Swift & Poundstone Lead Nation's Decline – “Nice Things” Now Just An Excuse For Waste!

The Crumbling of Civilization, One Broken Trinket at a Time

Folks, let’s talk about a national epidemic. No, not inflation, though Lord knows that’s a problem. I’m talking about carelessness. A lack of respect for property, for decency, for the very fabric of a well-ordered society. It all boils down to one simple phrase, a lament I’ve been hearing more and more these days: “This is why we can’t have nice things.”

Now, some might dismiss this as a silly saying, a bit of internet chatter. But I tell you, there's a deep well of truth to it. This isn’t about chipped teacups, it’s about a creeping disregard for value. For generations, we built this nation on hard work, on saving, on taking care of what we earned. My grandfather, a man who survived the Depression, fixed things. He didn’t replace them! A broken chair leg got a new dowel. A ripped seam got stitched. It was a matter of pride, of responsibility.

But look around you! Everything is disposable. Everything is expected. And when something inevitably breaks, there’s no effort to repair it, just a shrug and a demand for a new one. It’s a symptom, I tell you, a symptom of a larger malaise.

I was reading the other day about a comedian, a Paula Poundstone, apparently she was using this phrase back in the eighties and nineties. Interesting. But the sentiment is old. Turns out folks have been saying things like this for over a century, lamenting broken vases and carelessly ruined possessions. It’s not a new problem, just a worsening one. There was even mention of a memoir from 1984, a mother choosing children over possessions. Fine, I understand family comes first, but shouldn't we also teach those children to respect what they have?

And now, we have this pop singer, Taylor Swift, putting this phrase into a song. A song! Popularizing this acceptance of destruction. It’s a sad state of affairs when a cultural icon normalizes the very behavior that is eroding our values.

This isn’t just about material possessions, either. It extends to responsibility, to accountability. If we can’t be trusted to care for a simple object, what can we be trusted with? Our freedoms? Our nation’s future?

I'm not suggesting we live in monastic austerity, mind you. But a little respect, a little care, a little effort to maintain what we have… it goes a long way. Let's bring back the values of our forefathers, the values of thrift and responsibility. Let’s stop accepting destruction as the norm. Maybe, just maybe, then we can actually have nice things. And, more importantly, deserve them.