Im 56 and despite being a bricklayer since the age of 14 i could see that my generation was softer than my fathers. He was born in 1919 and joined the Merchant Navy at 14, then his ship was bombed in WW2. The sole of his foot was hanging off at the toes and he ended up in a German POW camp for 4 years. After the war he started bricklaying 10 hours a day and worked as a tow truck driver during the night. I never heard my father whinge about his life or the hand he was dealt, he just plowed on through it all and with happiness
It's absolutely the breakdown of the family! Look at how Ben speaks so lovingly of his greater family connections. The culture of divorce means deep emotional breaks are occurring before children are even 10. Deep mistrust and confusion often lead to severed connections with satellite family members! This leads to isolation and instability.
Joe Bauers sad but true. Something clicked in my head when u said that. Classic American tv helped shape informed mentally strong adults at one time. Not anymore
I love that Rep. Sasse brings up reading. When my boys were young, we were poor and couldn't afford to travel extensively. I tried to teach my children that reading was their vehicle to travel to places that we might never be able to go to in person, to experience things and think in new ways. I got my love of reading from my Dad, and snuck his science fiction books out of the box in the garage--and learned to love not only science fiction but all of science. Reading is indeed, fundamental.
This is spot on. As a teen, I only cared about what my immediate peers thought about me. I did whatever was "cool" and eventually developed an opioid addiction. By God's grace, I got sober in 2015 when I was 22, and through my relationships in AA and Church with people older than me and from different backgrounds, I started to care much less about what people my age thought about me.
How about we learn from this cycle and break it? That way we can stop on step 2. Of course, people will have to evolve away from enabling their own faults and social dysfunction. Nobody's perfect / "who are you to judge?", etc.
This is a great video. While I was born in that weird "lost generation" between younger Gen-X and older Millennial, I was born to parents in their 40s. And while I had the luxury of having an adolescence and going to college , I always knew in the back of my mind that my parents would pass away when I was relatively young. And I had to be prepared for that, which meant being financially independent, having steady employment, and paying off my debts. I lost both of my parents in my early 30s. I was the youngest sibling by nearly 20years, but I was the only one who still lived in the same state so there were things I needed to learn FAST. Thank goodness for my older sister, my aunt, and my nephew for helping me through this challenging time. I am now quickly approaching 40, and I am GRATEFUL EVERY DAY for how my parents raised me to understand how to take care of myself. Its not about having "stuff." It's about being ok with what you HAVE. 👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼
One of the points I liked was the age segregation. Personally, I take evening classes just so I can be around the older ppl with jobs. The atmosphere is very refreshing.
I'm a millenial. I worked two jobs since the age of 15 even while putting myself through college. Life wasn't easy for me. Did not depend on my mom for much except perhaps roof over my head, but bought my own car and took care of myself. THere are many millenials out there who worked much harder and had a tougher time than me. The story of millenials this speaker is projecting should be defined as millenials born to rich upper middle class parents--who are more often pampered with all their needs catered to. This is also reflected in Amy Chua's book about how children from wealthy parents don't work as hard or have as much ambition and drive as those born to recent immigrants or poorer families where working hard was a requirement for survival.
Apparently, it isn't if we have an increasing amount of parents turning away from their responsibility to their families. On one hand, we have millions of kids growing up with only a single parent. On the other hand, we have millions of kids being raised by day cares and the school system because both parents are working 40+ hours. How can those children possibly learn personal responsibility when their own parents are not around to teach them?
Chng30FsCenEry i lived in a innercity in NewYork for awhile and the single mother rate was over 75%. This has such a negative impact on the community. Growing up in white suburbia with almost every family was a 2 parent home then moving into community that was almost completely fatherless the difference was like night and day. The social problems that come from a community of broken homes is endless. The lack of morals and values, the lack of respect for the elderly or authority, the lack of positive role models, the lack of promoting the importance of education, the lack of respect for the community, the selfishness, the lack of being able to make responsible life decisions, and disfunction and violence towards people was terrible. Its amazing how 2 parent home communities are so much better.
I would have loved to have had a family IF I COULD HAVE AFFORDED IT. Anyone with a brain will realize that having a family is hellaciously expensive, and most smart people I know have chosen not to have them because they just can't afford it. Perhaps GREEDY CORPORATIONS should actually PAY US well.
I grew up in a "broken" family, didn't go to college, taught myself, and I'm still successful. Don't act like that's the cause of this. Be responsible for yourself. You can pull yourself out of any bad situation if you work hard enough.
Joe Feocco You know what an exception to a rule is? most people I've known who came from broken families mostly failed to achieve as much as those who came from intact families.
My grand father, who none of my children got to know personally, lamented in the mid 50s that kids didn't know how to work. He was a carpenter and a shop teacher. I tried to introduce my GenX/Millennial kids to their ancestors, and their attitude was, So what? I have compiled the most comprehensive histories and photos of our family tree ever to exist, and hope to give it out to the grandkids who now think they're ready for parenting. But I have no hope for them. None of them seem to grasp the connection: We get too soon old, and too late smart!
When he speaks about his grandmother, I couldn´t stop crying because I know exactly the bond he had with his grandparents. Losing grandma was like losing my own mother, I remember as a four year old sitting on the bench of his kitchen and being mesmerized with the stories she used to tell me about her childhood and hardship. My brothers and sisters used to ask her to tell the story over and over again. My brother named his coffee plantating farm using the name we used to call grandma as children and I decided to use her last name on my own company 21 years ago. Grandma died in 2006, a day before she turned 99; for us, her grandchildren she is still so much part of us that is not even funny. There isn´t one family gathering that we do reminance about grandma and the amazing world she created for us. I also want to bring to your attention the way the senator speaks about his children and wife. The man is family man with values. The senator and his wife are home-schooling their children. God bless this family.
Before this conversation, I knew that I liked Ben Sasse. But in 38 minutes, I learned to love him. America desperately needs wise, informed leadership with vision. Ben Sasse for president!
This man is brilliant. Life kicked me in the balls when I finished college and I learned how to be a better man by watching my dad and grandfathers (I know, I'm lucky to have any of them). Age segregation is a serious problem in the western world and it almost ruined me.
My parents raised a family of 8 children in a home they bought in Dana Point Ca on a printer’s income .My mother was a home maker . Taxes and cost of living would no longer allow that. Towns with intact family’s are a thing of the past.
Great interview, Sasse seems like one of our better representatives. That said, I can't help but see irony in the fact that he has spent most of his life in academic and political realms and now writes/talks about the importance of human industriousness and production. Hoover Institution needs to interview some laborers, business owners, engineers, doctors, craftsmen, farmers, builders, etc. to counterbalance this academic (ie. theoretical) view on the realities of a life defined by productive work.
Too much convenience and comfort leads to existential free fall, the feeling of "Now what?? I don't know what to do with myself!" This will be THE crisis for emerging generations. With most of the practical problems of daily living solved, there will be nothing left but consumption, and the desire for evermore...
We live in a box! Descended from people who wanted frontiers and opportunities they could create with their own hands! We've lost that! Capitalism is a cancer that demands to be fed! To expand or it will simply kill its host and move on to another
I never ever thought I'd ever hear an American politician in 2017 discussing Plato, Aristotle, and Augustine and not just name dropping to make their self sound smart in order to get votes. That was a breath of fresh air.
Globalization and outsourcing jobs is a major reason why young people are forced to delay adulthood. They cannot support themselves when new jobs go to foreigners. Most people seek independence as they age and this has not changed.
