I always find these rants about "the younger generation has no respect,
motivation, etc." funny in that the younger generation only has these
issues while they are still young.  Then the younger generation grows
up and the cycle repeats.

Although I'll give you that young people today live in a very different
world that we did even 20 years ago, and that instant gratification is
rampant, and that public education is not at all what it used to be,
yet I would argue that in many ways the young people of the 1920's or
the 1960's are not that different from the young people of today.

And yes, there was a time in America when no home was complete without
a piano, player or otherwise.  But today, no home is complete without
a big screen TV and DVD player.  The piano was a matter of style and
the current form of mainstream entertainment of the time (that is,
until radio came along).  Just because there was a piano in the house
didn't necessarily mean that the young people learned to play it or
even had an interest in learning.  In many households only one person,
often one of the parents, was the one who played the piano.

I find it ironic that the lack of interest in the player piano is used
as an example of the younger generation having no motivation to apply
themselves.  The reason the player pianos sold so well in the 1920's is
that most people, especially the younger generation of the time, didn't
want to take the time and put in the effort to learn to play piano.

And isn't the player piano a form of instant gratification?  I mean,
you put in a roll and the person "playing" the piano instantly has
music, without any real effort or skill.  That's one of the reasons
I bought my player -- I'm realistic, I know I will never learn to play
but I do like my player.  This is not laziness or lack of motivation in
the part of the younger generation, it's human nature.  Who wants to
work hard when there is an easier way?

Although today's younger generation faces different challenges that
none of us could have ever dreamed of 20 or more years ago, if the
interest is there, for a lot of younger people the motivation will
follow.  Oddly enough, from the 1920's to the 1960's, to even today,
a lot of the younger generation people do actually find things to be
passionate about.  They put in the time and effort to learn and improve
themselves and now these are the people running our world.  I mean we
still have doctors, teachers, captains of industry, and people to run
for president.  And of course we still have people who make very little
of their lives and just live day to day and eventually die.  From these
perspectives, very little has changed.

However, the kind of original thinking mentioned that it takes to
repair a player, and the need to think outside of the box to build
player parts that no one has seen for 75 years, is quite rare indeed.
It is rare today, it was rare in 1920's.

The younger generation will always try to differentiate themselves
from their parents by rebelling, getting into trouble, and drinking and
going against the current social norms.  Look at the young people of
the 1920's: the 'flappers', the outrageous clothes, the speakeasies,
and yes, the loud music.  In a lot of ways the era of the "Roaring
Twenties" is not that different from the 1960's or today.

Just because the younger generation doesn't get excited about
a "dusty" 75 year old player piano, or has little regard for old school
craftsmanship or the finer arts, doesn't mean there're lazy.  They're
just not at the point yet.  When they get to be about 40 years old or
so, they'll start to see older things, even player pianos, as something
"cool".

As far as relishing in destroying old pianos, this may be painful for
us in the hobby to watch, but this too is nothing new.  I mean, who
doesn't like to see things blown to bits?  Man has been excited about
smashing things to pieces since time began.  This too is human nature.

And trust me, if you go to any McDonalds they will make you a
hamburger with no ketchup or pickles or anything else you don't want on
it and the line indeed does not shut down.  Just don't expect them to
count exact change if the cash register goes down and doesn't calculate
it for them.

Ray Finch - "Younger generation" at 46 years old