Random Thoughts from a Restless Mind

Dr. Darrell White's Personal Blog

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The Kids Are Alright

If you are of a certain age, and for sure I am of that certain age, you remember a time when young people were given the latitude to learn from their mistakes. More than that, though, is that young people were routinely forgiven for having made those mistakes. There was a kind of statute of limitations if you will. Stupid stuff you did or said as a teenager was wiped clean from your “record”. Heck, if you met a young person who seemed to have made it through without making any of those typical dumbass kid things you were a little skeptical.

Not so much anymore, eh? In this day and age of foreverness of every action and every uttering it sure seems as if we are no longer willing to let kids learn from their dumb kid mistakes.

Several of the boys who were drafted by the NFL last week are perfect examples. One of them said some stupid stuff on social media, got smacked for saying it, and has clearly expressed that he is aware that he was a knucklehead. Another chucklehead had a car accident, and yet a third had a beer or something, got caught and received the logical immediate consequence. There were a dozen similar stories. From the looks of it each one ended with lesson learned. Why, then, do I know about all of this when we are discussing 20, 21, or 22 year olds who did this dumb stuff when they were in high school?

Youngsters are impulsive and impetuous and they make decisions that are absolutely baffling to folks who are…ahem…less young. The elders on the ground are supposed to teach kids that all decisions have natural consequences in the hope that they will make better decisions. Once they start making better decisions it’s time for all of the rest of us to wipe clean the hard drive and stop piling on with punitive consequences that no longer make sense. Let’s let kids learn from their mistakes when they are young, like we did. Most of it is harmless if they do, indeed, learn the right lesson. Should you really have to account for that speeding ticket you got at age 18 during a job interview when you are 50? Your Dad took the car away for 6 months and you haven’t had a ticket since.

The kids are alright. Cut ’em  some slack.

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