Vanessa: the kinds of arguments in this video just make me absolutely sick because they do not consider how different things are today, particularly WAGES. With two Master's Degrees in the 50s (physics and atmospheric science) I would have been able to afford a family and A LOT more, but now I can barely keep a roof over mine and my cats' heads if I want any semblance of savings. And getting a car!?! Ha! Funny joke. WTF kind of life is this that I worked VERY HARD for??? Why on Earth can't we just get PAID WHAT WE'RE WORTH???? Why can't GREEDY COMPANIES and RICH JERKS stop hoarding everything to themselves and actually SUPPORT THE SOCIETY that they BENEFITED from!???
OMG! The Christmas tree story encapsulates something that's been driving me crazy since I started noticing it You point out to a Starbuck's barista that's she's overcharged you for your drink. She stares at you for a while and then says "oh, what, did you want me to fix it?"
Great conversation. I am thankful for my parents. Mom and Dad had working on rental properties and construction jobs from a very young age. I feel so bad for the people who grew up with parents who did not give them those opportunities.
We live in a generation that is taught what to think not how to think. Hence what Sasse said nobody thought to ask. Different mind set today or the lack thereof.
Generational angst (too much prosperity?) itself became an institution during the 60's and 70's and we Boomers didn't have the wisdom or courage to reject it. We mistakenly thought that dismantling all our cultural traditions would lead to a glorious future.
Not sure if my opinions are warranted since I was born 16 days into the generation called millennial. Parents have a huge role in how we turn out. I was doing every role of a housewife at 9, left home at 17, married 10 years, became a housewife with 2 children, and started my own freelance business. All this being raised in western Washington by a single father with four brothers and often being left to our own wit with him being deployed multiple times after 9/11. We were raised without comfort, strict rules, a lot of family involvement, grandparents living in home and all the lessons the Bible had to offer. Even in this generation we still grew up competent. Parents and family is key to promoting good outcome.
Man this guy is spot on in most of his ideas! I like him and is refreshing to hear modest, sensical approaches to our modern situation. It is so true that we need to stop protecting our children and start exposing them to reality and to history. So many people I know are completely oblivious to the past (and I am no scholar) and have zero intention to take on problems outside their immediate desires and needs. I just want to know more and want less competition for my mind from interests that do not represent me or my values. Truth is one of the most important things we can give our children and our fellow man!
From productive adult, to old man. Alone in a world of narcissistic people. Dogs are now my best friends. Live long enough and one will deal with aging. Good thoughts are what I have for you.
1. Have Baby Boomers make an economy so terrible that most job ads have over a hundred people responding to them. 2. Have Baby Boomers make a housing market where houses cost 10-20x the average income, with their prices raising so much every year that someone saving every dollar they can can never save up to buy one. 3. Have Baby Boomers make a country where manual labor jobs are done by immigrants, are automated, or done overseas in sweatshops. 4. Have Baby Boomers push younger generations into college, making many people start employment with $100,000+ in debt. Not to mention very few people actually able to own their car or own their house, making rent and car payments when others didn't need that. 5. Have Baby Boomers import immigrants on work visas to do high level jobs that typically were for middle class college graduates, like IT. 6. Have Baby Boomers make an economy where entry-level, minimum wage jobs require several years of experience and a degree. "The Vanishing American Adult" is because Baby Boomers were never adults, and they expect their kids to be. Every fucking thing they could've been given, they got. Amazing economy, amazing upward mobility, amazing job industry, amazing wealth, and amazing opportunities for everyone. Now we're $20,000,000,000 in debt and a massive welfare state.
To an extent, it's not just baby boomers, but the elite that have been the cause of some of our economic problems with their fake 'stimulus' packages and bailouts. My dad is a retired baby boomer, but he's now almost just as poor as I am.
I'm reading this book now. Very telling. I helped my former GF raise her kids. 1 b, 1g. The B is something of an educated slacker. The G is a driven, hot -headed, triggered adult. She's married, he is not (yet). Of the 2, HE will be more successful, only b/c he's less educated (BS vs his sister's MS) and working in an environment where he can apply his degree and talents across a wider range of job opportunities. For BOTH of these kids, MUCH coddling was involved, and BOTH were spoiled. Of course, they were raised in a home w/o a father, though some level of contact w/a male presence (myself). Of course, even after all those years of working with them, as I've walked from the relationship, they've completely forgotten about any contributions on my part. Again... entitled. Neither child has completely grown up yet (the oldest is going on 30).
The point about kids seeing, interacting with, and learning from people of ALL ages is an excellent one. Starting at 16, my son (homeschooled from age 12 and up) worked alongside people much older than himself. One thing he learned is that he does NOT want to be living paycheck-to-paycheck when he's 50; he does not want to delay retirement out of necessity, like many he worked with. I've never met anyone with such an eye towards the future as my kid has. (Assuming, of course, that there IS a future to plan for; it can't hurt to hope!)
I grew up in the late 40"s and early 50"s on a small farm from ages 8 to 18. When I was 8 I became a full time field-hand on a cotton farm. We started back to school in mid-July after our crop was worked and ready to harvest in Sept. School was then out until the crop was harvested more or less. My day from 8 till we all left the farm when I was 18 started about 5:30 in the morning and ended about 9 at night. I never felt put upon for there were times during the year-few but on occasion- when we could swim in farm ponds and local creeks, play ball, etc. it was easy at 18 to transition to the work force for work was my heritage. After a few years working in factories I started to college but worked my way through-no parental help. It took 6 years but I felt a sense of accomplishment and had a very productive life thereafter retiring when I was 75. My grandkids parents are training them to be responsible and well rounded and for that I am very pleased. God has blessed me greatly but I fear for many whose lives are in such disarray.
It scares me that my first reaction is to assume you are lying. I also worked when I was young... not when I was 8. But 13-14 through the end of high school. My teacher called the police on me 3 days after my 18th birthday. This began the influence the criminal justice system our country has on my life. I, to, got a job working on a farm and began making my way through college. Shortly there after I was arrested and things fell apart for me. I fell too far behind in school and my employer was forced to let me go. I am now back in school and working for a temp agency bouncing around the city of Phoenix. I am in a probation program designed to test me and motivate me to cultivate sobriety. I am without a driver's license until successful completion of my probation at which point I will get back on track at work. Young people are not different than you. The world they live in is different. Working your way through school is more of a way to get experience so that you can actually get a better job when finished. Something that I had to figure out on my own. Expectations are higher for us. Which is good. But, with all do respect, people would view the choices you made as not ambitious enough by today's standards. Believe me, I have been on the receiving end of these rants. My older brother did not get a higher education. He got an internship at a company called Teralever in Tempe, Arizona. He found people he liked to work with at this company and in their spare time they built a piece of software that would allow anyone to build a website with a simple walkthrough answering various questions. He then left his job and moved to Fremont. While in Fremont him and his partners launched an alpha test of this model and eventually signed a few of the testers on as paying clients. Shortly there after they were acquired by a small but larger company that was eventually acquired by IBM. My brother was given a job managing the software he and his team built for IBM earning an exceptional salaried position. No four year degree. No debt. Knowing that this is possible and witnessing it happen to someone I am emotionally connected to has an impact on me. This is the world we live in. Call us entitled, call us lazy. Call us what ever you want.
