by L. Merlino

Created on: September 07, 2008

Are young people less courageous than three decades ago?

It is the nature of young people to be courageous. In part, this ensures the continuation of our species. It takes courage to set out into an uncertain world, and the world is at least as uncertain today as it was decades ago.

In many ways, the challenges of today are the same as generations ago. We still have wars, poverty, economic ups and downs ... yet technology has advanced by leaps and bounds, presenting whole new sets of challenges and solutions - and a learning curve. Typically, it is the youth that most easily embraces newly emerging technology in any generation. This takes guts - both to master such change and to wield it often in the face of resistance from more conservative elders.

Today's youth faces enormous challenges that did not exist in the 70s and 80s, and they are no less enthusiastic about facing these challenges. Today, we have more sophisticated war machines to grapple with, the threats posed by global warming and the melting of the polar ice caps; it often seems that human life itself may be on the brink of extinction. It may be technology that got us into this mess, yet it may be through technology that we find a way out. As in generations before, young people are amongst the loudest voices for positive change.

Elders who have a lot invested in old paradigms are frequently change-resistant, even when it may mean eventual crisis on a massive scale. It is the young people who question those authorities that would hold the human race back in spite of the potential benefits of moving forward. It was that way in the 60's, 70's and 80's - in fact, if we look at history, even in ancient times, it was the youth who typically held up the banner of change, either for better or for worse. At any rate, it all amounted to courage on the part of the young, and either the seniors joined ranks with the new, or they stayed behind as the world forged ahead.

Young people are programmed and wired to be courageous. They are also wired for change. Of course, there are exceptions, just as there are plenty of seniors who bravely face a changing world, but typically, it is the youth who are the much-needed trailblazers that usher our race to the future.

I recall the 1960's and 70's as being a time of questioning old norms and authority in general. I also recall a lot of youth being rebellious for the sake of rebellion. We protested the Vietnam war, capitalism, traditional gender roles and dress-codes - we protested

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