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© 2012 by etva
I recently came across several articles and seeds on NV, suggesting that the answer to the world’s economic problem is to provide our youth with positive education opportunities to better prepare them for a successful job. Most people seem to agree with this, and add that appropriate parental influence is also an important factor.
It’s difficult to argue against this rational, but that’s just what I’m going to do, because I’m a country girl, and I know that you can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make him drink it.
But, say others, eventually the horse will drink when it’s thirsty enough.
Well, no. In fact, if there’s something wrong with the water, many farm animals will collapse from dehydration before drinking it. I know this, because we had that very thing happen, and had to completely drag the pond to fix the quality of the water. Sadly, we had a bunch of dead animals before we figured out the real problem (stagnate water.) The solution was incredibly expensive and time consuming, but failure to fix the problem would only have resulted in bigger problems.
But, say others, humans are much smarter than animals, and it would never come to that sad ending.
Yes, our children are smart and observant – even those who refuse to apply themselves in school. They have passion and energy – and hormones and attitude. Teachers and parents (I happen to be both) can attempt to guide and direct youth, but in the end, we cannot force them to be what WE want them to be. There comes a point when carrots and sticks will have no impact – usually right around the start of puberty.
But, say others, puberty has existed since the dawn of man, and this too shall pass.
Yes, it will, but I will argue that often, that passion and energy -- the hormones and attitude, can combine to have a subtle, yet pervasive impact on society, sometimes leading to an unexpected snowball effect of change.
Many years ago, I had the opportunity to study behind the Iron Curtain in East Germany, and witnessed firsthand, just such a change; the impact of a bored and rebellious youth on a stagnate society. The ultimate result was the fall of the Soviet regime.
But, say others, that was communism – a flawed economic system, implemented by a corrupt totalitarian regime. It’s only natural that the youth recognized its limitations and fought for better opportunities. Our system of democracy is different, and can’t be compared to the controlled and manipulated Soviet societies.
Really? Are we really that different?
Does America preach that our system is the best, offering equal opportunities to all? Do we deliver propaganda through a controlled and biased media to influence and manipulate public opinion? Do we limit and control the dissemination of information in the name of security? Do we channel the majority of our resources to military and security initiatives, rather than for the economic benefit of our citizens? Do we use our military to influence and promote our foreign policy? Do we have an elite social minority, with opportunities unavailable or out of reach to the rank and file citizens? Do we have corrupt leaders, more concerned with power and money, than the well being and prosperity of the citizens? Is our economy collapsing, perhaps because the system has failed to result in the promised benefits to the average citizen?
I’m not writing this article to argue the similarities and differences of these two systems, but from my perspective, we are looking an awful lot like our former “enemy.”
My argument is that our children are viewing our society from an unbiased perspective. Just like the youth in the former Soviet states, they are seeing the hypocrisy of the system, and they are dissatisfied with the “opportunities” provided to them. Many have adopted an attitude of irreverent non-compliance. They have no respect for authority, and little fear of the potential consequences of their actions. After all, their parents complied and played the game, and all too often, it failed to bring happiness and prosperity.
So how did this attitude of rebellious non-compliance affect communist societies?
In short, it created an underground network of young adults without “official” jobs, living in their parents’ homes, existing within a separate, unofficial economy, known as the Black Market. They traded goods and services outside of the “official” economy, sort of like a primitive version of eBay. Everything was available, and often of much better quality than what was sold at the communist version of the local Wal-mart.
Does this sound familiar? Are we seeing such things in our own society?
As more and more people in communist societies turned to the unofficial economy in order to survive, the collapse of the official, state-controlled economy speeded up into an unexpected snowball effect, which I would argue, eventually contributed greatly to the fall of the Berlin Wall, and ultimately the collapse of the Soviet empire.
But, say others, our children have much better opportunities presented to them, than the communist youth had. Why would they not take advantage of them?
In a word? Entertainment!
It’s important to note, that the youth I met weren’t rebelling because of the lack of opportunity. Rather, they were refusing the structured opportunities presented to them. They were bored and looking for excitement and entertainment of their own choosing; something to inspire their passion and energy.
My point with this article is that human nature and the passions of youth are the same everywhere, and no society or form of government can completely control or suppress them. If we want our children to embrace opportunities, we need to inspire them, and what has worked in the past does not seem to be working now.
They see that the system has led to stagnation, and more and more of our youth are refusing to drink from the well of hypocrisy, choosing instead to create their own underground water supply, because we as a society are too blinded by our old world view, to see that our pond needs to be dragged in order to truly fix the problem.
