L&T Publisher Earl Watt
Listening to XM radio this weekend I heard a familiar tune.
I was not a Sammy Hagar fan, but everyone enjoyed “I can’t Drive 55.”
As I cranked the volume to the chagrin of my wife Heather, nostalgia flooded in from the 1980s, and it made me think how our views as young people have changed.
The ’80s were dominated by an extreme distrust for authority, and it started with the president.
Ronald Reagan had a way with words, and one of his best was, “The nine scariest words in the English language are, ‘I’m with the government, and I’m here to help.’”
Even the president didn’t trust government, and he became a rock star to a generation much younger than himself.
As a teen, out music was very much a counter to authority.
We had to fight for our right to party, we told the teacher to leave those kids alone, and we weren’t going to take it.
The lyrics of our music reflected the voice of a generation that refused to be told what to do or how to do it, and we saw the government as the founders did — a necessary evil.
We weren’t rebels, per se. We followed the mantra of the generation before us — never trust anyone over 30.
It was American to rebel, to stand for our rights and reject group think.
Since then, something has shifted.
Today, the government is no longer the symbol of hampering our progress but looked at by many as the path to prosperity.
You either need to work for the government or receive a check from the government today to survive, or so that seems to be the view of the younger Americans.
Their struggle is real. Grocery prices are through the roof, buying a new home seems to be a bridge too far, and the only way to justify a four-year education is if the government forgives your student loan.
Our two different views on how we got from there to here is simple. It’s not the government that can bail you out of the problems because it was the government that cased them in the first place.
How many people today are willing to give up some freedom in order to garner favor with the government? By that I mean we are willing to accept the strings attached to a government mandate much more easily today than 40 years ago.
During the COVID panic, people were willing to get a shot if it meant they could function like a normal human being in public. No shot and you either had to wear a mask or stayed home.
And so many of us got the “vaccine.” It was totally useless for many and caused harm in a few. And people still got COVID.
But the government told us to do it, and we did.
I came from a generation that took the default position that the government asking you to do anything was an automatic red flag.
I also came form a generation where parents, teachers and administrators weren’t trying to be my friend. They were trying to prepare me for life when I would be on my own.
No one said, “Mr. Maskus is a pretty nice guy” while attending Liberal High School. He was the principal. He was supposed to be feared and respected, not hugged and admired.
Mr. Maskus was a very good principal. I’m glad he was my principal. And Mrs. Brisendine, Mr. Mulkey, Mr. Dent and Mr. Kugler all provided me a correction to my behavior through the use of the “Board” of Education. And yet I harbor no ill will to any of them, because I did what they said I did.
And I would test them again and again, learning just how close I could dance to the line.
As much as those lessons may have modified my behavior, I was also influenced when Mr. Biddle swatted someone else. He could bring the biggest, baddest dude to tears, and if he could do that to them, I wanted no part of it. The action of others being disciplined was a self-imposed deterrent to make sure I never gave Mr. Biddle a reason.
We may have had a healthy amount of rebellion in us, but we weren’t fools. When we knew where the line was, we made a conscious decision whether to cross it or not, and we were ready to pay the price if we did.
Today, I wonder if we’ve given the next generation true life lessons or if we are setting them up to fail. We can’t address every misstep with a hug. We can’t blame everyone else for our own actions.
My fear is we are creating generations unprepared for life, for the adversity, the pressure, the stress and the disappointments that are necessary in our journey. Learning how to handles these makes us the people we are.
As parents and adults we don’t want to see young people struggle. But that’s what forges independence. Overcoming challenges is what builds character, not cheerleading behavior that accomplished nothing.
Whether it was a test at school or something extracurricular, kudos didn’t come in the form of participation. Only the best received the accolades.
No one considered that those who fell short were being slighted. To the contrary, those who didn’t receive trophies learned to either seek a different path or rededicate themselves to a more robust effort to achieve at a higher level.
Failure was necessary so that success could be attained.
In an effort to protect the next generation from those tough moments we may have done irreparable harm to society.
Without learning through struggle and hardship what it takes to succeed, too many will believe success is guaranteed.
It isn’t.
Too many will simply expect kudos when they were never earned, or they will expect someone to fill the gap when the effort doesn’t mean the challenge at hand.
And the organization to fill the gap will be government. From subsidies to protections against adversity, the next generation is looking for friends in government rather than self reliance.
And they are voting today.
