The Kids Are Allright

Much is said about the decline of civilization, how kids these days are less respectful, less industrious, less intelligent, you name it. I have always been amused with these proclamations, because they have been said about pretty much every generation of society at various times in our history. I suppose you could argue that each generation gets progressively worse, and that is why these claims repeatedly get made. And once in awhile I even buy into them myself, such as the other week upon returning home from my weekly trip to the grocery store. I always neatly line up all of my items in my cart, then line them up in an orderly fashion on the conveyor belt, in hopes that when I get home they will all be ordered properly, thus reducing the time and trouble of unloading the groceries into the cupboard and cabinets. It's the same principle I use when loading silverware in the dishwasher, spend a little time on the front end organizing the big spoons, little spoons, forks, etc, and it saves time on the back end while unloading. So imagine my displeasure when, while unloading groceries, I found my powerbars distributed in no less than four different bags. It was like the teenager bagging my groceries purposely took my neatly arranged powerbars and haphazardly threw them into as many bags as he could. Kids these days, what's the matter with them anyways? The answer however, is not much. In fact, my unorganized grocery bagger notwithstanding, kids today are a pretty impressive lot. I'd even go so far as to say that they are allright in my book.

Case in point is a group of young people that I have had the pleasure to be around for the last year, cast members of a youth theatre group called Vaudeville in North Phoenix. The kids range in age from 7-18, and in the interest of self-disclosure my 10-year old daughter is one of them. But I am really referring to the teenagers, and these particular teenagers are some of the best and brightest our society has to offer. They are not only incredibly talented, passionate, and hard-working, but they are genuinely good people, kind to each other, helpful and supportive of the younger kids, and very respectful and polite to the parents that help out and hang around. When I think of these young people joining my generation in a few more short years in running this country and making decisions, it gives me confidence in where we are headed and what is possible.

Another example would be the high school students that I have the pleasure of working with on a daily basis. Lest anyone think that this phenomenom applies only to suburban kids with a wholesome upbringing, the students I teach are urban, and while many have great families and parents and grandparents that give them proper training and guidance, many have, let's say less than ideal circumstances with which to deal and overcome. Yet these kids, and I use the term kids here loosely and endearingly, are talented, sweet, energetic, kind, compassionate, and generally a joy to be around. What they lack in formal educational training and exposure, they more than make up for with a desire to succeed, an openness to learn and consider new ideas and ways of doing things, and a willingness to work hard to achieve their goals. Again, all qualities that make me positive about our future as a nation and as a society.

I find today's youth to be open-minded and less judgemental than previous generations. They don't seem to be nearly as hung up on race, ethnicity, gender stereotypes, and even sexual preference as previous generations, even including my own, one which I consider to be relatively enlightened. They are sharp and clever, they are quick to learn and incorporate new technologies and ways of doing things, just look at all the substantial changes society has undergone in the last decade or so, today's young genearation is at the forefront of much of these changes.

The kids are allright indeed, far from perfect, but unlike the pessimistic view that believes each generation is getting progressively worse, and that society is headed to hell in a handbasket, I think that, despite the mess our government and our own acquiescience has gotten us into in the last few years, that we are getting better as a society, that we are growing more united and tolerant and understanding of our world and how we can positively shape it. I have a great deal of hope and optimism for the future, and everytime I watch the Vaudeville players rehearse and perform, or my inner city students learn from me and teach to me, and when I encounter young people in the public square in a variety of settings, I feel that we are headed in the right direction, and that guided by the principles laid down by my parent's generation, the beliefs and values of my own generation and the hope and inspiration provided by the young generation today, we will get ourselves back to the garden, and maybe, just maybe we can live up to the promise that our founders hoped for when they envisioned our society as a city upon a hill.