Vanishing American Adults
Confession: Last week I subscribed to the newspaper, and read all the pages for the first time in my life. For someone who normally lives under a rock, and had been for the most part content to do so, this was a big step. It all started with a book I read on recommendation from Josh's family, The Vanishing American Adult, by Ben Sasse. It was an excellent read, and I found myself alternately saying, "That's right!" and getting nervous about where the author projects the country is going on its present trajectory.
Some of my take-aways:
1. While I don't normally identify myself as a millennial (I was born in 1980, right on the tail end of generation X), I saw some of the same mindsets in myself that were shown in a negative light in this book. Namely, that adults of this age have had easier lives than any generation in history, and that that comes with a price. To put it bluntly, we are wimps. This is not complimentary, but highly accurate. I don't do well without air conditioning. I hate camping. I don't know if I could actually handle a war in my own country. I have had little exposure to death. I have never known need. While these on the surface look like incredible blessings, the fetid underside of this is that I would be the last person to rely on in an actual emergency, or to patiently endure prolonged suffering.
2. I was reminded and chagrined that I have no idea about how history affects today. My History teachers throughout the years would be appalled at how little I have retained (sorry!). I have no concept of current events that are shaping the world now. As I said earlier, I live under a rock. I hole myself up in my house and teach my kids, and do my housework, and have no clue about anything actually happening in the world. This is a bad thing, hence the newspaper subscription. Even just 3 days of the newspaper have opened my eyes to a lot that I was previously ignorant to.
3. I was relieved to know that Josh and I are not crazy, and we do not expect too much work out of our kids. They need it, it's good for them, and good for the whole family. I will not be made to feel that I expect too much out of them!
4. My kids need exposure to a wide variety of age groups. It is healthy for them to be friends with older people and younger people; to be taught how to interact with everyone. The current trend to segregate all the age groups is historically weird and proving to be unhealthy. This was an encouraging thought to me, because my kids don't interact with tons of kids who are their same ages. It will be okay! We just need to work on cultivating good, kind, respectful relationships with those that we do interact with.
5. Reading (and being widely read) is very important. I knew this already, but this was another take away that I, well, took away. This encouraged me to reserve some books at the library that I would never have chosen for myself, but that my anemic mind needs to soak up. I reserved, for example, Alexis de Tocqueville's Democracy in America. I am ashamed to admit that I had never heard of him before reading this book. See #2.
Some of my take-aways:
1. While I don't normally identify myself as a millennial (I was born in 1980, right on the tail end of generation X), I saw some of the same mindsets in myself that were shown in a negative light in this book. Namely, that adults of this age have had easier lives than any generation in history, and that that comes with a price. To put it bluntly, we are wimps. This is not complimentary, but highly accurate. I don't do well without air conditioning. I hate camping. I don't know if I could actually handle a war in my own country. I have had little exposure to death. I have never known need. While these on the surface look like incredible blessings, the fetid underside of this is that I would be the last person to rely on in an actual emergency, or to patiently endure prolonged suffering.
2. I was reminded and chagrined that I have no idea about how history affects today. My History teachers throughout the years would be appalled at how little I have retained (sorry!). I have no concept of current events that are shaping the world now. As I said earlier, I live under a rock. I hole myself up in my house and teach my kids, and do my housework, and have no clue about anything actually happening in the world. This is a bad thing, hence the newspaper subscription. Even just 3 days of the newspaper have opened my eyes to a lot that I was previously ignorant to.
3. I was relieved to know that Josh and I are not crazy, and we do not expect too much work out of our kids. They need it, it's good for them, and good for the whole family. I will not be made to feel that I expect too much out of them!
4. My kids need exposure to a wide variety of age groups. It is healthy for them to be friends with older people and younger people; to be taught how to interact with everyone. The current trend to segregate all the age groups is historically weird and proving to be unhealthy. This was an encouraging thought to me, because my kids don't interact with tons of kids who are their same ages. It will be okay! We just need to work on cultivating good, kind, respectful relationships with those that we do interact with.
5. Reading (and being widely read) is very important. I knew this already, but this was another take away that I, well, took away. This encouraged me to reserve some books at the library that I would never have chosen for myself, but that my anemic mind needs to soak up. I reserved, for example, Alexis de Tocqueville's Democracy in America. I am ashamed to admit that I had never heard of him before reading this book. See #2.
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