Youth is wasted on the wrong people!

Tell me if you can guess what decade this statement about teenagers was made:

“”

The 90’s? The 60’s? Maybe earlier, like somewhere in the late 1800’s? Actually, this quote comes from a sermon by Peter the Hermit that was written in the late 13th century.

Living a little over the halfway point in my 40’s, I’ve noticed that people like to talk about “kids these days” and “how bad this world is getting,” and I have to wonder, Obviously, the idea of teenagers being disrespectful, lazy, and/or self-absorbed is barely an original thought. People who talk about “the good ol’ days,” or “simpler times” will be quick to criticize teenagers today but conveniently forget the vices and pitfalls they experienced as youth.

I love what I heard a stand up comedian say on back in the 80’s. Speaking for his (and my) generation, he asked, “What on earth could we possibly say to our children about how bad we had it? We’re spoiled!” then he added in a mock voice, “Son, when I was your age we to school! And we appreciated it!

The fact is, every generation likes to criticize the younger ones. Whether it’s their dress, their music, their devices, their hair… we talk about these trends as if this new brand of child has been tainted and that they will destroy themselves and everyone around them.

“The ME generation.” I remember this term being used to describe Baby Boomers. And just a handful of years later I heard it used referring to GenXers. Some historians have attached the name to the folks living in the “roaring 20’s.” And it sounds like Peter the Hermit would’ve called those darn ol’ 1200’s teens the same thing.

But I don’t believe it. The kids of “these days” (or my personal favourite, the kids “of this dain-age”) are… well… they’re kids. They’re a different generation; therefore, they will have different values, different perspectives, and different ideas. If the hippies didn’t destroy us, I’m sure these kids won’t either. Yes, we can respect what the builder generation went through, especially the Great Depression and WWII, but they had their own problems. And we don’t remember much of what parents had to say about them, but seeing as history keeps repeating themselves, I’m sure they would say the things that we and Peter the Hermit have said. Besides, can we really refer to anything in our culture today as proof that the world is “getting really bad” that can compare to the Holocaust or the Vietnam war?

If there’s anything we can learn from , it’s that we need to try to listen more and seek to understand. They are different from us, pure and simple. As Bob Dylan put it:

Come mothers and fathersThroughout the landAnd don’t criticizeWhat you can’t understandYour sons and your daughtersAre beyond your commandYour old road isRapidly agin’.Please get out of the new oneIf you can’t lend your handFor the times they are a-changin’.

Congratulations . This is your week.

Best Actress:

Brie Larson as Joy (Ma) in .

Best Actor: Al Pacino as Sonny in .

Best Quote: Juror #7: “You a Yankee fan?” Juror #5: “No, Baltimore.” Juror #7: “Baltimore? That’s like being hit in the head with a crowbar once a day.” —

Speaking of , if you want to see an old movie that was ahead of its time, watch this one. It’s statements about life, death, racism, and justice translates to today better than just about any other movie I can think of. Not only that, it breaks all the rules concerning cinema and keeping viewers’ attention, yet it will hold your attention from beginning to end.

By the way, the title of this post is a quote from It’s a Wonderful Life. As good of a movie as it is, this is one of the worst movie quotes ever.