It would be easy to assume that today’s young people are selfish, lazy and ignorant if one only heard comments from adults who have little contact with our youngest citizens. The age old trope about how pathetic the youth of the era appear to be has been around for as long as there have been humans roaming the earth. There always seem to be adults who take great pride in their own generation while insulting the most recent one.
The truth is that there are in fact some young people who are sadly selfish, lazy and ignorant, but they tend to be the exception rather than the rule. For the most part the kids that I encounter are earnest, kind, thoughtful and bright. They think about the world and the people around them and often demonstrate new and well conceived points of view to those of us who are older that challenge the status quo with an eye to improving the world. They are generally good souls with a touch of innocence in tandem with honest critiques that need to be voiced. Their concerns for our earth and for each other are deeply generous.
This morning as I was sipping on my morning tea and munching my breakfast biscuit, I read a story about a young man who noticed an older man who was having difficulty shopping. The older fellow was bent with age and had difficult lifting his head. He had to make painful motions to view the contents of every aisle and sometimes his glances missed the items that he was hoping to find. The boy noticed this and stepped up to ask if he might be of help. The old man was more than happy to have assistance and the young man joyfully zipped around the store acquiring every item on the shopping list. Then the boy accompanied the man to the checkout station, helped to bag his purchases and walked with him to the bus that was waiting to take him home. When the older man tried to give the youngster a reward, the boy shook his head and insisted that his tip had been the honor of being helpful.
There are truly angels among us and often they are young and seemingly unaware. In truth there is an untarnished innocence in most young people along with a desire to clearly see truth without filters. They are unafraid to challenge lies or change ugly status quos because they have not yet been beaten down by society’s rules and prejudices. They often see the world around us much more honestly because of their curiosity and desires to learn. This makes them more open to people and situations that are different from themselves.
I have spent my lifetime working with children and being a child myself. I remember deep conversations with friends when I was quite young. We wanted to make sense of life and death and injustices that we observed. We discussed what we felt was right and what definitely appeared to be wrong. We may not have had all the answers but we were more than willing to begin even taboo discussions in our efforts to understand our histories and our futures. Today’s young people are no less engaged than we were. Between the childhood games and silliness they too have questions and seek answers. If they cannot talk about such things with the adults who should be open to their queries they will take it upon themselves to right the wrongs that they see.
I’ve been watching a series on PBS called Southern Stories. A recent episode featured an author of children’s books who grew up in a depressed area of Jackson, Mississippi. While filming the documentary she visited a park where she used to play as a child. Some young people were lurking in the background and asked her not to take pictures of them. She explained that she was an author who had grown up there and asked them if they would like to be part of the documentary. Their surly demeanors changed immediately as she told them what books she had written. They wanted to know if it was hard to be an author and she explained that anyone can write stories about their lives if the practice. The eagerness of the young people was beautiful to watch and the change in their demeanor that came from being seen and heard proved that encouragement always brings better results than criticism.
It is in our nature as humans to seek comfort. We respond to our elders with smiles and sparkling eyes, with laughter and acknowledgement when we feel safe and loved. That is how our own realities of goodness begin. It feels so comfortable to be accepted and loved that we instinctively spread those good vibes to others. Very soon we witness discrepancies in how people behave. We cry when we witness a loud and ugly argument. We draw back when someone is gruff. As we become older we learn about the long history of inhumanity that has darkened the world. If we hear truths and are able to openly discuss the fears that such ideas create in us, we will focus on being better. If we make excuses for bad behaviors we will begin to believe that might makes right even when it at first appears to be wrong. Luckily most children do not hear such things and even those who do are often able to think for themselves and end the cycle of ugliness that has snaked its way into existence time and again.
it pains my heart when adults assume the worst of children. If we begin by believing in them and teach them patiently when they make mistakes they almost always respond. The key lies in paying attention to what they have to say. They tend to be very honest in asserting their feelings. Our goal should not be to deny and punish their beliefs but to provide them with opportunities to learn. Most times, unless the young person is ill or completely broken we ill be able to reach him/her without lectures or insults.
The fact is the vast majority of kids today are truly wonderful and yet we too often fall into the centuries old mistake of bemoaning how awful they are compared to how we were when we were young. Instead we might strive to experience the joy of hearing their ideas. We might encourage them to dream big dreams and make positive changes rather than insisting that things are just the way they have always been and it is futile to think that we might make a difference. We should applaud their hopefulness and desires to be even better than we have ever been. My grandfather, father and mother did that with me and my brothers and it made all of the difference in our lives. They freed us to be ourselves and it was glorious. Perhaps we would all do well to not just teach respect but also to show it. This is how we help create a glorious future with the next generation.