Most of my fellow students in high school were as confused as I was by our sexuality, by the reality of the military draft, by the changing job market, and by the changing fads that we were supposed to get involved with or move beyond depending on some mysterious "authority" who told us what was popular and what was no longer popular. Probably you missed all that confusion, but most kids are so confused as teenagers they don't even know they are confused. In fact, they are sure THEY are the ones who are not confused!
How do adults who have bought into the "social contract" that keeps our world going in a relatively peaceful, productive way, engage people in their teens and help them "buy in" to, and agree to, the social contract? How do we keep angst-ridden teens from shooting their classmates, bullied kids from committing suicide, young drivers from texting and driving or drinking and driving or building bombs in their parent's basement in order to do their part in keeping the world a good place to live?
Many teenagers don't think their world is a good place to live, and because of their limited experience they just cannot see that, imperfect as it is, it's better than it could be. Because of the way they have grown up they look for someone to blame even for the horrors of the middle-East, or northern Nigeria, or the slave trade in Thailand. Usually it works best to blame the United States, or the conservatives, or the liberals, or . . . well, you live with it. Fill in the blanks for yourself.
How do we help people, including ourselves, buy in to the "social contract" voluntarily, without fear of jail time, when people don't feel like it?
What do you think? Leave your comment and let us know.
