Old, Middle, Young

An old person carries with them the burden of their years, all the experiences that shaped & molded them and their peers, the influences of their parents & the sure & certain knowledge of their impending ending.

A middle aged person carries with them the sorrows of their missed opportunities, the dreams they gave up for the needs of daily living, the moments when they let fear overcome their courage, and the hope that time remains to make amends & do better.

A young person carries with them the hopes & dreams of their parents & teachers, as well as their own; the ignorance of history that leads to arrogance; the energy & drive that is so distractable by hormones & false desires.

A child, if treated well & nutrured properly, carries no burdens or cares yet has the biggest responsibility of them all — to learn & grow into a caring, mature adult who works to fight injustice, fix the messes left by others & improve the world by their time in it.

None of us really live in the same world, as each brings their own burdens & joys & concerns with them and those are the prism through which we see the world. We forget that the viewpoint of each is equally valuable and that actions speak louder than facts sometimes, as often what counts is what we did and how we did it, not why. We forget that there is a difference between facts (which are the same for all) and opinions. We lose sight of the value added to our lives by one another.

And yet, through it all, life is still worth living.

May the One in Whom we live & breath & have our being bless each of you in your respective stations in life. This is my prayer. Amen.

Consequences

Making life & death decisions for other people without accepting responsibility for the consequences is a form of moral bankruptcy. Letting people suffer or die when you have the power to help them — doing nothing to help — because of a political philosophy or due to what a lobbyist wants is not moral, no matter how you wrap it in the flag & your vision of the Bible.

If growing up means anything, it should mean that you can (at least sometimes) look at a situation, recognize it from prior experience, and see the likely risk & consequences before proceeding into it. No one on earth is granted perfect foresight, of course, but grown-ups know how to avoid hurting themselves & others, which is why we hold them accountable when they do so whether by action or neglect.

As I look back over the past 5 decades, it seems clear that America has lost the knack for raising grown-ups & putting them into leadership. How else do you explain the host of problems that beset us, all of which have short-term thinking at their root?

It is as if the birth of the Baby Boom generation AND the radio-and-TV generation before it unleashed a wave of ME-First-Right-Now childishness that continues to this day.

Is bad parenting to blame? Mass media? Demographic shifts from rural to urban? Working mothers? Civil rights?

Is there a conspiracy? To do what? Involving who? One conspiracy or many?

Your thoughts on this are invited.