It is easy for us old farts to bemoan the condition of today’s
youth. It is just as easy for us to be wrong.
The image is a soft slug glued to a monitor with a
controller in hand playing games. Wanting “safe spaces”. True to an extent.
Have you ever watched closely skateboarders? BMX bicycle riders? Despite helicopter parents
and swathing in protective layers, these kids, of both sexes, are out there
risk taking.
We probably will never see again as big a “Hot rod” scene as
we remember, partly because more modern cars are harder to work on and far more
costly. Still, you see import “tuner”
cars on the streets. If nothing else, these kids know how to retrofit a loud muffler.
There may be less sandlot baseball, but there is a lot of
organized soccer and volleyball. Football is still played.
Risk taking seems to be part of human nature and no amount
of feminism, social justice whimpers, and forced socialization will kill it.
What I see, and respect, are the young people fighting for
their own identity and values. Long may they prevail.