Actually, I picked cotton in the Fall when I was even younger but not regularly. I had just turned 8 when we moved to the farm and started to school but in the Summer when school let out I was in the field early until dark and then field chores. I was not unusual. That was a common practice in our farming community. When school was in session for a year or two we walked 2-3 miles each way to school unescorted. No one was afraid and I kind of enjoyed it even when cold and rainy. I don't think expectations are higher for you but this idea of kids living with their parents when they are 25-30 years old is not conducive to maturity. When we were not in the fields or cutting wood for winter or taking care of animals we helped mom clean house, wash clothes-before the days of automatic washers and dryers. Kids were an asset then and if healthy and raised in the country we contributed more than we cost. This was a different time but one does what is required when the need is there. Whether or not my ambitions were high enough is irrelevant. Not many in my family or extended family received higher education. Except for an uncle who became a professor at Fordham University and later Dean at Villanova and a couple of cousins who received college degrees most were content with high school educations. I guess what galls me is that there are so many whiners that want to start where mom and dad and grandparents are at the moment after years of working and struggling and sacrificing. Too many expect government and society in general to take care of all their wants and needs just because they exist.
Jim Buford - it feels like your group is the one that is whining. In terms of societal dependency- it looks like large multinational corporations are the ones failing to bootstrap. All I'm looking for is enough money for rent and food. Forget about day care and health insurance and and the other things I'm in need of. I don't make enough money Jim. The cost of living is up Jim. My productivity is up Jim. My wages are flat Jim. Maybe I am whining but .. shit is all fucked up Jim.
Well, what are YOU going to do about it? Government and social programs have not always been around to help. You may be doing all you can do and if so this doesn't apply to you but look around and think about how many young people are on disability for one thing and another, everything from drug use to emotional problems. I see so many that their number one priority is to get on disability. As a taxpayer I am tired of the dependency of what should be our healthiest segment of our population. It is easy to blame corporations. I have never been management or owned a company but it is they who provide the jobs and we want to make them villians. Sure, I draw social security but I paid in for 58 years not retiring till I was 75. I and my employer were forced to pay into it so I am drawing but according to economic tables I would have been better off financially if I had been allowed to provide for my own retirement. I am a Christian and I blame part of the problem on the churches who rather than take care of their own like they used to do they facilitate this dependency on government for it takes the load off them. Somewhere along the line we all have to grow up and be weaned from expecting others to support us.
Respectfully, you did all of that when a dollar was worth a dollar, and a man's home was his castle. This is no longer true. What you accomplished, you accomplished because you had HOPE. And you HAD that hope, because you knew that if you worked hard, you would get ahead, be able to have a family, and have a decent retirement. The world has changed under your feet, sir. I followed your script, but I am a few decades behind you. I followed it to the tee. And that script no longer works. I know, because I tried it. I had to change tactics in mid life on order to get ahead and make a stable life for myself. And my wife became useless as a partner, as she tried to assume the traditional wife role, without doing the traditional wife things. So we parted, and I have not gotten another. And never will, because of the laws and the way they disenfranchise men. It's over man. The world is different now. You cannot succeed the same way anymore. You have to be a cutthroat asshole now to truly get ahead, and your life has to be about money. You can't work your way ahead anymore reliably, and even if you do, your wife will likely either transform into a useless burden, or will divorce you and leave you penniless. Divorce rates in christian communities are as high or higher than the national average by the way. Mormons are lower, but not by much. It is a disaster out there. Women are leeching all the value out of the system as they grow older, then spending it on maintenance and investing nothing for the future. The economy is wrecked, the job market is wrecked. What on earth does any capable man have to fight for, to strive for anymore? Christian communities are no help, as they refuse to recognize the problem. Only the Amish are still doing ok, but that is because they have a 1% divorce rate. This is not a coincidence, as they willingly remove themselves from our welfare system, so their women have no recourse but to rely on their men for support. Believe it. This is what is the problem.
Its true that this generation isn't independent. It's also true that it's fucking impossible to find a job because everyone wants 8 years of experience and I can't give you that when no one is willing to hire. And it's also true that no one will give out bank loans to someone making 12k a year for a house. America has changed; the median salary has decreased and you can't live out your own life when it isn't financially feasible.
yeah it is as bad as everyone say it is out there, I doubt I'll be able to live through my 60s because they're going to come after our Social security in the future, here comes Smith & Wesson retirement plan for most people
Coding? Really? I've heard so many stories of programmers who work 60 hours a week, only get paid for 40, and work for minimum wage. They consider it slave labor.
That's funny because my husband works 6 hours a day and gets paid in the top 10% income bracket in the state. Really I think he only works 1 hour a day though and plays ping pong all day. Also he gets to work from home whenever he wants and has 4 weeks of vacation a year just as an associate.
Sounds like he's not a programmer, he's someone whose only there to fix code when it doesn't work. Like an on-site network administrator, sort of. That's like security jobs, 7 hours of doing nothing, an hour of work, and a paycheck for all 8 hours. That's a REALLY good job.
Looking at modern pop culture will give you a good indication of the adolescent state of our society. When I was a kid, I couldn't imagine men my dad's age playing video games and watching dragon shows all day. Writers like Neil Postman and Marshall McLuhan sound much more conservative when read today. I know that a few figures on the paleo-con side of the Right like Rod Dreher often touch on techno-progressivism, but I wish that more conservatives would question the prevailing faith in the neutrality of technology.
This is among the best interviews I have experienced in any capacity. My hat is off to Senator Sasse. I hope for him -- and his family -- a long, productive and happy tenure in the United States Senate. Buying this book, as I key these words ... .
With two grandsons 13 & 15 of age I can relate to this conversion. My grandkids detachment is often disturbing to my wife & I. Their need to be constantly entertained by; electronic games, toys, cell phones, movies & TV has become an obsession. It has become very difficult to engage our kids in any form of conversation let alone any type of wisdom or teaching moment. The book my be a great read.
I’m a 66 year old who used to devour books - more than one a week even while working full time and maintaining a home and small farm with many animals. Since I got an iPad, all remains the same except for the job and I now have to consciously set time aside to get my face back into a book. I’m not surprised that kids need to be taught that books have astonishing, relevant value.
At 4:53 and 5:09, Senator Sasse claims that the concept of "adolescence" was invented "two millenia ago." Doesn't he instead mean "two CENTURIES ago" or *maybe* only "two GENERATIONS ago?"
I am a millennial who reads the newspaper still, I work full time and I have been that way since I was 18 (I am 31 now). I pay my own rent, buy my own food, cook and clean, read books and generally my life is very "adult like". I have to say I really don't see what many of the thinkers of our time are seeing. I see many of my generation with successful lives and families. I think the older generations are watching to much television and having a sort of "generational group think". My generation has decided to start walking away from television and though we bring our phones with us we have embraced technology and our society in a way no other generation will understand. Maybe I am a rarity among my generation in your eyes, but I see many my age working hard and living successful lives. Maybe you need to get out of your own circles and see that many of us are working and successful.
I liked this interview from the first few minutes when he talked about 'No one even thought to get a ladder". I have a friend who is an engineer, and he worked at a company and the IT dept. could not get a networked printer to work (a big lithographic printer that prints 60 inch wide blue prints). My friend rolled the printer over to the computer that needed to print and none of the 'IT' people even thought of that.
Maybe a thoughtful, critical thinker would have chopped the tree into pieces and started a fire: Because it's cold and financial problems, hey free fuel!
OHHHHHHHH Peter...have been watching for decades...your grey hair now and of course mine now. Keep up the great work!! Great program! I have hope again for my Grandchildren, thanks to America's President
Being Laotian myself, there is a Laotian term "pooh-yia" literally mean adult. The term describes someone who is well ground, carry him or herself with dignity, sincerity and take initiative.
Have children with a plan in mind. Too many children being brought up with no expectations and parents not giving direction. Parents have to realize we're raising them to be adults.
What plan? The opportunities are so scant! Getting worse all the time! Life doesn't give participation trophies! And the actual prizes are held out for someone else's kids
I find it interesting how I always see these conversations that are completely directed towards millennials and their faults, yet no one ever discusses how baby boomers created this current societal debacle we live in now.
