Worst
of all, how do I explain it all to teen-aged grandchildren who should be
looking ahead to their lives only with hope and joy but are beset by rage, hate
and despair everywhere? What can I, what can we do but apologize to them for
the mess they are inheriting and the anxiety they will have to keep facing?
It’s
tempting to hide behind “All this shall pass,” but with how much conviction?
The sheer mass of social and political madness is too heavy to overthrow with
bromides.
One
positive place to start is Thomas Friedman’s post-Shutdown hope: “Short of an
economic meltdown, there is only one thing that might produce meaningful
change: a mass movement for tax, spending and entitlement reform led by the
cohort that is the least organized but will be the most affected if we don’t
think long term--today’s young people.”
As
sophisticated as they are, they may even appreciate being asked to clean up our
mess. Their taste in TV and movies suggests they savor irony.
For
the near term, as we foresee only more of the same selfish insanity in
Washington, Friedman cites a college tour stirring excitement among the young
by a 61-year-old legendary investor who challenges students to rise up against
the powers-that-be as his generation did against the Vietnam War.
Accused
of fomenting intergenerational conflict, he responds, “No, that war already
happened, and the kids lost. We’re just trying to recover some scraps for
them.”
It’s
a long way from enlisting young people into such a long-term fight and changing
the national political landscape, but what other choice is there?
To my
own grandchildren, I can only point out that this apology is filled with
question marks. It will be up to you to answer them. My money says you will.
The
ultimate hope is that, when the time comes, your apology to your grandchildren
will be much more benign in a far better world.
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