MW13, First, I am not claiming the modern world is better than the Chareidi world. In fact I said earlier that the modern have problems with improper entertainment. I would also add that the coed shita of some modern schools is problematic, (except where absolute necessity such as extreme financial or parental pressure in an out of town community, for example, does not leave the school with any other choice.)
The chareidi boys for the most part are often more serious and more dedicated to learning than boys in modern schools (big secret, I send my own kids to a chareidi school), but there are very good modern boys as well.
The problem is that no modern person will change his ways as long as the chareidim continue to denigrate the State of Israel and secular studies. The modern looks at them as hateful and primitive because of that and wants no part of that type of yiddishkeit.
Finally, if I saw a modern person in a McDonalds eating a cheeseburger I don’t take it as a reflection of his philosophy. It is simply a yetzer hara. He may feel bad about it, or maybe he lost his job and is angry at G-d, or whatever. It is a human failing. He probably knows it is wrong. However, when chareidim act obnoxious b’shita and trash Yerushalayim, as if they are obligated to do this and they are doing a great mitzva, I feel like throwing up. There is a big difference when you do something terrible and think you are a great tzaddik in the process, than when you know your yetzer hara is getting the better of you. A shita of acting obnoxious or talking obnoxious is totally intolerable and a complete chilul hashem. As I have mentioned before, there are many people in the world who believe that religion is the cause of all wars and violence since the beginning of history. In our daily actions, are we proving or disproving that thesis?