Culturally, America is undergoing some significant changes, many of which I don't fully approve.
I used to think there was something that could be done about it, but not anymore.
I think we probably are just going to have to roll with the changes.
I think about the way things used to be when I was in school and the way things are today, and it becomes obvious there really is no way to turn things back culturally or socially.
In some ways, that can be a good thing. In other ways, it can be a bad thing. But in all ways, there is little that can be done about it.
One can only hope that a certain level of tradition can endure so that we don't completely lose our way.
Wave after wave of political correctness is turning us away from some of the underpinnings of our society.
Again, that can be good and bad.
When culture turns us away from things like slavery and discrimination, that's a good thing.
But when culture turns us away from things like traditional values, I'm not so sure that's a positive.
This news item caught my eye earlier this week.
In Oak Lawn, Ill., the school board held an emergency meeting to discuss banning in-school Halloween and Christmas celebrations and decorations.
This, not surprisingly, has parents saying things like, "They're trying to take away holidays and stuff for the kids."
It all started when a Muslim mother of three requested that her kids be separated from other kids at lunch during the Ramadan fast. (About 30 percent of the students in the district are Muslim.)
The school agreed to that.
Then another Muslim parent wanted Ramadan decorations put up inside an elementary school. They were taken down.
So, in an effort to make everybody happy - the net effect of which was to make everybody mad - the school district is considering banning all of it.
I suppose that's not all bad. After all, with the state of education in this country these days, seems like every classroom minute should be spent learning instead of partying.
But on the other hand, all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy, they say.
Of course the debate turned into one of nationalism with parents saying things like, "If you want to celebrate Ramadan, go to the private school next to your Mosque."
I understand the emotion here, but what I think some people don't understand is the level of inevitability of it all.
As the U.S. population grows, it becomes more diverse. As it becomes more diverse, there are going to be more kids in schools who don't celebrate things like Christmas and Halloween.
Sure, America has a rich heritage steeped in all manner of traditions.
But those traditions are going to have to change with the diversity of the population.
I don't see how we're ever going to get around that.
I can't say I'm happy about it, because it seems a whole bunch of kids lose out on some fun. But I also have a pretty firm grip on reality. Reality tells me that we aren't going to successfully push back on issues like these.
Besides, to push back makes you sound pretty silly, doesn't it?
Saying things like, "Hey, you little Muslim kid if you don't like Christmas or Halloween, tough, this is America. Celebrate it anyway."
That sounds like something a theocratic dictator would say. And don't we Americans take a pretty dim view of countries run by theocratic dictators?
Certainly, the times have changed and we have to change with them.
I can remember walking through the parking lot at my high school back in the 1970s. There were more than a few pickup trucks with gun racks in the back window holding rifles or shotguns and nobody thought a thing about it.
There was a designated area outside the school for smokers.
At my first journalism job in 1980, I and three-fourths of the newsroom staff smoked cigarettes at our desks.
You can long for the good old days all you want, but when it comes to culture and society, you truly can't put the toothpaste back in the tube.
And culture turns us away from traditional values like abstinence, marriage for life and two-parent families. I think it puts a bigger burden on parents to make sure kids get a healthy dose of that at home.
Kids aren't going to be exposed to traditional values in school or in popular culture.
