Fugate - Chapter 2

Chapter 2: History's Effect on the American Family

Chapter 2 is primarily a continuation of the introduction in Chapter 1. Fugate concentrates on the period after WWII until the present. He breaks the generations into 4 major groupings and then compares the generalized ideologies of each of them. Fugate has, in his own mind at least, cataloged the entire problem, and provides only the accusation and anecdotal evidence of the nosedive America has taken.

Collapse!

The G.I. and “Silent Generation” are the two generations that Fugate pins the downfall on. These Generations were those born prior to 1945 and that lived through/survived WWI, the Great Depression, and WWII. The key outward characteristics were toughness and frugalness. Yet they also harbored insecurity about their future. According to Fugate, their own trials caused these generations to want to,

“ensure that their children would never have to experience war and deprivation. These survivors supported almost any politicians promise to eliminate the risks and dangers from life. They allowed the establishment of a world government(UN)
and the implementation of Roosevelt's master plan to socialize America.”...”They threw themselves into hard work and protected their children from any hardships... they did not stand up against the evils in society. They were silent about our government's increasing move toward socialism... They quietly
allowed the public schools to move away from educational basics, the Church to move away from teaching the Bible, and the media to move away from any common decency.”

Fugate charges that the 1950's began the decades of totally missing fathers. Men became so engrossed in their work and providing for their families, that they were never at home, and had no time for child training, camping, sporting events, school activities, Church, or anything else with their children. Instead they showered their kids with prosperity, seemingly unaware of the role hardship had played in forging their own characters. The children of the 1940's and 1950's became the young adults of the 1960's and 1970's. They were the kids abandoned by their fathers and their working mothers. They grew up hating materialism. Starved for family and “belonging”, they accepted few Biblical standards for right and wrong and embraced the immoral sexual and drug revolutions. They became known as the “Me” generation.

Fugate categorizes Gen X as essentially,

“The latchkey kids of the 1970's that became adults in the 1980's with little idea whom they were or what they were supposed to do... Their understanding of reality was shaped by their peers and the ever-present media... [they] had been
brainwashed into accepting the lie of evolution... Lacking self-discipline, they expected immediate results for anything they endeavored. And of course they expected the government to pay all of their bills as Mom and Dad had always done.”

It seems that the jury is still out on the Millenial Generation (born 1982-2000). Though Fugate purports that they, “are said to be disrespectful, self-centered, materialistic, and technologically savvy. They have had virtually no positive role models.”

The Cat's Comments:

Fugate is sixty something. This makes him one of the Boomers, probably born in the early 1940's. I understand his premise in this chapter, essentially, that the sins of the father are visited on the sons. Since I am none of the earliest generations he speaks about (G.I. and Silent), I can only look at those men from that generation that I knew.

I look at my Grandfather McLain, part of the G.I. Generation. I knew him as a child and also as a young man, though only within the context of the grandfather-grandson relationship. The stories I heard about him and my own experience suggest that Fugate is right on the money about this generation. Specifically, that this generation was “moral, God-fearing, industrious, financially frugal, self-reliant, and authoritarian in child training.” I remember the stories of how he would pick up pieces of old barbed wire, because “he might need it someday”, or how he would give a nickel to his daughters so they could go to the Saturday matinee and tell them “not to spend it all in one place”. I have also heard that he had multiple unrelated business ventures going at one time, so that if one was experiencing a slump, it wouldn't wipe him out. I also remember that he rarely showed up at a grandkid's house without some new toy or puzzle for them. Truthfully, I believe Fugate did hit the nail on the head with this generation.

My Dad would be classified as part of the Silent Generation. Fugate says characteristically, they are strong but silent, they don't make waves, independent, self-sufficient, and private. He implies, though never states, that they were living under the shadow of the previous generation. Most of this generation knew the sacrifices that the earlier generation had made. But this generation was too young to fight in WWII, so they had no claim to glory in their own minds. As a generation, they were always the kids of the “Greatest Generation Ever”. They had nothing to compare, so they were silent. Looking at my Dad, I tend to agree. While I was being raised, I remember several instances where rather than “make waves”, he kept his mouth shut and just went around obstacles. The effort to grow his estate shows the self-sufficiency and independence inherent in his generation. I admire that independence and self-sufficiency.

Though technically I'm a Boomer, I self-identify more with the GenXers. When I became an adult, I had very little idea who I was or what I was supposed to do. According to Fugate, I lack self-discipline(This is true) and expect immediate results for everything I do(This is also true). Even to this day, I wonder what in the world I'm supposed to do with myself and how I really fit into God's plan. My biggest fear is that I will never accomplish anything because I don't have the self-discipline to stick out a long arduous journey where the results aren't readily apparent.

I started out expecting to slam Fugate for this chapter of “blaming the fathers”. I still think that he is blaming prior generations. I reject his blame game. I will set the blame squarely where it belongs. I am a man and I am accountable for myself and my actions. I will not blame prior generations. I can wish that they had trained me better in my duties and taught me self-discipline, but ultimately, I must be responsible - even for my own training. I feel that this is where I am headed. As I stated in the first post , I am seeking more practical insight into who God intends me to be as a man and what He intends for me to do as the man I am.

Read more!

Collapse!