I don’t know. Is anyone really “soft�
This generation has been carrying a bigger military burden than any since the WWII generation, and they’ve done a remarkable job of it. The men and women of today are still made of muscle and bone and tendons; they can still pull a trigger and fight as well as any before them.
As for thrill-seeking, there’s more than that going on than ever before. I live in a summer vacation area, and the place is overrun with speedboats and partiers and scuba divers. I saw my first flyboarder hovering over the water at a lake way back in the woods. And it’s fine with me. In another post, I compared the rap era of today to the disco era and the go-go 80s. People seem to have a bit more disposable cash right now, there are no big threats on the immediate horizon, so it’s okay to party a bit. State parks are overrun; people are traveling to every remote corner of the earth to check out every kind of possible novelty.
As for “where have all the cowboys goneâ€: That was a line from “The Sopranos.†Tony Soprano was lamenting the loss of the old values: Once upon a time men were like Gary Cooper, strong and silent cowboys; today they’re all pussies lining up for therapy.
But that’s just a personal choice. After all, Tony Soprano was in therapy when he said that. He was complaining about his own weakness, not that of his generation.
Personally, I have guns. When I mention that I have guns, anti-gun zealots ask me why. I answer, “Because I can.†If and when the anti-gun zealots outlaw guns, then I’ll hand them over. (I’m not a “cold dead fingers†zealot myself; I’ll obey the law.) But until then, I think it’s enough to just say, “Because I can†and leave it at that. The rest of it is just chatter.
I respect the right of PC folks to pound the pulpit; they have a case to make, and they should have forums where they can thrash out the rules among themselves and for the general public. And when an issue is important (equal rights under the law, fairness in the workplace) or if I just want to be a team player, then I’ll work with them.
But still, it’s a voluntary thing. It’s like the guns. Until they can actually pass a law, most of it is just chatter. If I honestly disagree with the PC folks, I can just say “Because I can†and walk away.
In other words, being a cowboy is an individual choice. You can spend your time fretting about the PC folks and arguing with them on message boards, or you can grab your gun and go out hunting; or you can go skydiving or scuba diving or bungee jumping; or you can fly to Arizona and take a horse into the Grand Canyon, if you really want to be a cowboy. You can do pretty much whatever you want.