Today's Youth

TODAY’S YOUTH (an editorial) We hear so much bad stuff about teens. Negative criticisms spread like a darkening web of ink on soft paper. There are derogative pictures of gangs hanging around lazy street corners, simmering with anger until the lid blows off into the terror of casual, unnecessary, wanton violence. Then there is Paris H. and her gang of glamorous hoodlums. During this graduation time, I’ve been privileged to associate with many young people who are, for want of a more captivating word, wonderful. They are respectful. Self-assured. Compassionate. Talented. Witty and humorous. Intelligent, each in his and her own way. It’s a shame that young people today are painted with the broad brush of being rebellious, aloof, self-indulgent, petty, selfish, sarcastic, loathing, belligerent, hostile. These characteristics make for TV blaring headlines. For example, Paris Hilton going to jail got more coverage than the Iraq war. Then there were 5 second cuts of a high school or college graduation. Anything for pretentious sensationalism. Anything to feed the gluttonous hunger for gossip. Anything to make people feel narcotically superior. Now to be balanced, some local TV stations do feature an athlete of the week, describing in Spartan words what the young person also does in getting involved in social works. I am amazed, although as a former high school Principal, I really shouldn’t be, at the iron-willed potential of the young people who are graduating from schools today. I have this conviction that these young people, at least the ones I know, fulfill Dorothy Day’s insight: “The greatest challenge of the day is: how to bring about a revolution of the heart, a revolution that has to start with each one of us?” It is my hope and prayer that the young people today will use their God-given talents, abilities, aptitudes, skills, competence, capabilities, in a word, potential, to bring about Dorothy Day’s “revolution of the heart.” A gospeled revolution that constructively makes justice, peace, tolerance, hope, reconciliation, the benefit of the doubt as visible as a noonday summer sun. John Shea in his book, Eating With the Bridegroom, stated, “Love is not just wanting the good for another; love is working to bring about that good.” This is the kind of love we should be calling our young people to. They are, I’m convinced, eager to answer this call. They really want to work for the good of others as opposed to a me-first, narcissistic, self-centered egotism. One aspect of young people I find most reassuring is that they do not take themselves seriously, but do take the problems of current issues quite seriously. If they do take up the “revolution of the heart” as their own, it won’t be for their own crown of glory, but for the halo of a renewed society. Who will inspire them? Will it be the hierarchy and priestly caste of our Church who seem to be more involved in handing down mandates than serving the People of God? Will it be our elected officials who seem to start running for re-election as soon as they step foot into D.C.? Will it be teachers who seem to be more interested in getting through a curriculum than making sure their students are lifelong learners? Will it be professors who seem to devote more time to research than actually teaching, whose lectures could be delivered by way of a tape recorder? Will it be parents who seem to be more concerned about their marriages and future security than about disciplining and motivating their children? Perhaps I’m being too tough in my appraisals. But there does seem to be a shortage of inspiration in the land. Notice, please, that I consistently used the verb, seem. I did that deliberately so as not to be absolutely judgmental and leave room for disagreement. The ones who will inspire our young people will be those who are faithful to Jesus’ teachings, not mitigated or exacerbated by bureaucratic red tape. As Thomas Carolyn says in his book, Will the Real God Please Stand Up? “Fidelity is a person’s characteristic which constantly inspires in others a sense of confidence and trust.” The ones who will inspire our young people are those who dare to use their imaginations to visualize how people can be transformed for the better according to the spirit of the gospel. Denise Priestly reinforces this insight in her book, Bringing Forth In Hope: Being Creative In A Nuclear Age, “Our self-understanding will be shaped through our engagement with Scripture; and as we make use of our imaginations, new possibilities for the future will emerge.” Will we adults be willing and ready to accept this challenge of inspiring our young people? I pray that we will.