Great Britain?

I've been thinking about the way this country is going quite a lot lately and I've come to the conclusion that as a nation we're spoilt.

Poverty is a choice in this country. Most people define poverty as the inability to feed their kids healthy food AND buy them expensive trainers. (Many opting for the latter when pushed to choose)

Kids are mugging, stabbing and shooting other kids for white goods and street cred.

Areas of urban Britain are starting to resemble US-style Ghettos, not out of depravation but rather emulation.

We define the quality of clothing not by the fabric or stitching quality but by the label written on it.

We're more likely to know what Jade Goody has been doing in the last week than our next door neighbour. (Although in my case the bloke next door is a builder constantly renovating his house!)

It wasn't always like this. I've been watching a show on Channel 4 called 'It Never Did Me Any Harm'. The parents give their children the same kind of upbringing that they had in the 1970s (minus the leather belt for bad behaviour) instead of the comparatively luxurious upbringings that their children get from them now. The changes you see in the kids' behaviour is astonishing.

I didn't have as harsh an upbringing as the people on the show. Possibly because I grew up in the 1980s by which time toilets had moved indoors. But I still did a lot more (somewhat reluctantly) to help my parents than the kids in the TV show.
The main difference though was respect. Even when I became (decidedly) argumentative with my parents during my teenage years, I never spoke to them or any other adult in the disrespectful manner that is now commonplace amongst children... Although in all fairness other kids my age did.

It isn't necessarily a case of solidarity through adversity. You just need to appreciate what you have and unfortunately most people don't, unless you take it away from them.

I watched 'Comic Relief' on Friday night. It wasn't so long ago that I avoided all overseas charities as I felt we should sort out our own country first. But now I've pretty much done a 180.
The causes they were championing for Africa were far more worthwhile than the ones here in the UK.
An example they gave for the UK domestic violence causes was a 'lifeline' mobile phone for a women who's partner had cut all the phone lines in their house.
Not being funny but if cutting the phone lines isn't a sign to pack up and leave then I don't know what is.
Wherever you go to escape, you'll always be fed, you'll be able to wash yourself and use a plumbed toilet and you're children will be able to go to a school. They won't die of a preventable disease and the welfare state will get you back on your feet. Many would argue that the welfare state would push you along on a trolley until your youngest child is 16.

I'd rather spend money building schools for kids in Africa that don't have them but desperately want them than for kids in Britain that have them and don't want them / take them for granted.

I'm not saying every kid is rotten and I'm not saying that we all have too much money but if we don't address the serious social issues that are getting worse by the day then this country will go to rot.

Unfortunately the government doesn't seem to realise that poverty doesn't exist here anymore and so do everything they can to help 'disadvantaged backgrounds' as they think Britain still has the same social model it had in the 1970s.

If you do too much for someone, where's the incentive for them to do anything for themselves?