Redtree Times

Come the Brightening— At Principle Gallery

Young people know less than we do, but they understand more; their perception has not yet been blunted by compromise, fatigue, rationalization, and the mistaking of mere respectability for morality.

–Sydney J. Harris, The Best of Sydney J. Harris (1975)

I came across the sentence above from late (1917-1986) Chicago journalist Sydney Harris and it struck a chord with me, crystallizing several things that have been on my mind lately.

The first thing that jumped out at me was his comparison of knowledge versus understanding among young people. I’ve been closely following the current presidential election, much as I have done in other years going back to 1980. Maybe more so this year since the stakes are higher than normal, demanding more attention.

In every election cycle in my lifetime, there has always been the anticipation that in that year the youth vote will finally turn out in full force and make a loud statement as to how our nation will proceed. And each time, they have never come close to expectations, usually turning out in smaller percentages than other age categories.

But in 2020, they turned out in higher numbers than in the past and may have very much been the deciding factor in President Biden’s victory. In subsequent years, their participation and enthusiasm in the political process have only risen. As this has taken place, I have found myself thinking about how the lives of modern kids are so much different than my own at that age. They have been exposed to so much more of the world, both the brighter and darker aspects, than I ever was. They have had to bear the horrible brunt of our worship of the gun, serving as sacrificial offerings on the altar of that insane cult.

When I see these kids in the aftermath of our most recent bi-monthly school shooting, I am astounded and at their composure, how relatively calmly they respond to reporter’s questions. But I am also dismayed because this only indicates the normalization that has taken place.

And it’s anything but normal. But I think these kids today can see that plainly. To Harris’ point, they may not know why or how it came to this being the case. They may not yet have fully experienced compromise, fatigue or rationalizations for themselves, but they understand that the older generations that were supposed to be looking out for them have failed them. These kids can plainly see our generations’ willingness to compromise and rationalize away their safety. And they can see that offering thoughts and prayers are nothing but a play for respectability, a mask worn to cover the lack of morals and courage in those who should take action but are unwilling to do so.

And I believe they see this in other ways. They see the hypocrisy for what it is when people are demonized for their skin color, sexual orientation, place of birth, religion, or social status. These kids have been exposed to a much wider spectrum of the human experience than I did at their age and thus exhibit a far greater level of tolerance and acceptance than most of my generation as a whole ever did.

They might not know the whole story, but they understand in a way we were never able to.

As someone who has felt deep fatigue of this life, who has compromised or ran away when I should have stood firm and then, much to my shame, rationalized away my failure to do so, I hope my perception of today’s kids is correct.  I see these kids and am heartened that maybe, now that they see that the older generations are not looking out for their best interests, they understand that it is up to them, the younger generation, to take action.

The future is theirs to take and the path to owning their future is in the voting booth.

I have been wrong about many things in the past but hope I am seeing things clearly this one time and that they own that path to the future. We shall see…