I believe the children are our future. Teach them well and let them lead the way.

by phil on Wednesday Jan 21, 2009 12:17 PM

One introspective thread I like running is seeing how my attitude toward the youth changes over time. When I was a teenager, I promised myself to not fall into the generational cycle of being offended by the youth. At the time, I felt that it was a law of nature that the youth will always find a way to make their parents' tempers boil. For the 60s, it was free sex and drugs. For the 90s and 00s it's being too sad or apathetic.

At 26, I've come to realize why this cycle is so indelible. I think it's genetic. I notice I have a physical reaction to hearing about things like, "rainbow parties" (good new expression: moral panic) and I was greatly relieved to know that they might be fake. And then I started to wonder about whether I was open-minded enough.

On the flipside, I was really sick the past couple days, and I felt like I was 89 years old. And to make myself feel better, I tried to fill my mind with positive thoughts, and a common image I focused in on was the vigor of the youth. I thought about LeBron James, Scarlett Johansson, Novak Djokovic (tennis), and even Barack Obama. Oddly enough, I was even grateful for the Jonas Brothers, who I know nothing about except that they wear purity rings. In my mind, I'm like, "Yes, the kids are going to be alright!" Which I found odd given how weird that whole business seems to me.

Comments

Philip Dhingra said on January 21, 2009 6:15 PM:

I like how the AdSense ad for this page says:

Defiant Child?
Highly praised behavioral program for parents of ODD kids. Free trial
www.TheTotalTransformation.com/ODD