While attending a teachers' workshop recently, I heard a veteran teacher of almost twenty years say something that I wish I hadn't heard. When asked what she hoped to gain from the day's session, she answered that she wanted to learn from what the younger teachers were doing. Her answer was met with enthusiastic approval and agreement from our colleagues. That incident was one example of a mindset that is prevalent in our culture. In many different areas of our society, over the last few decades we have begun asking those who have more experience, knowledge and wisdom than us to step aside and let arrogant and inexperienced youth take the wheel. And, of course a generation that has grown up being affirmed instead of disciplined, having never been allowed to lose (or win) and being taught that their own self-expression is their contribution to society are more than happy to oblige.
We have raised a generation of self-worshiping, self-absorbed, men and women who are too obsessed with their own sense of accomplishment to learn from those who are able to help them to actually accomplish something. What we have called "fresh perspective" looks an awful lot like prideful inexperience to me. How do you think we ended up with a communist president? (Yes, I said it. Read up on your communist history [primary sources, not revisionists] and tell me I'm wrong.) Under the guise of love, our culture dictates that we raise our kids in the pattern that I have described. Gentlemen, love disciplines. Love guides. Love allows life. Sometimes life hurts, but when it does, love will still be there. Love your kids, really.