Teenager angst is nothing new. It is not only normal, but a real rite of passage. We are engineered to rebel, to forge out on our own for our own biological survival. So while each generation may feel that their angst is revolutionary…it is not. It is actually just biological.
But the direction of angst in recent days is new…and concerning.
Please ask any American teenager if they are proud to be an American, I would be curious what your data shows. Mine, thus far… pretty negative. They are quick to condemn this country. So fast to point to all of the injustices, all of its wars, all of the pollution, all of the policies that go nowhere. And one could argue that this angst is completely justified. BUT at the same time, these same youth, are quick to forgive countries where women aren’t given rights, where there is no due process, and are denied basic rights (food, water, shelter). They even come to the defense of people who call for the genocide of an entire population. Our youth will point to culture and indigenous rights and twist and turn their bodies into pretzels to explain how the US is evil while the other countries wrong’s are full of “context.”
Huh?!
I guess without lions to fight, war, or crime (as seen in most other countries) at their doorsteps, they have this new what I’ve dubbed “privileged angst." Having the privilege to even complain and the balls to turn it on the hand that feeds and protects them.
And it got me thinking…just as we need to teach morality, we also need to teach patriotism. Turns out being born into the most IMPORTANT and SUCCESSFUL country in the world is not enough. That gratitude is not a given. They don’t value the rights and privileges they have in this country. They take them as a given. And please, don’t get me wrong, our country has its issues (oh yes we do!), but we’re also a country devoted to doing better. Overall there has been incredible progress for humanity thanks to the light of the United States. This should be celebrated! Our youth should be proud to be an American.
It seems that our youth have no idea how nice their grass is and insist that it must be better elsewhere, even when that grass elsewhere is on fire.
I share this video that adds some perspective to this…we need to teach in our schools the BEAUTY and GIFT of being an American.
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