The
Catholic Weekly
Online
Sydney
23 November 2003
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Sydney welcomes its newest cardinal
Not to be missed
Help for Jenny, Luke
Take heart from teenagers
Caritas stays put
Irishtown revisited
The company they keep
Pregnant pause: Making room for the little person
Editorial: Young hopefuls
Letters: Quiet revolutionary
Conversation: Fr Michael Anghel, parish priest and grandfather of three - Priest
made rite choice
Chance or Hand of God?
Presto, adagio, it’s art Caravaggio
The last retreat
Virtual boost to learning
‘Big kids’ meet ‘littlies’
Teacher, student in De La Salle double history win
Prize for playground plan
Gospel values alive in L’Arche
Editorial: Young hopefuls
WHY can’t they be like we were? Perfect in every way! What’s the matter with kids today?
The sentiments of these lyrics, written for the 1960s musical Bye Bye Birdie, have no doubt resonated for older generations throughout the ages.
They express the frustration of parents with and a sometime lack of understanding of the young; they also reflect a ‘rose-coloured glasses’ perception of their own youth - perfect in every way!
In reality we know differently. Today’s generation of kids is certainly no worse than that which preceded them. And, in fact, people like social researcher Hugh Mackay actually see the young of today as the salvation of tomorrow.
And many would agree that our present generation needs an injection of freshness, hope, optimism and spirit that are the attributes of youth.
Mr Mackay has told the Australian Council of Social Services conference that society is reeling from the effects of the sexual revolution, the economic revolution and the information technology revolution.
He said divorce was at an all-time high, the marriage rate has plummeted, households were shrinking and the birth rate was languishing.
He painted a bleak and sorry picture of a society in which the environment, Aboriginal issues, equality, poverty and culture were no longer important.
This lay observation echoes warnings from Church leaders that we are becoming an increasingly uncaring, self-centred and selfish society in which the “I’m all right, Jack” attitude prevails.
But Mr Mackay sees a silver lining - in the optimism of youth. He sees Australian society teetering on major cultural change, driven by teenagers who were the most community-minded, “the most tribal generation of Australians” he had seen.
It is a welcome vote of confidence in our young folk, many of whom have developed values and social consciences more consistent with the Gospel of Christ than their elders’ push for hedonism and consumerism.