"Unreasonable expectation one; a younger generation can expect to have it better than their parent's generation."

That's not the expectation, nor the question.

The question is whether a younger generation can even have a life comparable to their parents'.

"Unreasonable expectation number two; Everyone can have their own personal "Kingdom"."

Depends on how you define "Kingdom". If you mean a reasonably comfortable life, what's the problem?

"Both are unreasonable because a growing population dwindling a finite amount of resources make them so."

Why does the population have to grow? Why can't it be stabilized at a sustainable level?

Back in the '50s it was common for middle class people to have lots of kids (by today's standards). That proved to be unsustainable and has mostly been abandoned.

But it's not finite resources that are the big problem in the USA.

What we're seeing is:

- Employers who demand more from workers but pay less for it in wages, benefits, and security. This is mainly because the government allows it and they no longer fear unions

- Good jobs being outsourced to cheap labor in other countries.

- Short-term profits trumping long-term stability.

- Lack of programs/regulations/leadership/investment to build a sustainable modern society that is more, not less, independent.

- Too much emphasis on making nonessentials inexpensive while too little emphasis on making essentials inexpensive. Everyone can have a computer, but having a house - or health care - is another matter.

- The selling out of the working classes by the Big Lie that it's *their* fault if they cannot win a rigged game.

All of these problems can be fixed.

NO, you cannot appoint someone - anyone - as guardian without telling them *before* you do it. (Probably not legal anyway).

YES, it would be very, very wrong to do so if it's legal.

What you have to do is to simply ask them in a way that makes it clear you will accept "I'd rather not" without any strain on the relationship. (Most people capable of doing it would be honored to have been considered). Don't expect an answer right away and make sure they understand that saying yes is not a permanent commitment if things change.

"What's underneath this hatred of creationism? Fear? of what?"

The "hatred" is about teaching a particular, literal interpretation of a story in a Book as a scientific fact, even though it doesn't meet any of the criteria for science.

The "fear" is about the corruption of both science and religion.

Knowingly teaching a lie as the truth will corrupt the teacher (LW's friend), too, since he *knows* it's not a scientific fact.

that such a service would exist.

First off, parents are bombarded with advice on what is best for the bundle of joy, so why not hire help to sort it all out? (One common piece of advice is "rest up before baby comes because you won't have much time afterwards")

Second, a lot of first-time parents today are older, which means gramma-grampa are older too - often with outdated information. (When my first little Southgate was on the way, Gramma S. offered me the crib *I* used.)

Plus they may be many miles away, dead, or incapacitated. Siblings and cousins may be far away or overwhelmed with their own lives. Today a lot of folks don't have lots of closeby relatives who don't work outside the home.

Third, with the lack of paid family leave and other family-unfriendly work situations in the USA, it's common for parents to work as long as possible before baby comes, so that the limited off-time can be spent afterwards.

Fourth, and what folks may be reacting to, is increased expectations/diminished experience. A baby shower used to be a pretty informal thing, held mostly to support the new mom and help with the costs, rather than a major social event. Caring for a newborn was something a lot of folks (particularly Oldest Daughters) had already experienced before they had their own, because families and extended families were bigger and relatives not so distant.

All changed now.