Partie Deux: The Legitimacy of Youths

Disclaimer 1. I only use the word "generation" because the comparable replacements feel inadequate. I do not endorse the rampant overuse of this word as anything other than an age-bracket.
Dislcaimer 2. I do not think that a lack of respect on the part of elders for youths is without its counterpart (a lack of respect on the part of youths for elders). We are both deserving of some disdain. I simply think that here in Western PA, there is a cultural preference based on age (as though older = better).

Not youth, but youths.
Of course I preface this by saying that if anyone can see the flaws in mine and surrounding cultures/peer groups, it's me. My carefully honed critical nature has certainly given me plenty of ammo to "rip my generation a new one," if you will. However, I feel like my friends and I need to defend ourselves for a moment to those older people who would either consider us a lost cause or dismiss us as inadequate to the tasks of adulthood. Neither of these condemnations are true.

Let's consider: never has a generation been privy to both the amount and accessibility of information as ours. Do you want to know the definition of the word auspicious? Dictionary.com I can find it in... about 3 seconds. I could research obscure diseases, donate money to a charity, buy groceries & home supplies (alice.com, love it) in probably 10 min. total.

We not only have access but we also have the technological know-how to instantly familiarize ourselves with this vast body of knowledge. We've come a long way from the days of DOS and there is no arguing with the immeasurably superior ability of people my age to interact with technology from our parents' generation: they have to constantly learn and work to know new technology whereas for most of us it is not only second-nature, it's our hobby.

Education has never been more common: statistically, we have vastly more college graduates in my generation already than my parents ever had. Now, whether or not this education is as academically challenging or not, it is certainly more beneficial to go to college than simply to graduate from highschool and enter the work force.

We have much more life experience at a much younger age than our parents and grandparents. Let me explain, international travel is not only easier, it is more sought-after. I have traveled more at 24 than at least 75% of Americans in their 40's and 50's (and that's a very generous estimate). While I may not have the maturity to glean the same insights into humanity as the result of these travels as an older person, I also have a more open mind to accept cultural differences without imposing western morals or ideals.

We have traveled more places, met more people/kinds of people, communicated in more languages, done more internships, had more creative employment, eaten more kinds of food, and simply seen more than our predecessors.

All of that said, of course I realize that the majority of my peers are irresponsible, spoiled, and have no work ethic. However, I think it needs to be said that those of us who get it, who really have a handle on life, are better equipped, better educated, and have more resources than any previous generation. I'm sure the same will be said of the next.
   I need to say this because I look at people in authority, people who structure church & state, people who try to explain to me what life is like, and I feel unsure of the superiority of their vantage point. While I know there is no replacement of years, I chafe at the idea that years alone qualify someone as wise. I think true maturity comes from seeing the world as it is: I understand that war is difficult, I too have seen people shot; I understand that finances are challenging, I have lived in 3rd world poverty; I understand that life requires thought and self-improvement, I have extensively studied theology and philosophy... yes, my peers and I have a lifetime of growing up to do... but that does not illegitimize the fact that we have a voice that should be heard.
   I'm not normally this cheesy (although I almost always go on these little tirades) - but the future belongs to us, let's make the pass-off as smooth as possible.

"As is the generation of leaves, so is that of humanity.

The wind scatters the leaves on the ground, but the live timber
Burgeons with leaves again in the season of spring returning.
So one generation of men will grow while another dies."
Homer, Iliad

Change (Not As In Loose)

  Lately, in many of my life contexts, the topic of discussion has been change: the dynamic nature of life, relationships, and individuals.
  Some people, it has been posited, are pre-disposed to acclimate to change or even invite change with relative ease. Others, perhaps worriers or more type-a people, resist and even fear change.
  But here's the rub: change is inevitable... not an option... even for the unwilling worrywart, change happens. Life cycles on in its brutal karmaic tradition and our propensity to handle change well either leaves us growing and dynamic or bitter. I do think that a lot of bitterness stems from life "changing without our permission." We don't want our friends and family to move away or die. We don't want to learn new jobs and skills. We don't want to lose money, homes, security. We resent teenagers for defying our treasured traditions.....

But the times they are a'changing... and we either adapt and engage or withdraw and become irrelevant, lost in memories of "better days," stubbornly unaware that THIS is the time of the harvest, the day of salvation.

"The function off the historian is neither to love the past nor to emancipate himself from the past, but to master and understand it as the key to the understanding of the present." ~ E. H. Carr