How come that when one peruses the literature, music and arts of the young it is always about angst, and rebellion, and being misunderstood? It finds its most articulate sounds and bytes in rock music-someone has defined it as a the sum total of the angst of decades.
If one will also look at literary pieces written by the young, it is always about generational misunderstandings, about miscommunications (or the lack thereof), about always being set aside and not being valued. Phinehas Nigellus, a former Headmaster of Hogwarts, once had a conversation with Harry Potter. He said that "young people are always misunderstood".
To be fair, I guess there is a truth to that. When I was younger I alwways thought badly of the older generation, that they are replete with outdated values and are always backward looking. They always say "During our time we did it this way" or "We value things so much not like you guys do now". It seems that adults are more often willing to preach than to listen, to pontificate and deliver out the quick solutions to perceived problems this or that way. It made me feel that saying what I felt or speaking out loud my thoughts was a waste of time. It felt like they always wanted to dismiss my concerns and get on with a quick fix.
Now I see things differeltly. Not because that I am an adult myself but because I have grown (at least I hope) to see things in a different light and through different perspectives.
Young people are fond of rantings because its the best way to speak out their minds. These rantings may take various forms: rebellion, plain disregard of rules, sulkiness, taking on outfits, accessories and fashion that deliberately shock their forbears, blatant communication shut downs, etc. They wanted to be listened to, they wish to be affirmed on who they are and what they are now, to be guided without being pushed inito the mold of adult expectations too much.
While it is necessary to find one's identity and be accepted for what you like and what you want, it seems immature to reject the insights of adults altogether. While the sins perhaps of the baby boomers to the gen exers and millenials may consist of occasional ignoring of the latter and a preachy condescending attitude in some instances, we all need to learn that this all stems from being unable to find ways and mediums to break down communication barriers and intergenerational differences. We need to listen to each other. We need to refresh our understanding of our roles as sons, daughters, mothers and fathers.
The young are supposed to respect and listen, the old supposed to guide and be examples. The older ones perhaps were brought up the same way, and know no instructional manual on how to raise their kids, or how to deal with issues past generations just ignored or kept in check by appearing tough or strong.
We are all broken at certain points and at ceratin parts. We can't completely relegate to genes, bad environment or even to other circumstances the helplessness we feel. Fortunately, the grace of God is greater than all human wekaness and folly. Christ's coming into the world can address all the angst and longings of the heart-whether young or old. He is the answer to the questions of life, or as some Jews put it the answer to a question they never asked.
Perhaps we also never asked any of the questions, but He is there nevertheless...to put meaning and direction. He is God Incarnate after all. We celebrate human brokenness along with God's redemption because we know He is there for us and He took the steps to become one of us- to share our human nature, to understand the battles each of us undertake, whether to cheat or not in tests, to curse people or not, to deny ourselves or immerse in selfish pamperings when we know others are in pain and we choose to plainly ignore them.
He is always there, understanding our battles everyday, always encouraging us to still do the right thing, to die to our selves and to have the fortitude despite the unfaithfulness of our co-fallen peers. Our brokenness is a gift yet at the same time a chance to rely on His grace to sustain hope in this life despite our tribulations whatever they maybe.
I once had a student who always chided me for appearing sad. Whenever he chides me, I simply smile and ask myself why he cares so much about other people's facial appearances. It also made me reflect that despite all my personal troubles (who doesn't have one anyway) I have hope to cheer up.
Human frailty and all its vicissitudes didn't originate in Pandora's box. It came from a chosen (conscious or unconscious) attempt to live life apart from God's direction. We long for freedom, a setting free from rules only to find that we long for that "enslavement". Loneliness is perhaps a price of a self chosen banishment from what God wants for our lives. We complain from so many troubles only to find that that trouble was our own making.
Rock music deftly puts the current scenario of most teens; it helps them affirm what they feel inside, the hollowness and all. But I hope they move to the answers staring them in the face. I hope they travel not the path of Kurt Cobain or Marilyn Monroe.
Life is beautiful, with all its scars and jars. So let us live it to the fullest.
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