“Every man sees in the younger man, the hope. And every woman sees in the younger girl, the dream. Everybody lives the pride and passion of the young. From the womb to the tomb, we will remember what it means. So celebrate youth, those who have it. Celebrate youth, give them sight. The future of the world’s in the hands of children. So celebrate youth, teach them right. Looking in a child’s eye, there’s no hate and there’s no lie. There’s no black and there’s no white.” Awww, to be young again right? However as enticing as that does sound, I wouldn’t want to have to re-live my life in these trying times. And yea the generation before us (and before them, and so on and so on) probably said the same exact thing I’m sure. But seriously, have you tried to listen to today’s music?, not exactly much Simon & Garfunkel stuff going on out there anymore. Hell, I’m not even sure there’s any Bay City Rollers or Men Without Hats quality tunes to listen to either?, and that was bottom-feeder material for us back then when it came to musical tastes (no offense to either one of those fine bands). But much like my parents most likely said about Styx, Journey, Boston or any other favorite band of mine during my formative years, today’s music sucks! And it’s not only the music, but we’re also living in such a divided country now thanks in large part to social media and 24-hour news stations, that it’s almost scary to think what our kids and grandkids face in the not so distant future. I have actually said to my daughters that moving to Canada is looking better all the time, if only it weren’t for those damn long, cold and dark winters.
But there is still one thing about being young again that is sorely missed. And that’s the dreams that youth does provide. When life hadn’t yet thrown kerosene and lit a match on all your goals and ambitions. Thankfully (despite my somewhat negative outlook on the future), both of my daughters are still somewhat positive about how life will turn out for them and their offspring. I hope they’re right, and I’m just some old curmudgeon yelling for kids to get off his lawn. I do take a lot of pride in knowing that I did, while maybe not my “best” perhaps (I could have always done better I’m sure?), the best I could in helping to raise them. They’re both polite, good decent people, both intelligent with college diplomas, both sincere and both (for the lack of a better word) just really nice, actually very nice to all people, from all walks of life. And I’m proud of the fact that during their formative years, neither their mother or myself ever said anything too offensive around them. There were never any racial overtones when discussing society (or at least none that I can recall?), the “N-word” was never uttered inside our home, and we did try our best to treat everyone the same, no matter what the economic status may have been for any of their friends and their families. So I think by showing them by example, that maybe those qualities rubbed off on them? Hey if so, I’ll take any credit that I can get. And besides, I’m sure they each heard more than enough of the ugly racist talk at school, or maybe even from the much older generation around their grandparents’ age, when those ugly words might have been thrown around more haphazardly (especially here in the south). Also I’m also proud of the fact they they both care about politics and what they each feel is best for our country. My oldest child still remembers watching the Bush-Clinton-Perot debates back in 1992, when she was only 6 years old. And can recall election night four years later in Little Rock, with the MTV bus on the street, seeing Wolf Bliltzer reporting live, and meeting Bill Clinton’s stepfather. And my youngest daughter (while not quite that politically active just yet) is always asking me my thoughts and opinions on some of the current issues and how I may feel about a certain news topic or current event.
All this to say, other than the fact that I’m so damn proud of them of course, is for all of us not to yet give up on the youth (except their music of course, seriously that’s a lost cause). Because as they say, they’re our future, so the future of the world is indeed in their hands. And if the majority of today’s youth are anything like my daughters, we really are in good hands I believe. And like us before them, and our parents before us, they too have hope, they too have dreams. And like my very young grandson who hasn’t even yet muttered his first word, he possesses no hate. To him, there is no black and there is no white. So when I’m around him, I’m reminded to celebrate youth, and to give them sight, guidance, and a direction, basically to help teach them right. Because I do realize that I myself am much closer to the tomb now, than I am to the womb. So hey, my legacy somewhat hangs in the balance here right? In short, to quote some even more great music from our day (Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young in this case), teach your children well. And to celebrate youth!