to sue someone for it.   I heard the other day that a parent was suing a social website because her depressed daughter committed suicide after some online contacts belittled her.   I'm sorry for her loss... but come on!   I think you'll find more blame by looking in the mirror.

I remember back when people believed that their dreams were worth working for.   A dream house was two or three mortgages down the road from their starter house.   A first home, while not being in the perfect neighborhood, was a house that our fathers could afford.   Sure it might have needed work, or heaven forbid, it might have required two small kids to share a room, but it was a financial obligation that our fathers would have no problem meeting.   How many of us had parents who lost their house?   Not many!   Today, a couple in their early twenties with a combined income of less than $60K, are looking for a 2500 - 3000 square foot house with three to four bedroom and 2 1/2 baths.   Even though they don't have kids yet, they're only willing to look in the best neighborhoods.   They're willing to spend up to $250K even though they don't have a down payment - but hey... who needs cash for a down payment, they can finance that as well.   Oh and by the way - it has to be a brand new house because neither have the no-how or backbone to do any work on it.   Ask someone under thirty what sweat-equity is and you'll draw a blank look.   But they'll be the first to tell you that they expect their house to appreciate by at least 20% a year.

I remember when the word 'shame' was still in the English dictionary.   Our fathers would have done anything short of selling their kids into child labor to avoid bankruptcy.   People who declared bankruptcy were shunned.   They were the undesirable elements in our society.   People who declared bankruptcy actually lost their houses, they lost their friends, and they lost respect not only from their colleagues, but in their own eyes as well.   How different things are now!   Bankruptcy is used today more as a financial tool for achieving what you can't actually afford.   There is no shame today.   People no longer speak of bankruptcy in a whisper with a hand over their mouth - they speak of it openly, sometimes even with pride at having screwed the lending institution over.

I remember when our fathers actually believed in the saying 'ask not what you're government can do for you, but what you can do for your government'.   Our fathers and the communities we grew up in took responsibility for what needed to be done.   They realized the direct relationship between services provided and the taxes they paid - and they accepted that.   Families bought their children their schoolbooks.   Our schools weren't carpeted or air-conditioned.   Our fathers spent taxes on manning the fire and police stations, not on ivory towers to house those services in.   Today we seem to think that government should do everything for us, which is fine except that we're not willing to pay for it.   We complain about property taxes but want to have all-day kindergarten.   Instead of paying the taxes we agreed to for the services provided, we look for loopholes or tax settlements.   A man who owes $10,000 in back taxes, settles for $5,000 without any care or shame for the burden he just shifted to his fellow taxpayer.

I still remember all the Christmas lights from my youth.   Unfortunately today when I step out on the porch at night and look down along the dark street, I can only see the occasional oddball house who has taken the time to string up Christmas lights along the gutter.   Where has the time that I remember so fondly gone?   Who's to blame for the darkness?   You, me, all of us.

Until next time, J/W.