in summary we are leaving a Lance Armstrong legacy. We reward cheats and penalise those trying to be honest. We demonise what is good and say we should not judge but loathe those who worked hard and made this nation such a great place to live. We silence and demonise critics (like Armstrong did) and introduce laws that prevent truth telling. We are dumb enough to think more education will change character when history shows more education has puffed people up rather than led to them to the belief that they know little. We have prophets making millions who said the East Coast of Australia would see little rain again and that Europe would not see snow again. Instead of holding to account the 'educated ' champion more idiotic predictions and claim science backs them.

In essence the legacy our generation leaves is one of personal rites no matter how much damage to society, truth being muzzled because it offends. An atheist woman living in sin in the lodge summarises it well. Oops soon you will be gaoled for saying so. The Scriptures very accurately describes where our legacy will end.

Jay of Melbourne>> I don't, I'll raise my kids and then sooner or later die, what they and their successors do is of no interest to me<<

You’re a hard man Jay.

OSW, primates are born defenseless and need nurturing in a social environment before they reach full potential. Then we cling to the interaction of others to fill our lives. The “group” was intrinsic to our survival.

It began with family groups, then clans or tribes, later states and nations. The wellbeing and future of that grouping of people was a prime consideration of the ruling class. If the people were to be exploited, they will be exploited by their own kind. When foreigners wanted to exploit them the government went to war.

The “Global Village” has dragged away national self preservation…it is almost a PC sin to consider your own first, whether its blood or brothers in arms. Our governments have signed away our rights and our futures to a global concept of humanity where authority has been taken from us as, parents, as a state, and as a nation.

We cannot plan a future for our children because of the rights we signed away. We can’t manufacture for our domestic market because the tariffs that protected us from cheap imports is gone. Nothing else matters except that fact. Bring back protectionism and bring back a future for our children that does not include McDonalds as a major employer of our youth.

o sung wu, "Just what sort of legacy will we be leaving, for the many generations to come?"

You are becoming despondent from taking notice of the sensationalist pap in the media.

Editors believe that good news does not sell an audience. Their accountants believe that cheap pap churned out by hacks is the way, and no-one wants those deep articles anyway.

Try a month without papers, no radio and absolutely no idiot box. Take picnics in the park with friends and trips to see nature and the works of man. Revel in the mundane, take times to breathe and observe with a clear head.

Honestly now, how long is it since you could smell the ocean and were mesmerised by the rhythmic drum of surf?

It is natural for us as we grow older to review our lives and to try to take some meaning from our experiences and life. But concentrating on the negative will unbalance us. It is plain wrong.

Enjoy.

An afterthought, there should be articles pitched towards seniors. Now that many are realising that "Autumn Years" is merely another misleading stereotype dreamed up by advertising executives.

My parents lost their country, their property,
their social status,
and a great deal of their family members
many of whom were sent to Siberia, others were
tortured to death. They came to Australia
after World War II as Displaced Persons - part of the
Baltic Wave of Refugees. They arrived with nothing were forced
to work for two years wherever the government sent them, and
worked hard. Their qualifications were not recognised.
So they ended up with factory jobs. Dad at a rubber factory
(he died of a massive coronary at the age of 52), mum in a
spinning mill. Through their hard work they bought their
own house in the western suburbs of Sydney.

My father was a firm believer in education
because he saw that this was the only way to get ahead in
this country. The war had taught him that material things
you can lose, but what's in your head - stays.

I've worked full time all of my life, and raised a family
while doing so. I've taught my children to be self-reliant.
That is the way I was brought up.

I believe in this country and am proud to call myself an
Australian. I also believe that we live in the best
country in the world - and if we don't like something -
then it's up to us to do something about it - whinging
achieves nothing - and as I tell my children - if you see
something that needs fixing - don't complain - find a
solution.

I shall pass onto my children - what my parents passed onto
me.

Lexi, "They arrived with nothing were forced
to work for two years wherever the government sent them, and
worked hard. .....Through their hard work they bought their
own house in the western suburbs of Sydney"

The years after WW2 were extremely difficult for everyone, not migrants alone. While much has been written on migrants there is very little available on the lot of the existing Australian population. But their lives were impoverished and made more harsh by the loss of so many loved ones and the thousands who returned injured. Australia had little in the way of the infrastructure and amenities, such as transport and communication, or even the Arts, prior to WW2. It was still recovering from the huge losses of WW1 and then was sucked very dry by the WW2 commitments.

Some Aussie seniors might look back with glasses rose-tinged by sentimentality and remorse for lost youth, but they were very hard days indeed and particularly so in the country and on the fringes of country towns.

It was not unusual for children to miss meals and have bread with the thinnest smear of dripping for a meal. Jam was about it for extra, when available. No shoes, one cotton Windcheater for winter and an off-cut of canvas and an ex-military blanket to keep some of the chill at bay in bed. Bones from the butcher were extended with lots of barley for stews.

History is being re-written every day to suit the victim industry, while the truth of the lives of ordinary Australians is dying unrecorded with grandparents.

Dear onthebeach,

Times were hard for everyone - but that wasn't the point that
I was trying to make. This thread is about the sort of
legacy that we want to leave for our children. And the
contribution that as citizens we can make to this country
that my parents passed onto me. And, I, to my children.

Afterall on arrival in this
country my parents joined other migrants in the rebuilding of
Australia's capital structures that were to serve the nation
for many decades to come. The same migrants could have
accomplished a great deal more, if the Australian
authorities had made full use of their skills and knowledge
instead of treating them all as unskilled labour.
Nevertheless, their economic contribution was significant
at a time when Australia needed it most.