Sanctimonium

I heard about this case on the BBC Newspod podcast yesterday afternoon and it just seemed like so much American-style Christianity. Sanctimonious, full of hubris, and an almost sociopathic belief in the rightness of only one opinion. But it seems that while the case is being brought forward as a human-rights issue, the real reason is something more sinister.

According to research carried out by the Ministry of Truth blog, Lydia Playfoot's family is involved in a business franchise promoting the sale of these purity rings and it could be imagined that they are more worried about losing their client base than about any real religious reason.

Have your own beliefs if you want to, but don't try and use religion in order to sell what amounts to something Elizabeth Duke wouldn't even stock.

Send them down the mines

In a Grumpy Old Man moment, I previously remarked the young people today seem to have too much self-esteem leading to an inflated sense of entitlement and general rudeness. While I had nothing to back up my opinion it turns out that my rant was at least close to the truth.

An extensive study of 16,475 college students from the United States has revealed narcissism has risen steadily among that population since 1982 due to the last couple of decades' obsession with promoting self-esteem.

Is it my turn to call for national service to be reintroduced?

The study is due to be published in April and, of course, the author has a blog. Ironically the blog is hosted on Livejournal - home of the narcissistic, illiterate, and rude youth she highlights.

The Yoof of Today

Every year the mindset list looks at the world through the eyes of the current set of entrants to Universities. This year, those young minds would have grown up never knowing the Soviet Union, always with a mouse in their hands, and thinking that Google has always been a verb.

It doesn't seem to mention that generation's general lack of social graces and entitlement complex though. What that lot need is less self-esteem, not more.

[via Metafilter.]