its the phrase that one should never utter until the age of about 60 or over when an "age" of sorts has actually passed. it is the mantra of the older generation, those convinced that the world was a better place when they were young. well they didn't have ipods but for the most part they are probably right.

china girl and i have been saying this to each other quite a few times recently and today at work was a prime example of how "back in my day...." kids respected their elders. yes i know...my day was only really a few years back. apparenlty a lot has changed though. i ended up getting into an arguement with one of my staff at the cafe today over how long she was allowed to take for her break. after telling her to take 15 she duely informed me, her manager, that in fact she would be taking 30. by law she is of course entitled to 30mins and had we not been so busy i would have given it to her. anyone that has every worked in hospitality knows that if there is a rush very often you just don't get a break. thats life. deal with it or you are in the wrong industry. anyway, a little arguement ensued in which she was rather rude. i could't beleive it. not only am i older than her, i am in a higher position. when i talked to her about it later she just stood there smirking like it was a big joke.

the teachers at my sisters school are treated very rudely by students who have made several cry and subjected others to some minor pranks. on a more daily basis they receive no respect and bad behaviour is more common. it would seem that respecting your elders is no loner en vogue. certainly we should not long for the days where children were "seen and not heard" and the cliche of "older and wiser" held the words of adults to be unquestionable. it is definatly a good thing that youth now have a strong voice and are not afraid to call people on their decisions or mistakes. has it gone too far though? perhaps there are times when adults or those in authority are not correct but when age and experience should grant them a certain amount of respect. perhaps youth need to learn that thinking you are right is not everything, that sometimes a bit of old world curtesty and respect would not go amis.