Americans getting softer? What’s your opinion?

[4570Man]

Well, I would have to use a shovel. Not because I am so tough, just because I have nothing bigger and cannot afford to hire someone.
I often tell my wife I need a bigger shovel.

I doubt that. It would take you weeks of brutal labor to do that. I could do it with a ditch witch in an hour and not much longer with my mini x.

 

[Hay Dude]

I doubt that. It would take you weeks of brutal labor to do that. I could do it with a ditch witch in an hour and not much longer with my mini x.

I can still hand dig with the best of them.
I hired a big tough city kid about 10 years ago to dig footings. He quit by lunchtime.
There’s still tough people out there, but now it’s “kick your azz” tough. Give one of these gang bangers a pick or a pair of post hole diggers.
I‘d give em an hour and they’d quit.

 

[4570Man]

I can still hand dig with the best of them.
I hired a big tough city kid about 10 years ago to dig footings. He quit by lunchtime.
There’s still tough people out there, but now it’s “kick your azz” tough. Give one of these gang bangers a pick or a pair of post hole diggers.
I‘d give em an hour and they’d quit.

There’s a difference in tough and stupid. Breaking your body to do a job that a hydraulic machine could do way faster is just stupid. Not only is it stupid it doesn’t come out financially either. After you get done doing that sell your truck and and trailers and use a wheel barrel.

 

[Hay Dude]

There’s a difference in tough and stupid. Breaking your body to do a job that a hydraulic machine could do way faster is just stupid. Not only is it stupid it doesn’t come out financially either. After you get done doing that sell your truck and and trailers and use a wheel barrel.

Most definitely
Sometimes digging by hand is the only option.
We were digging footings behind a house where no machine access was available. Otherwise, I always use machines over hand labor.

My point is in so many aspects, we have become softer, not that it’s smarter to use machines rather than hand work.

 

[MossRoad]

Yeah, so?
My point is that I don’t think the teenagers now would volunteer at the levels they did before.
Just saw a survey of young people that found only 36% are “proud to be an American”.
Think that’s the way it was in the early 1940’s?

Coincidently, only 38% of the US Army was volunteer in WWII.

 

[scaredychicken]

Tougher or softer is one thing (same applies in Canada)
Baseball or Soccer ( ) ?
Competition vs Participation Awards and Attendance Certificates
The WORK ETHIC has genuinely diminished in the last 20 yrs, and I blame cell phones, you tube etc
Ambition, Drive, Perseverance, seems to be less than in my generation, yet the expectations seem loftier.

When my son was younger, in his mid teens, he was a strong physically fit young man, whereas I am a healthy man in my mid 50s with cerebral palsy since birth, compromising my balance etc. I still could out-work him, because he would never put the damn cell phone down. What would take me 45 min, hauling a loaded wagon around etc, he would have been able to do in 5-6 minutes. I love the kid but he had a gift of making any 5 min task / job last a full hour. And then he'd complain that it would take too long. I told him to try doing the same job without his cell phone, using BOTH hands to carry items. I shake my head.
Maybe the concrete job that he currently has, will be good for him.

In my case, the tractor is the great equalizer, I can get a lot more done now

 

[Fixastuff]

Hey Hay Dude, you're the toughest there is without any question! Based off of you posts I do question whether it's the youth of today or you that hate America? Or maybe you just hate the people in it?

 

[Cougsfan]

When you are paying a pitcher millions of dollars, you have to protect that investment. It isn't good business to pay guys to be on the injured list. It wasn't that long ago that a 90 mph pitch was considered a pretty decent fastball. Back then very few pitchers could throw in the high 90's and none in the 100's. It is commonplace today. Most of the pitchers of that era would not make it out of the minor leagues today. Its the same with batters. My guess is that many of the Hall of Fame batters of 5 decades ago would have trouble hitting anything that today's pitchers throw. Today the breaking balls break more, there is more variation in speed, etc. A lot of that is due to the fact they aren't expected to pitch 9 innings. Your use of pitchers is a poor example to choose.

But on the other hand, yes I am definitely a lot softer than I was 5 decades ago

 

[Hay Dude]

Hey Hay Dude, you're the toughest there is without any question! Based off of you posts I do question whether it's the youth of today or you that hate America? Or maybe you just hate the people in it?

It’s the youth of today, I still love America. I can love my country and at the same time, make the observation we are getting softer.
And by the way, you want to call me “the toughest there is”, go for it. I am by no means even close, but I have seen, through hiring today’s youth to work for me, we have lost our toughness. I can also tell you through my athletic and coaching career in football, boxing and lacrosse that the toughness of our youth has declined as the years have gone by.
Maybe instead of personal attacks like yours, you can prove me wrong with your observations and personal knowledge on the topic?

Try attacking my idea instead of me.

 

[MoKelly]

It’s the youth of today, I still love America. I can love my country and at the same time, make the observation we are getting softer.
And by the way, you want to call me “the toughest there is”, go for it. I am by no means even close, but I have seen, through hiring today’s youth to work for me, we have lost our toughness. I can also tell you through my athletic and coaching career in football, boxing and lacrosse that the toughness of our youth has declined as the years have gone by.
Maybe instead of personal attacks like yours, you can prove me wrong with your observations and personal knowledge on the topi?

Try attacking my idea instead of me.

Good post.

But, as you know, the play book today is to personally attack and make-up stuff about those who don’t comply with the agreed upon group think.

It looks to me your re-education camp visit was not particularly successful.

Keep up the good fight.

MoKelly