xanderj

That's completely true, but what I was trying to say was that there is now a generation that can't deal with day-to-day personal stress. The Israel Center for the Treatment of Psychotrauma has a study that states, "Trauma is a sudden event that dramatically explodes into our daily life and changes the way in which we perceive the world. A traumatic event is often life threatening. Examples of traumatic events include terror attacks, the illness of a close family member, or a motor vehicle accident. In contrast, stress is a reaction to less dramatic and often daily events such that are perceived as threatening such as a job interview, deadlines, or worries related to the security situation."
You are correct in saying that I shouldn't compare my experiences with those of these kids, I keep calling them kids but they are all 18 or 19, because they are two separate things.
I'm not sure if it is the "Kinder Gentler" ideology that the Army has adopted or the basic fundamentals of child raising in the US have completely changed, these kids don't have the basic level coping skills that people our age have, and our levels are much lower than those of our parents and grandparents.

the original football, only Americans would be arrogant enough to make up their own game and give it the same name as the sport the rest of the world plays. We do have a rugby team coached by an Aussie, but the Brits didn't deem them good enough to play against.

Get used to it buddy, it aint going anywhere anytimes soon. Just gets a little better, a little at a time. You'll notice little kids are usually really open to it, and curious, alot more than adults. I'll be standing in line someplace and 5 year olds will creep up and stare and smile. Its the always the scared parents that come grab them and tell them not to stare at the scary man. The world is a strange place. Welcome to Jersey. I spent a little time in Cork myself. Nice people there.