"We do not want this nation to become soft. Instead, it should be hard and you will have to harden yourselves while you are young." Adolf Hitler addressing the Hitler Youth
Often intelligence leads you the right way. That's an interesting quote, especially if you take into account that Hitler was very high in conscientiousness. The idea of toughening oneself is very related to hard work ethic and goal focus.
21:38 I had a friend that was an Irish Catholic priest. He never pronounce the word that way. He understood the importance. I was in the military he was a military chaplain. Re creation is how he pronounced it and it was so true. It is where we recreate ourselves and transform to be better than we were. L'CHAIM.
Wow! This was, to me, one of the most inspirational conversations about our society that I have had the pleasure of hearing! First off, it was FULL of poignant and what I felt was challenging questioning that essentially forced Senator Sasse to explain his thought process and reasoning for writing some of the key points this book, not just regurgitate the facts as they were printed. VERY well done! I say inspirational because I was raised doing a lot of what it is he says we need to be doing more of, interacting with our older generations, help when able without hesitation, and understand that where we are at at this moment in our live, does NOT decide nor dictate where we will be in the future, and that is not a bad or errant position to be in. Having been ridiculed as "old school" or as acting like an "old man" through my teenage years became a point of pride for me and has been a strong foundation on which I stand to this day. I have taught my two sons these same principles and continue to help them to use them in their lives. Thank you.
Turns out letting in millions of third worlders willing to accept a lower standard of living while subsidized by welfare makes competing on the job market difficult for native workers. Who woulda thunk...
This is everything the Bible teaches. I've been studying the Bible for 5 years and it has so much wisdom and practical advice on how to live a happy life. In fact, it has advice for every problem.
Another "Outstanding Job Award" goes to the Hoover Institution for yet another well done, thoughtful and immersive interview! I would love to see Sen. Sasse running for president after #45! As a side note, have you read "Unfreedom of The Press" by Mark Levin? I would very much enjoy watching an "Uncommon Knowledge" interview with him.
I am a baby boomer and have a millennium son. I have raised him very differently from how I was raised. I was the youngest of 6 kids and we were always "you kids." You kids go outside, you kids go downstairs. Our parents controlled everything and we had no say in anything done or decisions made. In contrast, our son is an only child, and is involved in all major decisions. He is much more mature than I was at his age and capable of making his own decisions and taking care of himself.
Great discussion, but this applies to a very narrow segment of the dying middle class. Most children are just getting by, and have little parental input because the parents are using substances or are working constantly. That's just my perception though.
As part of the Millennial generation, I've seen the success of my peers in the workforce when given the opportunities. I can, however, completely agree that the social erosion and rampant consumerism has crippled us as people. Both problems tend towards erasing the best parts of society. Maybe we'll Take Some Sasse for president one day
Yes but if we are to blame millennials, what about the generation that developed the consumer systems we are growing up in. I think blaming the millennials is like blaming the kid for the Xmas gift s/he receives from his parents. What, so the parents did nothing to create the shitty system we are inheriting? This is generational scapegoating.
My point is that we need to recognize our own failings. Each side holds some responsibility in creating the problems. My generation will pass on a lot of good and bad ideas that will shape the next their unique way.
"It remains difficult for a rich republic to remain virtuous." It is easier to put a camel through the eye of a needle than to enter the gates of heaven.
Surprised to see so many comments disparaging of the conversation. I didn't find Sen. Sass's comments out of line at all or even all that harsh towards millennials. The conversation seems to be less focused on calling millennials lazy and more on developing new methods of raising children in an interconnected, instant gratification and consumer world. It's indisputable that these factors create a moral hazard. I think Sass made some excellent points and this is coming from a 20 year old millennial. I'd much prefer this to simply ignoring this topic all together or a Bernie Sanders type that drones endlessly about how every problem in your life is the result of someone else. Really was a solid interview & I enjoyed watching.
Brilliant conversation about fundamental observations. This is inspiring for someone that used to believe that he could stand by an let our culture decline- 'it served us right', which many can recognise as a malady from the left of politics and culture. But I've matured. 'America is premised on a few ideas. One is universal human dignity.' I couldn't agree more. And that dignity, equal to the principle of 'freedom', is the right to bodily sovereignty, bodily autonomy. Neither the government nor any individual- even one's parents- have a right to trespass the only material 'home' we have secure for our lifetime on earth- our bodies. Americans violate that intimate right daily with our sons- often before we leave the hospital- and lie to them later by calling it 'circumcision'. We have to recover this principle of sovereignty, of freedom once again which our Founding Fathers would have recognised instantly. We are already on that road to recovering this- we currently are experiencing a shift where the youngest generation of males are now approaching a majority in their peer group who have been left as they were born, intact, as our founding forebearers were. There is redemption- and Americans have the strength of character to examine and change what needs be.
Im 56 and despite being a bricklayer since the age of 14 i could see that my generation was softer than my fathers. He was born in 1919 and joined the Merchant Navy at 14, then his ship was bombed in WW2. The sole of his foot was hanging off at the toes and he ended up in a German POW camp for 4 years. After the war he started bricklaying 10 hours a day and worked as a tow truck driver during the night. I never heard my father whinge about his life or the hand he was dealt, he just plowed on through it all and with happiness
It's absolutely the breakdown of the family! Look at how Ben speaks so lovingly of his greater family connections. The culture of divorce means deep emotional breaks are occurring before children are even 10. Deep mistrust and confusion often lead to severed connections with satellite family members! This leads to isolation and instability.
Fantastic conversation... Conversations like THIS on youtube are why cable is completely antiquated now.
Agreed
Agreed
yup.
Joe Bauers sad but true. Something clicked in my head when u said that. Classic American tv helped shape informed mentally strong adults at one time. Not anymore
You said it mate. Watching cable TV is like having your family huddled around the radio waiting and listening for the evening broadcast.
I love that Rep. Sasse brings up reading. When my boys were young, we were poor and couldn't afford to travel extensively. I tried to teach my children that reading was their vehicle to travel to places that we might never be able to go to in person, to experience things and think in new ways. I got my love of reading from my Dad, and snuck his science fiction books out of the box in the garage--and learned to love not only science fiction but all of science. Reading is indeed, fundamental.
This is spot on. As a teen, I only cared about what my immediate peers thought about me. I did whatever was "cool" and eventually developed an opioid addiction. By God's grace, I got sober in 2015 when I was 22, and through my relationships in AA and Church with people older than me and from different backgrounds, I started to care much less about what people my age thought about me.
Hard times create strong men
Strong men create good times
Good times create weak men
Weak men create hard times
How about we learn from this cycle and break it? That way we can stop on step 2. Of course, people will have to evolve away from enabling their own faults and social dysfunction. Nobody's perfect / "who are you to judge?", etc.
Dean Cutler Nice
I don't know who originally said it but I read it somewhere and it's just so true.
Dean Cutler I hear you. It is profound.
Nothing slackens like success.
This is a great video. While I was born in that weird "lost generation" between younger Gen-X and older Millennial, I was born to parents in their 40s. And while I had the luxury of having an adolescence and going to college , I always knew in the back of my mind that my parents would pass away when I was relatively young. And I had to be prepared for that, which meant being financially independent, having steady employment, and paying off my debts.
I lost both of my parents in my early 30s. I was the youngest sibling by nearly 20years, but I was the only one who still lived in the same state so there were things I needed to learn FAST. Thank goodness for my older sister, my aunt, and my nephew for helping me through this challenging time. I am now quickly approaching 40, and I am GRATEFUL EVERY DAY for how my parents raised me to understand how to take care of myself. Its not about having "stuff." It's about being ok with what you HAVE. 👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼
One of the points I liked was the age segregation.
