Country Mama
Ah, teenagers! The nemesis of human existence vindicating our parents for what we, as teens, did to them.
The long-ago still haunts us. Now we’re paying for it. Nevertheless, you might be the teen kid that did not give your parents a hard time parenting you.
The reason that they know all the answers is that they have not heard all the questions yet. It’s about the ripe season that they do come to believe that delicate time of their lives. They’re in their crossroads. As the cliche goes, in balancing between fools and acting out the know-it-all pointing at their ‘stupid’ parents.
It’s all a phase they are stuck in. A reality we all deal with. And we, the wiser ones in most cases, help them go through it to becoming strong, wise and happy.
Young people learn a lot from their parents, friends, etc. Their greatest teacher is life. They occasionally run into problems because at that moment they think they are the smartest.
Exactly right, Vidocka. I wrote this teen snippet because I identify with it, as a parent of a large family. And I was once a young ‘smart’ kid doing stupid things. 😀
Good points. Yes, truth shall, indeed, make one absolutely free— young and old.
I think it is unwise to generalise. One thing worth remembering is that teenagers go to school and college, where they learn a great deal and many of them read widely and deeply, as well as having inquiring minds.
Knowledge is always changing and developing, and schools and colleges teach the latest knowledge. That is why young people are quite likely to be armed with much more reliable knowledge than their parents and grandparents who – if they are wise – will listen to what young people tell them.
In no field is this more important than the vital area of climate change and global warming, where we are learning more all the time. This learning is being passed to young people by professional teachers who know how to apply the proper filters that will weed out the nonsense that vested interests use to hide people from the truth. The result is that young people – such as Greta Thunberg and millions like her – should be listened to.
The idea that only older people know the truth and it their duty to inculcate the youth with that truth is absolute nonsense and is a concept that belongs to the past.
I said it is important not to generalise, and perhaps I am guilty of doing just that. However, the balance surely lies on the side of young people – whose future is going to be much longer than ours – being armed with much more reliable knowledge than we possess.
Good points, Indexer. Yes, truth shall, indeed, make one absolutely free— young and old.