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Generation gap not
a new phenomenon

"I see no hope for the future of our people if they are dependent on the frivolous youth of today, for certainly the younger generation is reckless beyond description. When I was a boy, we were taught to be discrete and respectful to elders, but youth of today think that they are too smart, and they resent any kind of restraint."

Does this lament belong to the 21st century? No. These are the words of Hesiod, the father of Greek didactic poetry, who lived more than 2,700 years ago.

And an article written in America around 1850 states: "The existing evil in our country, of youthful rebellion against all healthful authority, is now universally felt and complained of throughout the land. Parents, guardians and teachers all feel the great difficulty in governing the spirits of this age. There seems to be an antagonistic feeling aroused the instant any restraining influence is exercised."

Thus we can see that all over the world, in just about all ages, older people have lamented about the behavior of young people and complained about their lack of respect to their elders.

On the other hand, the younger generation has always had much to complain about the older generation.

People of all ages have a general tendency to resent authoritative figures, because they feel inferior when people in power exercise their authority over them. It is not age, but the authority exercised over the younger generation by grown-ups that causes resentment.

And all inherently tend to cling to their own habits, ways of thinking and convictions. This tendency is to a great respect responsible for the so-called generation gap.

But can this be bridged? There is ample evidence proving that this gap has existed for at least the last 2,700 years. Therefore, to think that we can effectively bridge it now or any time in the future is not a realistic possibility.

Had the younger generation from the very dawn of human existence implicitly obeyed and respected their elders, we would probably still sit in mountain caves and eat raw meat. The descendants must have differed from the lifestyle of their ancestors. So we cannot deny that such deviant, defiant behavior on the part of the descendants gave rise to many advances in the evolution of human civilization.

Chanakya, the ancient economist and political genius of India, lived around 375 B.C. "Pampering one's son through all kinds of indulgence causes a lot of harm to him," Chanakya said. "But a son reared in strict discipline is seen to develop many good qualities. That's why sons and disciples (students) should be kept under strict discipline; they must not be pampered." In other words, youngsters at an impressionable age should be trained properly. This conditioning will help them to grow up to be decent members of society.

The Bible gives a similar message: "Chasten your son while there is hope, and do not set your heart on his destruction" (Proverbs 19:18). It also says, "Foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child, but the rod of correction will drive it far from him" (Proverbs 22:15).

While "Spare the rod and spoil the child" is a technique of proven reliability, it should also be remembered that young people expect the enforcers of discipline to observe self-discipline as well. For example, if the father smokes, his advice to his son not to smoke won't work. The enforcer of discipline should teach by his own example as well.

Who can deny that young people need good role models to imbibe noble qualities? When society lacks role models endowed with noble virtues, what can young people do? Then their role models will be actors, playing violent and vulgar roles in sensational movies or plays. Or perhaps they will find role models in corrupt politicians who are power-hungry, or in wealthy people leading a glamorous yet immoral life.

So, in the final analysis we can see that the burden of solving the generation gap eventually depends more on the grown-up members of the society and not so much on the younger generation.

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