Personally, I take evening classes just so I can be around the older ppl with jobs. The atmosphere is very refreshing.
my personal experience is that readers are more likely to be able to speak well and express themselves clearly.
History is filled with the sound of silken slippers going downstairs and wooden shoes coming up.
-Voltaire
nice
See "Candide" ...YTube it!
aspirezakura What does this mean? Flamboyant and weak types go down and strong types go up?
Nibelheim no the wealthy go down and the meager rise up... silken slippers to wooden shoes
Excellent quote.
I'm a millenial. I worked two jobs since the age of 15 even while putting myself through college. Life wasn't easy for me. Did not depend on my mom for much except perhaps roof over my head, but bought my own car and took care of myself. THere are many millenials out there who worked much harder and had a tougher time than me. The story of millenials this speaker is projecting should be defined as millenials born to rich upper middle class parents--who are more often pampered with all their needs catered to. This is also reflected in Amy Chua's book about how children from wealthy parents don't work as hard or have as much ambition and drive as those born to recent immigrants or poorer families where working hard was a requirement for survival.
Which generation is responsible for the 50% divorce rate? What did you think would happen after you've broken down the family structure?
Apparently, it isn't if we have an increasing amount of parents turning away from their responsibility to their families. On one hand, we have millions of kids growing up with only a single parent. On the other hand, we have millions of kids being raised by day cares and the school system because both parents are working 40+ hours. How can those children possibly learn personal responsibility when their own parents are not around to teach them?
Chng30FsCenEry i lived in a innercity in NewYork for awhile and the single mother rate was over 75%. This has such a negative impact on the community. Growing up in white suburbia with almost every family was a 2 parent home then moving into community that was almost completely fatherless the difference was like night and day. The social problems that come from a community of broken homes is endless. The lack of morals and values, the lack of respect for the elderly or authority, the lack of positive role models, the lack of promoting the importance of education, the lack of respect for the community, the selfishness, the lack of being able to make responsible life decisions, and disfunction and violence towards people was terrible. Its amazing how 2 parent home communities are so much better.
I would have loved to have had a family IF I COULD HAVE AFFORDED IT. Anyone with a brain will realize that having a family is hellaciously expensive, and most smart people I know have chosen not to have them because they just can't afford it. Perhaps GREEDY CORPORATIONS should actually PAY US well.
I grew up in a "broken" family, didn't go to college, taught myself, and I'm still successful. Don't act like that's the cause of this. Be responsible for yourself. You can pull yourself out of any bad situation if you work hard enough.
Joe Feocco You know what an exception to a rule is? most people I've known who came from broken families mostly failed to achieve as much as those who came from intact families.
My grand father, who none of my children got to know personally, lamented in the mid 50s that kids didn't know how to work. He was a carpenter and a shop teacher. I tried to introduce my GenX/Millennial kids to their ancestors, and their attitude was, So what? I have compiled the most comprehensive histories and photos of our family tree ever to exist, and hope to give it out to the grandkids who now think they're ready for parenting. But I have no hope for them. None of them seem to grasp the connection: We get too soon old, and too late smart!
What is value?
One word: Gratitude. That is what is missing from America.
Sanjosemike (no longer in CA)
When he speaks about his grandmother, I couldn´t stop crying because I know exactly the bond he had with his grandparents. Losing grandma was like losing my own mother, I remember as a four year old sitting on the bench of his kitchen and being mesmerized with the stories she used to tell me about her childhood and hardship. My brothers and sisters used to ask her to tell the story over and over again. My brother named his coffee plantating farm using the name we used to call grandma as children and I decided to use her last name on my own company 21 years ago. Grandma died in 2006, a day before she turned 99; for us, her grandchildren she is still so much part of us that is not even funny. There isn´t one family gathering that we do reminance about grandma and the amazing world she created for us. I also want to bring to your attention the way the senator speaks about his children and wife. The man is family man with values. The senator and his wife are home-schooling their children. God bless this family.
Before this conversation, I knew that I liked Ben Sasse. But in 38 minutes, I learned to love him. America desperately needs wise, informed leadership with vision. Ben Sasse for president!
So glad my kids grew up in agriculture. They know the value of time, money, life and death.
This is all by design. It's working.
This man is brilliant. Life kicked me in the balls when I finished college and I learned how to be a better man by watching my dad and grandfathers (I know, I'm lucky to have any of them). Age segregation is a serious problem in the western world and it almost ruined me.
My parents raised a family of 8 children in a home they bought in Dana Point Ca on a printer’s income .My mother was a home maker . Taxes and cost of living would no longer allow that. Towns with intact family’s are a thing of the past.
Were they forced out by property taxes ?
When my grand parents were coming up you DID become fully functioning as an adult at 14 to 16 yrs old .
I do remember hanging around adults/grandparents when I was young, always fascinated by their stories
Age segregated lives....what a stark and truthful manner to describe current status of society.
"Both parties are hungover from the '60's"... You got that right.
Great interview, Sasse seems like one of our better representatives. That said, I can't help but see irony in the fact that he has spent most of his life in academic and political realms and now writes/talks about the importance of human industriousness and production. Hoover Institution needs to interview some laborers, business owners, engineers, doctors, craftsmen, farmers, builders, etc. to counterbalance this academic (ie. theoretical) view on the realities of a life defined by productive work.
Yep that would be interesting, but at the same time, it would be nice if they knew something.
"You said 'in spite of' - maybe it's because of..."
That alone elicited a thumbs up. My ears are perked and I want to hear the rest. Bravo.
Don't waste your money on college unless you're going to be an engineer or doctor. Learn a skill and be self employed.
Too much convenience and comfort leads to existential free fall, the feeling of "Now what?? I don't know what to do with myself!"
This will be THE crisis for emerging generations. With most of the practical problems of daily living solved, there will be nothing left but consumption, and the desire for evermore...
We live in a box! Descended from people who wanted frontiers and opportunities they could create with their own hands! We've lost that! Capitalism is a cancer that demands to be fed! To expand or it will simply kill its host and move on to another
"Hard times create strong men. Strong men create good times. Good times creates wreak men. AND, weak men create hard times. " G. Michael Hopf
WOW! Senator Benjamin Sasse changed my entire opinion of politicians. There is at lease one good one.
Senator, you may be a perfect candidate for POTUS in 2024. Very impressive.
Central banking is the problem. Big government is the problem. When there's incentives to do whatever and spend whatever, moral society falls apart.
I never ever thought I'd ever hear an American politician in 2017 discussing Plato, Aristotle, and Augustine and not just name dropping to make their self sound smart in order to get votes. That was a breath of fresh air.
Globalization and outsourcing jobs is a major reason why young people are forced to delay adulthood. They cannot support themselves when new jobs go to foreigners. Most people seek independence as they age and this has not changed.
Vanessa: the kinds of arguments in this video just make me absolutely sick because they do not consider how different things are today, particularly WAGES. With two Master's Degrees in the 50s (physics and atmospheric science) I would have been able to afford a family and A LOT more, but now I can barely keep a roof over mine and my cats' heads if I want any semblance of savings. And getting a car!?! Ha! Funny joke.
WTF kind of life is this that I worked VERY HARD for??? Why on Earth can't we just get PAID WHAT WE'RE WORTH???? Why can't GREEDY COMPANIES and RICH JERKS stop hoarding everything to themselves and actually SUPPORT THE SOCIETY that they BENEFITED from!???
ptanyuh I fully agree
No, most millennials seek authoritarianism. They want a welfare state to take care of them so they never have to grow up.
