Standing Around with a Half Empty Glass and Missing the Boat

We have a nation that seems stuck on the shores of despair. As a teacher of America’s youth, this is troubling to me. I am a “Baby-boomer” but, from my current perspective, it seems to me that the “boomer” signifies more than just a large increase in the population of the United States in the years from 1946 through 1964. It additionally signifies the psychological, political and economic “boom” that was reflected in the struggle of our democratic principles against politically oppressive ideologies, our societal struggle against individuals and local conventions that would oppress our civil rights and our national focus upon “shooting for the stars” in the effort to place a man on the moon by the end of the 1960s. To paraphrase the words of a February/March 2007 American Heritage article (“10 Moments That Made U.S. Business”; pp 23-33), since the dawn of the industrial revolution, America has always been known for its “megaprojects” – “…projects of unprecedented scale and scope [ that] encouraged its entrepreneurs and politicians to think big.” These were big goals, with big price tags and the big potential for not only giving lots of people good, well paying jobs and improving the educational level of the main-stream population but also defining our collective national character. We were Americans and we were the ones who created the San Francisco Bay Bridge, the Panama Canal, the Empire State Building, and the Apollo Missions to the moon, conquered Polio, made blue jeans the first mass-class international clothing style, tore down barriers that had been erected for centuries against blacks and women and turned the music world on its head with our “Rock and Roll”. None came easily but all was positive and forward looking. Our sails were always filled with the fair winds of progress and our glass was nearly always half-full with the expectation of more and better things to come in the future. We stood on the shoulders of “The Greatest Generation” and represented the zenith for the “children of the Enlightenment”. What our nation’s youth of today are being treated to is despair served with a generous helping of malaise.
For “Baby-boomers”, it was the tight focus and emphasis upon lofty political, social, and economic goals that defined the important moments of our lives, caused us angst when our efforts fell short and tremendous joy when we exceeded our aspirations. What of our young people today? What great “megaprojects” inspire them? Our current news sources are absorbed with headlines that, quite frankly, are very scary to young people: Can we hope to defeat Al-Qaeda and the Taliban if all the troops come home? With the recent cut backs in police personnel, can we really expect to control the excesses of our population? How can we address our $14+ trillion dollar national deficit? How long will the current national and global recessions last? In the midst of our national financial troubles are we at risk of selling off our national heritage along with the corporate and land resources that are being purchased at bargain basement prices by international concerns? What can we do to humanely address the illegal immigration issue? How can we keep violent video games out of the hands of kids under 18 years of age? With all of the tools our schools should be able to have at their disposal, how long must our formerly world class educational system be seeking rescue from the decline in academic performance that is negatively impacting American technological leadership? Has our societal emphasis upon immediate gratification begun to erode core characteristics of goal orientation, sacrifice, innovation and entrepreneurial spirit? How is it, in a world of “globalization”, crimes and acts of bigotry are rampant?
Theirs’ is a bright and colorful façade behind which gather dark clouds of tremendous personal, national and international challenge. Theirs’ is a glass not so different from that of their parents and grandparents; yet, portrayed by the popular press as virtually always half empty and most likely to contain less than what the glass held the children of the past two generations contained. Theirs’ is a culture “Looking for Superman”, seemingly absent of sufficient answers to address the overwhelming number of media-touted, perceived and imagined problems. Rather than fair winds to fill their sails, they stand along the shores and watch the gathering clouds of the approaching storm.
What I have described is a travesty and what I feel is a national crisis. Youth need to see themselves as part of the answer for what ever the challenge. They additionally need to see themselves as fully competent and capable to address the cahllenges. Rather than constantly looking outward for someone to blame for our troubles or for help from some other source to solve our problems, we need to be looking inward as to what strengths we have that can be collectively used to address our challenges. We need to help our children to understand that just as there will always be challenges, there will always be answers; just as there will always be doubters, there will be those who believe in themselves and just as there is a chance for failure, there is an equal chance for great success. To paraphrase what John F. Kennedy stated during his 1961 inaugural speech, we all should be not so much looking as to what others can do for us as for what we can do for others. Perhaps, for the youth of today, the collective “drops” fusing together will fill their glasses and will provide the fair winds to fill their sails.