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Things were different when I was young. But were they better? What's been a positive change since you were a kid?
This week's Spiritual Newsletter is all about change, and about our duty towards the next generation.
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Do you remember when artists made proper music? In fact, do you remember when artists made proper art? These days a messy bed placed within an exhibition space will soon be circled by so-called connoisseurs waxing lyrical about the depth of expression evident in each crinkle of the old, greying sheet. Hey, Banksy’s Love is in the Bin recently sold for £18,582,000 and that painting’s literally shredded!
I remember when kids played outside for hours, their parents going about their own business, and there was little to no fear. Sure, there’d be falls and scraped knees but that’s all part of growing up, isn’t it? Nowadays children spend their days indoors, watching television or playing computer games, eyes glued to the screen whilst parents are busy with their own screens, together yet mentally miles apart. Mesmerised and zombiefied.
Back then all shops were closed on a Sunday. Most people went to church that day. Even those who weren’t that bothered about religion the rest of the week. It was the done thing to dress your best and spend an hour or two with your community, and with the Lord. Church attendance is dwindling. In my country it is not as uncommon as you’d think to see churches for sale; indeed, my village’s Protestant church is up for sale right now. Its community has merged with that of the small Baptist church, as there simply weren’t the numbers to sustain the two. Worse, the merged community is mostly made up of pensioners. I know that this is not a unique situation – it’s the same with my grandfather’s church in the Netherlands, and the church my grandmother used to attend. My aunt’s church is doing slightly better, but they go out of their way to attract younger members. It’s an uphill battle.
Kids are so entitled these days, aren’t they? They want this and demand that and insist upon their rights. They won’t even tolerate Aunt Margaret who, yes, is a hugger, but that’s family for you. When I was young children didn’t dream of speaking out! You knew your place!
Do you recognise any of this? Have you ever had similar thoughts? You may think that I was a child in the 1950s or so, but I am only in my 40s. Whilst I’ve exaggerated some of the above, I do struggle to enjoy a lot of currently popular music, which is something I never thought would happen. And I do shake my head at some examples of what passes as art these days, though there are a lot of very talented people out there and I like how easy it is to explore artists' creative expressions through the Internet.
I have fond memories of riding my bike around my local area, and climbing trees with my friends. Building dens. It’s not difficult to see why this is close to impossible for a great many children now, though. There’s a lot more traffic compared to a few decades ago, and air pollution in all too many areas isn’t a joke. Not to mention Covid...
I do feel some concern about how much time many of us spend staring at a screen. Yes, I’m as guilty as anyone. I’m staring at a screen typing this Newsletter! It makes me sad when people come visit me and they hardly even look at me when they speak – most of their focus is on their smartphone. They arrive, they stare at their phone, they leave… I wonder what was even the point of stopping by. When I go for walks it’s not uncommon for me to see squirrels in the trees, and I’ve frequently been fortunate enough to see deer in the woods, but others walk right past me, oblivious to all that beauty, talking or texting or browsing. The other day a man was only three feet away from a couple of deer and he never realised they were there.
It’s a shame to see the local church for sale, but I confess that I never went. I haven’t been to any church of any denomination since I was in my twenties. I can see why church attendance is less-than-appealing to younger people – as a student who visits student forums I’ve learned that many have the same issues and concerns that I do. In no small amount of churches there’s too great a focus on how we’re all basically bad, bad people who are doomed to eternal suffering unless we do this and that, and that kind of guilt and shame does not appeal. Nor does the idea that a woman ought to be submissive to her husband. And what’s so wrong about two consenting adults entering a relationship even if they happen to be of the same gender? Society has moved on from those types of ideas, causing church doctrine to feel outdated. If churches want to attract more people, then, they need a renewed focus on the uplifting, socially progressive aspects of their faith.
I actually celebrate the fact that young people tend to be aware of their rights, including their right to set and maintain their boundaries. The Aunt Margarets of the world need to realise that not everybody likes hugs, or they don’t like them all the time, and that’s okay! The young people of today are pretty sensible on the whole, actually. I know that every generation tends to believe that the next generation is problematic, but these kids have a greater focus on health than I ever did, including mental health. They have a greater awareness of the need to preserve our natural world, of economic pitfalls and of a healthy work/life balance. Many understand the toxicity of the idea of ‘your place’ and ‘my place’. There are a great many challenges ahead of us, and if we’re going to tackle them we have to do so together, as equals.
It can be tempting to wonder why young people complain about stuff that we didn't complain about when we were their age. Isn’t the whole point of being a member of society to make things better for those who come after us, though? If we turn ourselves into obstacles on the path to progress, who are we benefitting? Ourselves? I don’t think so. The next generation, or the one after? Certainly not.
Not all progress is good. I know. People should take the time to look around them. To see the squirrels, and the deer. Anything that improves our rights, however, and our quality of life, our health and wellbeing and that of those around us, and all the people in the world, the air that we breathe, the soil that we grow our crops in, our waters, our woods and our wildlife… anything that helps make life worth living is there to be embraced if we only stop gazing longingly at the past. Let’s embrace the future. Let’s help make it something worth looking back at.
Kit
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Spiritual: October 27, 2021 Issue [#11049]
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