What Ke$ha, kids, and Congress have in common

>>> aside from the desire to one day meet donny wallberg, i was predominantly motivated by one emotion, fear. whether it was thanks to my overprotective parents, the domineering catholic school nuns, or every special "different strokes" episode, i was afraid of everything. if i got bad grades, i'd end up homeless. if i crossed the street i would end up mutilated in an alley. if i stayed out too late i'd fall in a well. in any scenario in which i did the wrong thing, the result in my head was always the same thing, homeless, dead, stuck in a well. that overwhelming sense of fear was actually a pretty healthy thing. it trained me to think about consequences. if only to avoid ending up homeless, dead, or stuck in a well. but kids these days don't seem to have the same hangups. exhibit a, sexting. in fact, kids today think they're pretty awesome. a new study at the american freshman survey find there's been a dramatic rise over the last four decades in the number of teenagers who describe themselves as being above average in areas like academics, drive, and self-confidence. the study found by many different measurements kid today as not as awesome as they used to be. if you don't believe me, just go a kesha concert. it's not just parents boosting their egos, lowering their standards, it's also our political culture. when fail to pay our debts, balance or budget, is it any wonder kids these days have a warped sense of accountability and a delusional view of reality? kids don't fear consequences because there are none. i'm not the only one that's noticed. the fear that's missing in today's youth is also missing in congress. it's a bipartisan problem. if the fiscal cliff negotiations proved anything, it's that like high schoolers, our elected leaders are worried more about popularity than actually accomplishing something. we ask only are they conservative enough? are they liberal enough? well, that's the way teenagers evaluate one another? is it she praut enough? is he cool enough? who cares if she's failing math or he's dealing drugs after school? voters need only be reminded that kids today will be running the country tomorrow. let's teach them all a valuable lesson by finally hold our representatives to higher standards. because the message to kids and congress is the same, you aren't special just for existing. that does