OMG! The Christmas tree story encapsulates something that's been driving me crazy since I started noticing it
You point out to a Starbuck's barista that's she's overcharged you for your drink. She stares at you for a while and then says "oh, what, did you want me to fix it?"
Gillian Long exactly
Magnificent- an intelligent member of Congress. Thank you for this interview.
Great conversation. I am thankful for my parents. Mom and Dad had working on rental properties and construction jobs from a very young age. I feel so bad for the people who grew up with parents who did not give them those opportunities.
We live in a generation that is taught what to think not how to think. Hence what Sasse said nobody thought to ask. Different mind set today or the lack thereof.
Generational angst (too much prosperity?) itself became an institution during the 60's and 70's and we Boomers didn't have the wisdom or courage to reject it. We mistakenly thought that dismantling all our cultural traditions would lead to a glorious future.
Who cannot love these conversations!?! Whichever persuasion you may have
Not sure if my opinions are warranted since I was born 16 days into the generation called millennial. Parents have a huge role in how we turn out. I was doing every role of a housewife at 9, left home at 17, married 10 years, became a housewife with 2 children, and started my own freelance business. All this being raised in western Washington by a single father with four brothers and often being left to our own wit with him being deployed multiple times after 9/11. We were raised without comfort, strict rules, a lot of family involvement, grandparents living in home and all the lessons the Bible had to offer. Even in this generation we still grew up competent. Parents and family is key to promoting good outcome.
I am thoroughly impressed with this Senator.
Man this guy is spot on in most of his ideas! I like him and is refreshing to hear modest, sensical approaches to our modern situation. It is so true that we need to stop protecting our children and start exposing them to reality and to history. So many people I know are completely oblivious to the past (and I am no scholar) and have zero intention to take on problems outside their immediate desires and needs. I just want to know more and want less competition for my mind from interests that do not represent me or my values. Truth is one of the most important things we can give our children and our fellow man!
From productive adult, to old man. Alone in a world of narcissistic people. Dogs are now my best friends. Live long enough and one will deal with aging. Good thoughts are what I have for you.
Dogs and cats! People have totally lost their grip and get terribly offended if you point that out
1. Have Baby Boomers make an economy so terrible that most job ads have over a hundred people responding to them.
2. Have Baby Boomers make a housing market where houses cost 10-20x the average income, with their prices raising so much every year that someone saving every dollar they can can never save up to buy one.
3. Have Baby Boomers make a country where manual labor jobs are done by immigrants, are automated, or done overseas in sweatshops.
4. Have Baby Boomers push younger generations into college, making many people start employment with $100,000+ in debt. Not to mention very few people actually able to own their car or own their house, making rent and car payments when others didn't need that.
5. Have Baby Boomers import immigrants on work visas to do high level jobs that typically were for middle class college graduates, like IT.
6. Have Baby Boomers make an economy where entry-level, minimum wage jobs require several years of experience and a degree.
"The Vanishing American Adult" is because Baby Boomers were never adults, and they expect their kids to be. Every fucking thing they could've been given, they got. Amazing economy, amazing upward mobility, amazing job industry, amazing wealth, and amazing opportunities for everyone. Now we're $20,000,000,000 in debt and a massive welfare state.
To an extent, it's not just baby boomers, but the elite that have been the cause of some of our economic problems with their fake 'stimulus' packages and bailouts. My dad is a retired baby boomer, but he's now almost just as poor as I am.
Stop buying iPhones maybe!?
I like the very sensible point of view expressed by Senator Ben Sasse. Maybe there is some hope for America's future.
I'm reading this book now. Very telling. I helped my former GF raise her kids. 1 b, 1g. The B is something of an educated slacker. The G is a driven, hot -headed, triggered adult. She's married, he is not (yet). Of the 2, HE will be more successful, only b/c he's less educated (BS vs his sister's MS) and working in an environment where he can apply his degree and talents across a wider range of job opportunities. For BOTH of these kids, MUCH coddling was involved, and BOTH were spoiled. Of course, they were raised in a home w/o a father, though some level of contact w/a male presence (myself). Of course, even after all those years of working with them, as I've walked from the relationship, they've completely forgotten about any contributions on my part. Again... entitled.
Neither child has completely grown up yet (the oldest is going on 30).
The point about kids seeing, interacting with, and learning from people of ALL ages is an excellent one. Starting at 16, my son (homeschooled from age 12 and up) worked alongside people much older than himself. One thing he learned is that he does NOT want to be living paycheck-to-paycheck when he's 50; he does not want to delay retirement out of necessity, like many he worked with. I've never met anyone with such an eye towards the future as my kid has. (Assuming, of course, that there IS a future to plan for; it can't hurt to hope!)
Unable to problem solve. Is absolutely true.
I grew up in the late 40"s and early 50"s on a small farm from ages 8 to 18. When I was 8 I became a full time field-hand on a cotton farm. We started back to school in mid-July after our crop was worked and ready to harvest in Sept. School was then out until the crop was harvested more or less. My day from 8 till we all left the farm when I was 18 started about 5:30 in the morning and ended about 9 at night. I never felt put upon for there were times during the year-few but on occasion- when we could swim in farm ponds and local creeks, play ball, etc. it was easy at 18 to transition to the work force for work was my heritage. After a few years working in factories I started to college but worked my way through-no parental help. It took 6 years but I felt a sense of accomplishment and had a very productive life thereafter retiring when I was 75. My grandkids parents are training them to be responsible and well rounded and for that I am very pleased. God has blessed me greatly but I fear for many whose lives are in such disarray.
It scares me that my first reaction is to assume you are lying. I also worked when I was young... not when I was 8. But 13-14 through the end of high school. My teacher called the police on me 3 days after my 18th birthday. This began the influence the criminal justice system our country has on my life. I, to, got a job working on a farm and began making my way through college. Shortly there after I was arrested and things fell apart for me. I fell too far behind in school and my employer was forced to let me go. I am now back in school and working for a temp agency bouncing around the city of Phoenix. I am in a probation program designed to test me and motivate me to cultivate sobriety. I am without a driver's license until successful completion of my probation at which point I will get back on track at work. Young people are not different than you. The world they live in is different. Working your way through school is more of a way to get experience so that you can actually get a better job when finished. Something that I had to figure out on my own. Expectations are higher for us. Which is good. But, with all do respect, people would view the choices you made as not ambitious enough by today's standards. Believe me, I have been on the receiving end of these rants. My older brother did not get a higher education. He got an internship at a company called Teralever in Tempe, Arizona. He found people he liked to work with at this company and in their spare time they built a piece of software that would allow anyone to build a website with a simple walkthrough answering various questions. He then left his job and moved to Fremont. While in Fremont him and his partners launched an alpha test of this model and eventually signed a few of the testers on as paying clients. Shortly there after they were acquired by a small but larger company that was eventually acquired by IBM. My brother was given a job managing the software he and his team built for IBM earning an exceptional salaried position. No four year degree. No debt. Knowing that this is possible and witnessing it happen to someone I am emotionally connected to has an impact on me. This is the world we live in. Call us entitled, call us lazy. Call us what ever you want.
Actually, I picked cotton in the Fall when I was even younger but not regularly. I had just turned 8 when we moved to the farm and started to school but in the Summer when school let out I was in the field early until dark and then field chores. I was not unusual. That was a common practice in our farming community. When school was in session for a year or two we walked 2-3 miles each way to school unescorted. No one was afraid and I kind of enjoyed it even when cold and rainy.
