At work this evening a coworker of mine and myself began discussing a particular teenage resident who seemed to be less than enthusiastic about being at the shelter. This discussion quickly evolved into a discussion concerning the pressure that teenagers today are under by society. My coworker stated that she wouldn't be a teenager today for anything, arguing that the societal pressures that today's teenagers experience make things much too hard for them.
I think it's unfortunate that many in our society look at teenagers as a collective whole rather than as a diverse group of individuals. All too often the few bad apples that we read about in the papers or see on the streets become the vilified example for a whole generation. It's not uncommon for me to hear that all teenagers are punks or lazy or criminals. Even in my experience with working with homeless teenagers (perhaps the most desperate of the group and as such perhaps the most prone to acting out in a negative manner) it is the definite minority that even come close to meeting this negative stereotype.
I mention all this because my coworker was arguing that society had failed this generation and as such it was society's responsibility to fix the problem. I personally don't think that teenagers today face unsurmountable pressures nor do I believe that their situation is all that different than mine more than a decade ago. Just like them I faced peer pressure to fit in by doing drugs, drinking, having sex, rebelling, committing a crime, etc. What I think has changed since I was a teenager or a preteen was the time frame that was allowed for me to hold on to my innocence. In previous posts I have discussed the over sexualization of 'tweeners' (10 - 12 year olds) and the pressure placed upon them to act in a sexualy mature fashion. This is but one aspect of what I would say is society not allowing children to be children. What I find equally damaging is the fact that while we deny kids their childhood we also deny them maturity. Teenagers today seem to be in some quasi state of immature adulthood. They are pressured to dress like adults (what I have heard described as prosti-tots - ASIDE: a Simpson's episode I really liked was one where Lisa goes shopping with a group of school girls, she goes into a clothing store and a clerk shows her their 'your hooker' line of clothes, Lisa is repulsed by the notion and states "I'm only 8 years old!" the clerks response "Yes, and you look it too," as if this was a bad thing), to socialize like adults (sex, drugs, alcohol, partying, etc.) and are given power (purchasing power through allowances, spineless parents and part time jobs - ASIDE: this of course if fed by our culture's seemingly dominant materialism - why do 15 year olds need to work? why do 15 year olds need $200 pairs of running shoes? - teenagers spend billions each year on essentially nothing all because they are told to) but in seemingly direct contrast are not given opportunities to mature at the same rate. We now live in a culture that works its ass off to protect kids and teens from the harshness of adult reality all the while projecting onto them the notion that they are in reality 'young adults'.
Teens throughout history have faces pressures and problems. It would appear that today's generation of teens are a problem that needs to be fixed by society, according to my coworker. She argued that it was society that failed them and therefore it was society's responsibility to solve it. To me this was somewhat erroneous if not dangerous. What is society? In essence society is me and you; it is people. When we say society needs to fix a problem all too often it is meant that the state needs to fix the problem. This is a slippery slope because the powers and tools that the state would need to fix the problems we place at its feet would, in my opinion, end in a totalitarian society where the state is all powerful and we have no rights. Also I think that when we say 'society' needs to fix a problem it is because we are unwilling to acknowledge our own responsibility in allowing 'society' (by which I mean you and I) to fail segments of our population.
I remember a few years ago listening to a Christian radio program where a man was relating a personal experience when he was angry with God. He told a story about how a young girl in his church had been molested and of his anger at God for not protecting her. He talked of driving around his hometown until he found himself on a hill over looking the city and raging at God, asking Him why couldn't He stop it? How could fail this little girl? How come you didn't do something? It was at this time that he said he heard a voice in his head that said 'but that is why your there'. God wasn't shirking responsibility but rather pointing out that as a child of God, the man in question was God's representative on earth and therefore God would act through him rather than perform a miracle.
In relating this story to a couple of friends of mine I was reminded of Jesus. As a man Jesus was constantly stepping into the breach and acting to bridge it. He gave solace and counsel, hope and encouragement, He led by example and called for people to follow His lead. I am now reminded of a well known passage:
"For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me. Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?' The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of min, you did for me."
Matthew 25: 35-40 NIV
In calling on 'society' to solve our problems we only serve to perpetuate our problems for what is society except each one of us. If we don't act who will? If we see a problem and don't act to correct it who will? I'm not awaiting a miracle to solve all of our societal problems but rather facing the reality that nothing in our society will improve unless we as individuals and groups work together to solve them. Oscar Wylde once said that "a map without a utopia, is not worth looking at." What does this mean? Utopia is a conceptualization of a perfect society and as such serves as a point of reference for our present reality. It provides us with the ability to judge our present and make corrections. The notion of utopia serves to guide us in our actions towards the future while helping us to define what is Right. Whether our views are religious or secular we all have a vision of a more perfect society which should propel us towards action in seeing it come about. For me as a Christian it means that I should do those things quoted in the above passage. For if each of us took the time to help the sick, the poor, the hungry it wouldn't be long before we would notice a change in our society. A change for the better, I think.
No comments:
Post a Comment