Some Glimpses of Hope

As is, unfortunately, common among people of my age group, I was at a funeral for the parent of a friend a few weeks ago. The service was at a Roman Catholic Church, very pretty, very large. As is usual when I attend a service such as this, I find my mind straying to all those Sunday masses I attended while in grade school and early high school, while also remembering the service for my father already fourteen plus years passed, and then imagining the inevitability of just such a service for my mother who is over 90 years old. That ever present link between the past and present and future.

Afterwards, at the luncheon, I sat with the work friends of my friend whose mother had passed, then when they left, sat with the granddaughter of the recently deceased, along with her three friends, all women in their mid twenties.

Other than my daughter's friends, who are now just entering their 30's, I rarely spend time in conversation with young women, and certainly not discussing the topics of the day. As a result, and despite the sadness of the occasion, I found some hopefulness after speaking with them for that hour or two although not necessarily because they were hopeful about what was happening today, but because they were aware of the issues, and able to express their opinions with clarity. 

Of the four, only one seemed content with her job, although, to be honest, the other three understood the nature of their current employment (to pay the bills), but still had hope that there was something out there on the horizon. They each had a gleam in their eye when thinking about the future, despite the obstacles that they were encountering. 

Two of the four were not in a relationship, but were not reticent to express their dissatisfaction with the dating pool. I have read a few articles recently about the seemingly immature nature of today's twenty something men, which was confirmed, although there was also lamentations as to where to seek a more compatible mate, internet dating apps not withstanding. 

I have often advised my own daughter to make sure she has a skill upon which she can rely for her own financial independence, so it was satisfying to hear that all four of these young women had taken such advice to heart themselves. At least for now, none of them was interested in selling herself short, whether such settling occurred in the social or personal or work aspects of their lives. 

In the recent past, there have been a number of actions that young people have engaged in concerning their awareness of the issues that will effect their futures. Obviously, there are millions of young people who are raising awareness of climate change and the damage we are doing to our shared planet, but just as vocally, protests and advocacy for common sense gun laws has also galvanized many people under 30 years of age, especially when they are the ones to have experienced active shooter drills while in elementary school. Not to mention that hundreds of school age children who have died on the alter of our country's veneration of the 2nd Amendment.

And, of course for the young women I spoke with, the simple fact that their reproductive rights are different depending on which state they reside in. They were fully aware that they have less rights than their mothers, and were less than happy to think that those rights were being restricted by, mostly, men.

Even more inspiring, there have been a number of articles detailing the high school walk outs that have been staged throughout America against the abuses and cruelty of ICE and the policies of the president. I would laugh, if it wasn't so sad, when I read school administrators or right wing pundits proclaim that anyone leaving school without permission would be punished, as if the threat of some kind of permanent mark on their high school record should dissuade them from voicing their concerns for the families of their fellow classmates.  

While I often bemoan the boomers who protested nuclear weapons, the Vietnam War, race inequality, gender bias, basically all the beliefs that the establishment used in attempts to teach conformity, but who now defend some of those very same injustices, especially as related to our horrific immigration policies, I can only hope that today's young people continue to strive for their ideals, to voice their outrage at what they find immoral and cruel. 

But more importantly, that they maintain those ideals even when their own comfort and privilege are threatened when those inequalities are addressed. Heaven knows, we, the baby boomers, sold our souls for bulging 401K balances, million dollar homes and yearly vacations overseas or to warmer climes. But if our young people are already compromising their ideals, what hope is there for real change?

Perhaps that in itself is naive, thinking that today's young people will do better than we did although I thought that was the foundational thinking of those we call the greatest generation; short term sacrifice to provide better opportunities for our children and grandchildren.

Over a dozen years ago, I wrote The Next Greatest Generation. The story reflected my hope, at the time, that in the near future a generation of Americans would alter the direction of America, and eventually, the world, just as it is said about the greatest generation of Americans who were born in the first 25 (or so) years of the 20th century.   

Here is a link to that story.

https://wurdsfromtheburbs.blogspot.com/2013/10/the-next-greatest-generation.html

Since then, and especially in these last five years or so, my optimism has waned, so perhaps that sad event that led me to such an interesting conversation with four young women, and the walkouts and activism being demonstrated by young people across America, are indicators that there are many glimpses of hope out there, we just have to open our eyes to see them, but, more importantly, to encourage and support them.