63rd Edition
If you could go back in time and live your life in a different era, which time frame would you choose? I think I would like to have lived and been part of the founding of our country. I think I would have made a rather good revolutionary. Not that I am particularly brave, but I’ve never feared standing up to authority when it becomes oppressive or corrupt. I’ve also been a bit of a non-conformist, especially when the conventional way of doing things no longer seems the best approach. Most meaningful change, for better or worse, usually involves someone who is willing to challenge the status quo. But it matters whether the individual or group of non-conformists is advocating for a positive change as opposed to a negative one. Moreover, who gets to determine that? It’s not an easy question to answer. What are some proposed changes that non-conformists are advocating for today that seem positive, and which seem less so? Before this list of questions becomes too long let me try to answer some of them.
First, during the moment of change, we seldom have complete certainty regarding the full effects. There is the inevitable law of unintended consequences to deal with, which means some changes that might look positive on the surface, turn out to be much less so. Beyond that, change can sometimes be a zero-sum situation. Change may help one group but penalize another. Even change involving morality in some way, may not be simple to analyze or evaluate, since there isn’t a code of morality that is universally recognized. Perhaps there should be, but good luck figuring that out.
Some people believe the final arbiter of the worthiness of change should be left to the government. Others contend that society or the people collectively should determine which changes to implement. In reality, both constituents are involved in change, and both are involved in managing and controlling it, by developing customs, norms, laws, rules and regulations. It is inherently complicated. Proponents and opponents of every proposed change become locked in an endless battle to refine and redirect behavior, as well as rights and responsibilities at every level of society. It’s not an easy thing to get right. As societies age they naturally become more bureaucratic. Some people resent the centralization of power especially as cronyism and outright corruption infiltrate the bureaucracy. Others accept the futility in battling against it and find ways to work around the system. Ultimately, the demand for individual rights gets detached from the willingness to accept individual responsibilities.
Which brings me to what is going on at some of our elite universities today. In a WSJ article by Douglas Belkin – “They Entered College in Isolation and Leave Among Protests: The Class That Missed Out on Fun” – the author contends that college students today feel isolated, full of anxiety (one in seven students has contemplated suicide) and they cope by sleeping more, socializing less, and eating alone. Many, I suspect, are addicted to their phones, which we are discovering isn’t necessarily the great connector it was purported to be.
In no way would I ever diminish any serious mental health issue that a young person is facing. Still, I can’t help but wonder what will happen to all these struggling college students when they get into the real world. How will these students hold up in a competitive marketplace? How will companies respond to potential job candidates who are anti-social, full of anxiety, and possibly contemplating ending their life? And how in the world did we get into this predicament in the first place?
When I went to college (1977 – 1983), there were three things on my mind virtually at all times – Basketball, getting a degree in order to find a job, and having some kind of social life. One of these I was particularly good at, one I was so-so, and one was a struggle. I’ll let you guess which was which…
I don’t think I spent much time being anxious, except during exam week. I never contemplated suicide, nor did I know anyone who did. I guess there had to be some students who were unhappy, but they dealt with it, generally speaking. Maybe, not in the healthiest manner, but they found a way to cope and make it through. Why has the current generation lost its resiliency? Why do they struggle so much when things don’t go their way? Can we blame it all on helicopter parents, social media, and cell phones? Probably not, but that might be a good place to start.
Meanwhile, I can’t help but think something much deeper is going on, that this unable-to-cope generation is a symptom of more serious issues in our country. I suspect that corporate greed and corruption, decades of political leaders who are dishonest and narcissistic, the erosion of traditional family values, a rejection of religion and subsequent decay in morality, have robbed the younger generation of inspirational role models and a value system they can rely upon during challenging times. Without grit and grace, how much can we expect of them or of anyone for that matter?
Perhaps the saddest aspect of all the recent campus demonstrations is the protestor’s utter disdain for our country. In his final report sent to the Secretary of Defense, General Matthew Ridgway, in his final days as the Chief of Staff of the Army in 1955, said these words… “For we are, in truth, the last best hope of earth, the last great reservoir of strength where freedom dwells. And with all that strength which we possess, on land and sea and in the air, we must stand ready to defend ourselves and all men everywhere who share our dream.” Would these student protesters understand the meaning of these words, from a general who parachuted into Normandy during the earliest hours of D-Day? What have they learned about our country that makes them despise it so, and from whom have they learned it? And to which important aspects of our country, its history, and its role in the world today, are these students and their teachers completely clueless?
On a related note, check out my book – A School in Walnut
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Michael Kayes
*These views are my personal opinions and are not the viewpoints of any company or organization.