School’s out, and at the Brentwood News, that means it’s summer intern season. The Brentwood News has been blessed over the years to attract several young writers, graphic artists, organizers, web designers and more.
Today’s kids are just so darned good when it comes to social media, apps and computers. But they have much more going for them than just the ability to work with devices.
They have a great attitude, they’re willing to work, they go on faith that things really can be done. They don’t waste time coming up with all the reasons why something can’t or shouldn’t be done.
But it doesn’t stop there. I think today’s students “play well together,” they embrace diversity, they’re fun to have around. They’re very socially aware and want to make a positive difference in the world. I find them inspiring.
And let’s face it, we need them to succeed. They are entering adulthood at a time when our political system is broken, jobs are scarce and the planet is warming. There are too many people on the planet, not enough resources to go around. Regional conflicts are on the rise, wildlife is in retreat. All the while, our society is becoming increasingly unequal.
Not only is our government in debt – which will be left for today’s younger generation to handle – many of today’s graduates are individually in debt from increasingly expensive student loans.
And as the baby boomers retire – many of whom didn’t do such a great job saving – the younger generation will be asked to foot the bill for that as well, in the form of paying for Social Security.
It would be easy to see why today’s kids would give up hope or become angry. But they don’t, it seems. And let’s hope they can maintain their positive outlook on life.
At the Brentwood News, we see the cream of the crop, to be sure. Some of our interns go to fabulous schools, come from terrific families and have been given many advantages. Not too many miles outside of Brentwood, there is far more reason for despair.
It’s heart-breaking to hear of yet another campus shooting, cyber-bullying or the problem of childhood obesity. Some of America’s finest young men and women have been shot up pretty badly in wars that many have now come to question.
And if you watch today’s movies that are popular with today’s kids – Hunger Games comes to mind – it can all seem pretty hopeless.
But there IS hope. I can see it in their eyes. Today’s kids want to believe. They want to be told the truth, they want to be given a chance. The odds facing this new generation are long, but this generation has what it takes to do what our parents did during the World War II generation.
As the Greatest Generation passes on, it’s time for greatness again. It’s coming.
I come from the baby boomer generation, a generation that’s easy to lament. We were the ones who were going to change the world. But the reality didn’t match the promise.
Maybe, in our small way, we made the coming generation of change possible. We championed civil rights, equality for women, and, in recent years, tolerance for same-sex couples.
We got the conversation started on the need to protect the environment. We questioned war as a first response to every problem. And many baby boomers were at the forefront of the Internet revolution, which really HAS changed the world. In the fifties, when the boomers were children, people felt stifled; today, creativity abounds.
So, to be fair, at a minimum, we cleared away some debris and helped build a path. But our machetes have become rusty and the path is filling up with briars and brambles again.
So here’s your homework assignment for the summer: Reach out to a younger person, give that fine young man or woman a pep talk.
Make sure that person knows we appreciate what they’re up against – and that we’re counting on them to succeed. Not just for us, but for the future of our planet.
