Generation Optimism
You know, not that I'm getting up there in age, and now that there's a viable generation following mine up and beginning to make an impact as the future leaders of the world. Its a rite of passage for me and people my age to begin to talk shit about all of the shortcomings of the coming generation. Whether its their complete lack of communication skills due in large part to their willingness to text and tweet over actually talking, or their horrible taste in music and fashion, I can find a number of thing to ramble about concerning the next generation.
All of those things, however, make me out to be a bitter, uncool, old man! Besides, we all have our quirks and in large part, that's what makes each coming generation unique and special. But above all, I have such a strong belief in our young people as serious game changers in the global landscape. There's many things we can say about our young people that would depict them as a lost generation. I chose to value one thing that they seem to have over every generation that came before them, and that is a complete abundance of tolerance and acceptance of each other from a cultural, racial, and social perspective. Young people generally 'get-along' with each other very well. And while they do appear sometimes to be overindulged with the entertainment and music industry and some of the stupid slangs and lingos like 'swag' and 'cray cray', I think that today's young adults, in general, are very aware of the social landscape concerning the world that they live in. It is encouraging.
They desire change. More than anything, they've been shown a world that is not particularly to their liking, and more than anything, they believe that when their time comes, they will have the power to do something about it.
To be fair, I do believe we deserve a little credit..just a little. Our emphasis on teaching acceptance, discouraging bullying, homophobia, racism, discrimination, and encouraging them to speak out against wrongs of any kind seems to be giving roots. Overall however, I think young people deserve a great deal of the credit for remaining open to a world that seems to perceptually close to each person as they get older.
I prayer is that they keep that. As they do get older, there will be those who will attempt to tell them 'how the world works' or 'how things are'. May they remain courageous to go forward with informed, yet inspired beliefs about what they can do for themselves.... and their world.
And may those of us who are older do the same.
All of those things, however, make me out to be a bitter, uncool, old man! Besides, we all have our quirks and in large part, that's what makes each coming generation unique and special. But above all, I have such a strong belief in our young people as serious game changers in the global landscape. There's many things we can say about our young people that would depict them as a lost generation. I chose to value one thing that they seem to have over every generation that came before them, and that is a complete abundance of tolerance and acceptance of each other from a cultural, racial, and social perspective. Young people generally 'get-along' with each other very well. And while they do appear sometimes to be overindulged with the entertainment and music industry and some of the stupid slangs and lingos like 'swag' and 'cray cray', I think that today's young adults, in general, are very aware of the social landscape concerning the world that they live in. It is encouraging.
They desire change. More than anything, they've been shown a world that is not particularly to their liking, and more than anything, they believe that when their time comes, they will have the power to do something about it.
To be fair, I do believe we deserve a little credit..just a little. Our emphasis on teaching acceptance, discouraging bullying, homophobia, racism, discrimination, and encouraging them to speak out against wrongs of any kind seems to be giving roots. Overall however, I think young people deserve a great deal of the credit for remaining open to a world that seems to perceptually close to each person as they get older.
I prayer is that they keep that. As they do get older, there will be those who will attempt to tell them 'how the world works' or 'how things are'. May they remain courageous to go forward with informed, yet inspired beliefs about what they can do for themselves.... and their world.
And may those of us who are older do the same.
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