Peggy and I were blessed to be raised by parents of the Greatest Generation. They were a no-nonsense and hard-working generation where excuses did not exist. When it came to disciplining us, they believed in tough love.

They taught us to respect the rights of our fellow man, and they truly lived by the slogan: “Love God, family and country.”

Mom and Dad also taught us to enjoy life and not to take ourselves too seriously. If we made a stupid mistake and others laughed, they said laugh with them instead of being offended. Life’s too short to lack a sense of humor.

Well, folks, those days are long gone. Let’s take a look at the not-so-good changes in our society.

The United States

of the Excuses

When we messed up, our parents would not allow us to blame others. Instead, we had to own up to our mistakes growing up. I witnessed it first-hand when my older brother, Floyd, was in high school.

As a junior, one night Floyd came home and started complaining about how bad the coaches treated him at wrestling practice. Mom said nothing as she was preparing the evening meal and Dad bluntly stated, “If you can’t take it, Floyd, then quit.”

What was the result of that father-son interaction? Of course, Floyd didn’t quit, which was a wise decision. He ended the season by winning a state championship in the mat sport. Yes, Floyd and I came to realize that complaints and excuses were not acceptable in our house.

As a teacher, I informed my students if any of them had any complaints about my classroom discipline policies, they could discuss their concerns with my secretary, Ms. Waite. I simply told them to go to Helen Waite.

Lessons on complaining and excuse-making begin at home. Today, far too many parents are siding with their child when they make excuses for being punished by their teacher or coach.

Such parents also are known to bad mouth the teacher or coach in front of their child. Thus, their boy or girl behaves even worse in the classroom and on the field of play, knowing their parents will defend them.

Instead of finding out from the teacher or coach what really happened, they are promoting their offspring’s misbehavior in school which will continue to get worse throughout life.

I had a sign in my classroom that to this very day many of my former students remember quite well. It stated, “Excuses are like sewers. Every street has one and they all stink.”

Yes, we have become the United States of the Excuses.

The United States

of the Offended

Don’t you miss the old comedy sitcoms? It was a time when we could laugh at ourselves. The comedians were funny and entertaining, and the jokes were not politically motivated. But enough said about comedy, a topic I discussed in a previous column.

I love to tell jokes. Humor relieves the tension in this stressful society. There’s an old saying, “He who laughs, lasts.”

As a retired reading specialist, I heard a joke and realized it was a play on words. I thought it was really cute. There was nothing derogatory or hurtful about it. In fact, word-play was a technique I used in my developmental reading classes to promote student interest.

Well, I told this joke to one person and was dismayed that the individual was offended. The person totally missed the “word-play” point of the joke, completely twisting it around to mean something negative and entirely different from its original intent.

I apologized and walked away disheartened by the experience. Since then, I have seen to it that my jokes could, in no way, be misinterpreted.

Near the end of my 40-year tenure as an educator, I was standing outside my classroom during a change in classes. The principal, an outstanding and dedicated educator, approached me with the following situation:

The principal received a phone call from a parent who was offended by my use of words.

My superior told me, “Bill, you can’t say ‘shut up’ anymore in your classroom. I had a complaint from one of your students’ parents.”

I obediently promised not to use that expression in my classes anymore. I certainly did not want to offend any of my students or their parents.

While we were still conversing outside the classroom, the bell rang to start my reading class and some of my students continued to talk. I immediately looked in the classroom and shouted — “Shut Down!”

My astute principal, who also had a wonderful sense of humor, looked at me, smiled and shook her head before walking down the hall.

Unfortunately, it’s sad to say that we have become the United States of the Excuses and Offended.

As for me, I make no excuses. I’ll most certainly continue to laugh at those who are offended by trivial matters.

(Welker, EdD, is a freelance op-ed columnist who enjoys writing articles on sports, education and any topic that piques his interest. He can be contacted by e-mail at mattalkwv@hotmail.com.)