Sunday, July 26, 2009

Has anyone written this book?...

If someone provided me with a good researcher, I might undertake to write a book called something like "A Nation of Cowards: Raising Our Children in Fear". It would compare how Americans addressed risk fifty years ago with how we do it today. Of course, research might find some exceptions to the rule -- were we more germ-phobic in the late 1950's than we are today? On the whole, though, I expect one could document that my now-middle-aged generation was expected to accept many more everyday risks without a second thought, and society as a whole was more prepared to undertake risky endeavors (e.g. going to the moon).

But maybe there are several books like this out there already. Names, anyone?

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I recommend writing it even if there are 1,000 books on or near the same topic. Your prospective is as worthy (if not more) than anyone else.

I agree that individual responsibility for life skills have eroded to It's-not-my-responsibility philosophy. And worse... embraced too much by our society.