Barack Obama often liked to
pretend that he was the only adult in the room.
As he saw it, he was the only one with the good sense and emotional
control to make wise decisions. Others
were too caught up in the passions of the moment to put current events in
perspective.
This, however, was a
charade. Our former president was an
admirable speaker, but a juvenile thinker.
He could put words together better than most folks and do so with
admirable composure. As was said, he was
no drama Obama. Yet did this make him an
adult?
Anyone familiar with
Barack’s history knows that his political philosophy was formed when he was a
teenager and underwent few changes as he supposedly matured. He was always in favor of semi-socialist
solutions. He always regarded these as
common sense.
Donald Trump, in contrast,
is seldom thought of as an adult. His
language and demeanor are frequently those of an adolescent. His penchants for name-calling and hyperbole unquestionably
aim for the lowest common denominator.
They certainly do not inspire us with their penetrating insights.
Nonetheless, when our
president called for “principled realism” in Riyadh and urged us to uphold our
shared Western values in Warsaw, he conducted himself very much as an
adult. He also did so with a combination
of restraint and determination in dealing with North Korea.
Members of the media, on the
other hand, have behaved like a band of mischievous children. They are so determined to bring down a hated
president that they will stoop to any form of derision that makes him look
bad. Yet when they do, they do not stop
to think about the best interests of their country—the way adults would.
To cite a small example from
the recent past, mainstream journalists hysterically bemoaned Trump’s unkind
dismissal of CNN while in Europe. They
complained this was unpresidential. And
yet they conveniently left out the part that he said this only because a
reporter asked a question that virtually begged for such a response.
As for politicians, few of
them have in recent years distinguished themselves as statesmen. Thus, both Democrats and Republicans have
amped up their mutual recriminations in the manner of schoolyard bullies. The worst sorts of accusations are hurled
without any concern for their accuracy.
Instead of quietly
attempting to legislate on behalf of their constituents, congressmen nowadays preen
for the cameras. The problems we face
are so complex and so vexing that mature thought would appear to be
necessary. This, however, is not what we
get. We get adolescent grandstanding.
Why is this so? Perhaps it is because so few adults go to the
voting booth. Regrettably, not enough
Americans think for themselves. They are
instead influenced by slogans and invective.
These provide easy answers that do not require them to exert effort. This way they do not have to read, but can get
solutions served up in digestible portions.
We see the same trend at the
movies. When I was an adolescent, I
enjoyed reading my best friend’s stash of comic books. The exploits of Superman and Batman were a
secret indulgence that I even then realized was immature. But today we see a comparable quest of
empty-headed fun at nearly every theater.
It is currently summertime,
with its tidal wave of computer-generated graphics designed to impress and
excite. The idea is to get our hearts
racing, not our brains cogitating. Throw
in a dash of romance and a menagerie of monsters and we are happy as three
years olds with two scoops of ice cream.
So where are the
adults? I am a college professor and I
don’t see many of my students actively attempting to grow up. For that matter, I have been shocked at how
little serious reading some of my colleagues do. They too seem to be in search of easy
answers.
But guess what? Childishness has a serious downside. The world is too complicated for juvenile remedies. Furthermore, the challenges we face require
adult courage. Without the clear-eyed
collaboration of millions of determined adults, society is bound to become
further disorganized.
Am I the only one frightened
by this prospect? I hope not!
Melvyn L. Fein, Ph.D.
Professor of Sociology
Kennesaw State University
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