I don't think expectations are higher for you but this idea of kids living with their parents when they are 25-30 years old is not conducive to maturity. When we were not in the fields or cutting wood for winter or taking care of animals we helped mom clean house, wash clothes-before the days of automatic washers and dryers. Kids were an asset then and if healthy and raised in the country we contributed more than we cost.
This was a different time but one does what is required when the need is there.
Whether or not my ambitions were high enough is irrelevant. Not many in my family or extended family received higher education. Except for an uncle who became a professor at Fordham University and later Dean at Villanova and a couple of cousins who received college degrees most were content with high school educations.
I guess what galls me is that there are so many whiners that want to start where mom and dad and grandparents are at the moment after years of working and struggling and sacrificing. Too many expect government and society in general to take care of all their wants and needs just because they exist.
Jim Buford - it feels like your group is the one that is whining. In terms of societal dependency- it looks like large multinational corporations are the ones failing to bootstrap. All I'm looking for is enough money for rent and food. Forget about day care and health insurance and and the other things I'm in need of. I don't make enough money Jim. The cost of living is up Jim. My productivity is up Jim. My wages are flat Jim. Maybe I am whining but .. shit is all fucked up Jim.
Well, what are YOU going to do about it? Government and social programs have not always been around to help. You may be doing all you can do and if so this doesn't apply to you but look around and think about how many young people are on disability for one thing and another, everything from drug use to emotional problems. I see so many that their number one priority is to get on disability. As a taxpayer I am tired of the dependency of what should be our healthiest segment of our population. It is easy to blame corporations. I have never been management or owned a company but it is they who provide the jobs and we want to make them villians. Sure, I draw social security but I paid in for 58 years not retiring till I was 75. I and my employer were forced to pay into it so I am drawing but according to economic tables I would have been better off financially if I had been allowed to provide for my own retirement.
I am a Christian and I blame part of the problem on the churches who rather than take care of their own like they used to do they facilitate this dependency on government for it takes the load off them.
Somewhere along the line we all have to grow up and be weaned from expecting others to support us.
Respectfully, you did all of that when a dollar was worth a dollar, and a man's home was his castle.
This is no longer true. What you accomplished, you accomplished because you had HOPE. And you HAD that hope, because you knew that if you worked hard, you would get ahead, be able to have a family, and have a decent retirement.
The world has changed under your feet, sir. I followed your script, but I am a few decades behind you. I followed it to the tee. And that script no longer works. I know, because I tried it. I had to change tactics in mid life on order to get ahead and make a stable life for myself. And my wife became useless as a partner, as she tried to assume the traditional wife role, without doing the traditional wife things. So we parted, and I have not gotten another. And never will, because of the laws and the way they disenfranchise men.
It's over man. The world is different now. You cannot succeed the same way anymore. You have to be a cutthroat asshole now to truly get ahead, and your life has to be about money. You can't work your way ahead anymore reliably, and even if you do, your wife will likely either transform into a useless burden, or will divorce you and leave you penniless.
Divorce rates in christian communities are as high or higher than the national average by the way. Mormons are lower, but not by much. It is a disaster out there. Women are leeching all the value out of the system as they grow older, then spending it on maintenance and investing nothing for the future. The economy is wrecked, the job market is wrecked. What on earth does any capable man have to fight for, to strive for anymore?
Christian communities are no help, as they refuse to recognize the problem. Only the Amish are still doing ok, but that is because they have a 1% divorce rate. This is not a coincidence, as they willingly remove themselves from our welfare system, so their women have no recourse but to rely on their men for support.
Believe it. This is what is the problem.
Its true that this generation isn't independent.
It's also true that it's fucking impossible to find a job because everyone wants 8 years of experience and I can't give you that when no one is willing to hire. And it's also true that no one will give out bank loans to someone making 12k a year for a house. America has changed; the median salary has decreased and you can't live out your own life when it isn't financially feasible.
yeah it is as bad as everyone say it is out there, I doubt I'll be able to live through my 60s because they're going to come after our Social security in the future, here comes Smith & Wesson retirement plan for most people
WHATISUTUBE It's pretty easy if you learn to code
Coding? Really? I've heard so many stories of programmers who work 60 hours a week, only get paid for 40, and work for minimum wage. They consider it slave labor.
That's funny because my husband works 6 hours a day and gets paid in the top 10% income bracket in the state. Really I think he only works 1 hour a day though and plays ping pong all day. Also he gets to work from home whenever he wants and has 4 weeks of vacation a year just as an associate.
Sounds like he's not a programmer, he's someone whose only there to fix code when it doesn't work. Like an on-site network administrator, sort of. That's like security jobs, 7 hours of doing nothing, an hour of work, and a paycheck for all 8 hours. That's a REALLY good job.
The senator should come back next week and discuss additional topics. I could listen to his brand of sanity all day.
Looking at modern pop culture will give you a good indication of the adolescent state of our society. When I was a kid, I couldn't imagine men my dad's age playing video games and watching dragon shows all day.
Writers like Neil Postman and Marshall McLuhan sound much more conservative when read today. I know that a few figures on the paleo-con side of the Right like Rod Dreher often touch on techno-progressivism, but I wish that more conservatives would question the prevailing faith in the neutrality of technology.
"Happiness" in the 18th century meant "prosperity." It did not come to mean an emotional state until ca. 1840.
This is among the best interviews I have experienced in any capacity. My hat is off to Senator Sasse. I hope for him -- and his family -- a long, productive and happy tenure in the United States Senate. Buying this book, as I key these words ... .
With two grandsons 13 & 15 of age I can relate to this conversion. My grandkids detachment is often disturbing to my wife & I. Their need to be constantly entertained by; electronic games, toys, cell phones, movies & TV has become an obsession. It has become very difficult to engage our kids in any form of conversation let alone any type of wisdom or teaching moment. The book my be a great read.
Old Hutterian saying:
"Good times don't make
for good religion."
That applies generally in any prospered society.
The deceptive concept of "adolescence" is the sorry invention of one guy. It obscures the passage of child to adult...verrrry corrupting.
we can still get softer, just wait and see
What a thoroughly reasonable sounding man. What is he doing in that pit of vipers called congress?
We need more people like this in congress.
Hopefully helping to make a difference.
bastidface
His colleagues in Congress will ignore him.
He uses words to impart information, rather than to obfuscate. I have no idea how he got elected, but i'm thinking about moving to Nebraska.
Sun bro he is doing exactly nothing just like all of his constituents, so be careful when you put him on a pedestal
Excellent!!!
Today's youth, young man & women, parents, grandparents, they all need to hear this.
Thank You Very Much !!!
Hello from Canada. I happened upon Sasse due to the Kavanaugh hearings. Wow - is he really as terrific as he seems?
I’m a 66 year old who used to devour books - more than one a week even while working full time and maintaining a home and small farm with many animals. Since I got an iPad, all remains the same except for the job and I now have to consciously set time aside to get my face back into a book. I’m not surprised that kids need to be taught that books have astonishing, relevant value.
He home schools. Very wise.
One of the wiser folk to be in Congress. Good interview.
At 4:53 and 5:09, Senator Sasse claims that the concept of "adolescence" was invented "two millenia ago." Doesn't he instead mean "two CENTURIES ago" or *maybe* only "two GENERATIONS ago?"
Wonderful conversation, we need many, many more Benjamin Sasses in the World and certainly in politics
I am a millennial who reads the newspaper still, I work full time and I have been that way since I was 18 (I am 31 now). I pay my own rent, buy my own food, cook and clean, read books and generally my life is very "adult like". I have to say I really don't see what many of the thinkers of our time are seeing. I see many of my generation with successful lives and families. I think the older generations are watching to much television and having a sort of "generational group think". My generation has decided to start walking away from television and though we bring our phones with us we have embraced technology and our society in a way no other generation will understand. Maybe I am a rarity among my generation in your eyes, but I see many my age working hard and living successful lives. Maybe you need to get out of your own circles and see that many of us are working and successful.
