The title of this column is
meant to be ironic. In the wake of the
Parkland Florida shootings, we have been subjected to battalions of teenagers
lecturing us on what we must do to protect them in their classrooms. They tell us their sad tales of terror, which
are supposed to certify their expertise on gun policy.
The liberal politicians and
journalists, who trot them out to persuade us to back stronger gun laws, care
not one whit about reasoned arguments.
They instead get out the crying towel and hope the emotional tears we
shed will blur our vision.
This is a travesty. It is demagoguery. It takes advantage of the earnest idealism of
youth in order to promote an ideological agenda. In other words, this is rank exploitation. It manipulates a vulnerable group so as to
enhance the power of the manipulators.
Let me explain something
about idealism. It is not an accident
that it is concentrated among the young.
Those, who are in its thrall, like to believe that this is because older
folks are embittered sell-outs. The
elderly have presumably abandoned their principles for the sake of money and to
conceal their personal failures.
Many teenagers seem to think
that as folks grow older, they forget what they ever knew. Unwilling to keep up with the latest advances
in wisdom, these adults are trapped in an antediluvian past. Of course they can’t solve social
problems. Their inability to do so is
demonstrated by having never done it.
In fact, what mature adults
discover is that life is devilishly complex.
So many things are going on—and interacting in unforeseen ways—that it
is enormously difficult to figure exactly what caused what.
On top of this, years of
experience reveal how little control we have over events. Not only are they difficult to dictate within
our personal spheres, they are even more problematic in the larger society. After all, millions of people, with
conflicting interests, participate in deciding what occurs.
Time and again, what we
expect to happen does not. Time and
again, unanticipated events turn matters in unpredicted directions. As a result, we must often react to
surprising occurrences. All too often,
we likewise only discover what works by bumping into it.
The young have less time to
acquire this experience. They may know
important things, but usually within a relatively narrow compass. They also have less power than their
elders. This means that they exercise
less influence that those they assume to be ineffective.
This is not the fault of the
young. It is merely a consequence of
their condition. But it explains why they
seize upon easy solutions to complex questions.
In their anxiety to protect themselves from potential dangers, they need
to convince themselves they understand how.
They must believe that events are simple enough for them to master.
They are, in fact, told as
much by their teachers. From
kindergarten through graduate school, they absorb abridged lessons about
life. Moreover, given that most
educators are liberal, their students are exposed to an unending string of liberal
shibboleths. The media then reinforce
these.
I, for instance, never heard
about Edmund Burke, Friedrich Hayek, or Milton Friedman until I was working on
my Ph.D. Previous to this, I assumed
that all conservatives were dumb and selfish.
The young generally don’t know
what they don’t know. Furthermore, in
their haste to reform the world, they are seldom concerned with finding
out. They do not want to be diverted by
rationalizations for inaction.
To reiterate, this is what
it means to be young. Nevertheless, the young should be encouraged
to explore their ideals. This is one of
the best ways to discover the limitations imposed upon us by reality.
A problem develops only when
adults allow themselves to be led by the young.
We get into trouble when those of us with more experience eschew our
obligation to recognize, and respond to, life’s complications. That’s when we adopt policies that cannot
work.
Idealism is fine for the
young. It encourages them to stretch
themselves and seek a better world. But
it is dangerous for responsible adults.
For us, the watchword should be principled
realism. The truth is sometimes hard
to swallow; yet it is what it is.
Melvyn L. Fein, Ph.D.
Professor of Sociology
Kennesaw State University
No comments:
Post a Comment