We just had the pleasure of having a couple of out-of-town friends stay with us and had some interesting conversations during their visit.  We all agreed that things just ain’t the way they used to be.  No surprise there, of course.

As we talked about different topics, we kept saying, “when did this become acceptable?”

For example, none of us could understand when, how or why women covered with tattoos became the norm.  We had just been at a water park and couldn’t believe how many women (let’s not talk about the men) had tattoos.  I said I could understand tattoos on servicemen.  Our visiting friend, who had been in the Navy, never got one.  We tried to figure out in what decade tattoos became acceptable for women and none of us could figure it out.  We all agreed that we’ve never yet seen one tattoo on a woman that we would consider art or beautiful.

Aside from tattoos, so many things, that were once unacceptable in society, have now become ordinary and no longer eye-popping or embarrassing.

Kobe Bryant, even after his criminal and civil lawsuit fiasco in Colorado a few years back, continues to make mucho bucks as a basketball player and the darling of LA sports fans.  (If I were Empress of the World, he would’ve been booted off the team and shamed into oblivion.)  Instead, his ugly mug used to be the face people saw on the “Welcome to Los Angeles” billboard at LAX.  It always made me want to take the up escalator back to the gate and go home.

There was a time when we used to count the months after someone got married and the time they gave birth to see if the requisite nine months had passed.  Now, out-of-wedlock births are on the rise.  It seems the little ditty, “first comes love, then comes marriage, then comes Mary with the baby carriage” was forgotten.  Now Mary is walking down the street with the baby carriage without marriage and usually without the love part.  Another one of our friends referred to these children as merely “souvenirs.”

Straight people don’t want to get married; gay people want to get married.

Woody Allen continues to be the darling of Hollywood with celebrities banging down his door to star in one of his films.  At least his own son thinks he’s a dirt-bag.  Well, maybe he didn’t use those words but his son did make the following comment about Father’s Day.  “Happy father’s day — or as they call it in my family, happy brother-in-law’s day.”

Convicted child rapist, Roman Polanski, who I’ve written about in the past, is still able to make films and continues to be lauded by Hollywood and was actually given the Best Director award for The Pianist.  Big name stars like Jodi Foster have no problem starring in his movies.  How can that be?

So, now society thinks nothing about the future of  illegitimate children, continues to pay big bucks to see despicable sports figures do their thing ignoring their disgraceful behavior and has no problem with child rapists and those that marry their stepdaughters.  And you really wonder why my head is spinning?

Where we once followed our own paths attempting to achieve the American Dream by going to school, working hard, getting married, having children, providing for our families, buying our first home and asking nothing from the government, we now have millions of people receiving some type of government assistance.

Far too many people are unwilling to do what’s necessary to make it on their own.  Our leaders would rather maintain their power by doling out taxpayer money to just about anyone with their hand out.  We now vilify people those who have “made it” on their own, by hard work and persistence.  These are the qualities of the people who made our Nation the best in the world, rugged individualism and personal responsibility.

So, what was once unacceptable behavior has become the norm.  What was once the behavior that was expected of each and every young person has now become a thing of the past.

I don’t get it, but if you do, God bless you.