I think working in cornfields makes you an adult with good work values and strong people.
I liked this interview from the first few minutes when he talked about 'No one even thought to get a ladder".
I have a friend who is an engineer, and he worked at a company and the IT dept. could not get a networked printer to work (a big lithographic printer that prints 60 inch wide blue prints). My friend rolled the printer over to the computer that needed to print and none of the 'IT' people even thought of that.
Peace? Economic expansion? my ass had to deal with that stupid war, foreclosure, the recession...I'm 25 and the past ten years kicked my butt.
Hopefully we won't have a Venezuela event as well.
A fascinating and thought-provoking conversation. Thank you.
That Christmas tree nightmare fuel story is so on point.
So true!
Maybe a thoughtful, critical thinker would have chopped the tree into pieces and started a fire: Because it's cold and financial problems, hey free fuel!
OHHHHHHHH Peter...have been watching for decades...your grey hair now and of course mine now. Keep up the great work!! Great program! I have hope again for my Grandchildren, thanks to America's President
Turned this on expecting to watch just a few minutes. Glad I watched all the way through though!
I would like to see this talk happen again in q1 2021.
Sen. Ben Sasse seems like the real deal. This country (and world) need more firmly-rooted men like him.
Being Laotian myself, there is a Laotian term "pooh-yia" literally mean adult. The term describes someone who is well ground, carry him or herself with dignity, sincerity and take initiative.
Have children with a plan in mind. Too many children being brought up with no expectations and parents not giving direction. Parents have to realize we're raising them to be adults.
What plan? The opportunities are so scant! Getting worse all the time! Life doesn't give participation trophies! And the actual prizes are held out for someone else's kids
I find it interesting how I always see these conversations that are completely directed towards millennials and their faults, yet no one ever discusses how baby boomers created this current societal debacle we live in now.
I'm 54 and so can say I've been a "grown-up" for 4 years now. I don't feel like it, but when I ask "compared to what?" I feel 90.
very insightful so happy I raised my 6 children to be independent self actualuzing self sufficient human beings
I am 84 years old and love to read and write. Even my friends find it funny.
"We do not want this nation to become soft. Instead, it should be hard and you will have to harden yourselves while you are young." Adolf Hitler addressing the Hitler Youth
Often intelligence leads you the right way. That's an interesting quote, especially if you take into account that Hitler was very high in conscientiousness. The idea of toughening oneself is very related to hard work ethic and goal focus.
Get Jordan Peterson on the show as soon as possible!
I love these conversations. Hoover Institution and Peter, keep up the great work!
21:38 I had a friend that was an Irish Catholic priest. He never pronounce the word that way. He understood the importance. I was in the military he was a military chaplain. Re creation is how he pronounced it and it was so true. It is where we recreate ourselves and transform to be better than we were. L'CHAIM.
Thank you, definitely, definitely, we need more structure, and better role models.
Wow! This was, to me, one of the most inspirational conversations about our society that I have had the pleasure of hearing! First off, it was FULL of poignant and what I felt was challenging questioning that essentially forced Senator Sasse to explain his thought process and reasoning for writing some of the key points this book, not just regurgitate the facts as they were printed. VERY well done!
I say inspirational because I was raised doing a lot of what it is he says we need to be doing more of, interacting with our older generations, help when able without hesitation, and understand that where we are at at this moment in our live, does NOT decide nor dictate where we will be in the future, and that is not a bad or errant position to be in. Having been ridiculed as "old school" or as acting like an "old man" through my teenage years became a point of pride for me and has been a strong foundation on which I stand to this day. I have taught my two sons these same principles and continue to help them to use them in their lives. Thank you.
population has more than quadrupled in my lifetime surely that rapid growth in that short time has to have an effect
Turns out letting in millions of third worlders willing to accept a lower standard of living while subsidized by welfare makes competing on the job market difficult for native workers. Who woulda thunk...
This is everything the Bible teaches. I've been studying the Bible for 5 years and it has so much wisdom and practical advice on how to live a happy life. In fact, it has advice for every problem.
Another "Outstanding Job Award" goes to the Hoover Institution for yet another well done, thoughtful and immersive interview! I would love to see Sen. Sasse running for president after #45! As a side note, have you read "Unfreedom of The Press" by Mark Levin? I would very much enjoy watching an "Uncommon Knowledge" interview with him.
I am a baby boomer and have a millennium son. I have raised him very differently from how I was raised. I was the youngest of 6 kids and we were always "you kids." You kids go outside, you kids go downstairs. Our parents controlled everything and we had no say in anything done or decisions made. In contrast, our son is an only child, and is involved in all major decisions. He is much more mature than I was at his age and capable of making his own decisions and taking care of himself.
The thing he misses is youtube and podcasts are a new type of gutenburg revolution
Great discussion, but this applies to a very narrow segment of the dying middle class. Most children are just getting by, and have little parental input because the parents are using substances or are working constantly. That's just my perception though.
As part of the Millennial generation, I've seen the success of my peers in the workforce when given the opportunities. I can, however, completely agree that the social erosion and rampant consumerism has crippled us as people. Both problems tend towards erasing the best parts of society. Maybe we'll Take Some Sasse for president one day
Yes but if we are to blame millennials, what about the generation that developed the consumer systems we are growing up in. I think blaming the millennials is like blaming the kid for the Xmas gift s/he receives from his parents. What, so the parents did nothing to create the shitty system we are inheriting? This is generational scapegoating.
My point is that we need to recognize our own failings. Each side holds some responsibility in creating the problems. My generation will pass on a lot of good and bad ideas that will shape the next their unique way.
Medio A Roger scruton?
My 93 year old father still repeats the difference between a need and a want.
"It remains difficult for a rich republic to remain virtuous."
It is easier to put a camel through the eye of a needle than to enter the gates of heaven.
Surprised to see so many comments disparaging of the conversation. I didn't find Sen. Sass's comments out of line at all or even all that harsh towards millennials. The conversation seems to be less focused on calling millennials lazy and more on developing new methods of raising children in an interconnected, instant gratification and consumer world. It's indisputable that these factors create a moral hazard. I think Sass made some excellent points and this is coming from a 20 year old millennial. I'd much prefer this to simply ignoring this topic all together or a Bernie Sanders type that drones endlessly about how every problem in your life is the result of someone else. Really was a solid interview & I enjoyed watching.
Lots more informative and interesting than I expected
Brilliant conversation about fundamental observations. This is inspiring for someone that used to believe that he could stand by an let our culture decline- 'it served us right', which many can recognise as a malady from the left of politics and culture. But I've matured. 'America is premised on a few ideas. One is universal human dignity.' I couldn't agree more. And that dignity, equal to the principle of 'freedom', is the right to bodily sovereignty, bodily autonomy. Neither the government nor any individual- even one's parents- have a right to trespass the only material 'home' we have secure for our lifetime on earth- our bodies. Americans violate that intimate right daily with our sons- often before we leave the hospital- and lie to them later by calling it 'circumcision'. We have to recover this principle of sovereignty, of freedom once again which our Founding Fathers would have recognised instantly. We are already on that road to recovering this- we currently are experiencing a shift where the youngest generation of males are now approaching a majority in their peer group who have been left as they were born, intact, as our founding forebearers were. There is redemption- and Americans have the strength of character to examine and change what needs be.