“I am a possibilist. I believe that humanity is master of its own fate... Before we can change direction, we have to question many of the assumptions underlying our current philosophy. Assumptions like bigger is better; you can't stop progress; no speed is too fast; globalization is good. Then we have to replace them with some different assumptions: small is beautiful; roots and traditions are worth preserving; variety is the spice of life; the only work worth doing is meaningful work; biodiversity is the necessary pre-condition for human survival.”  Robert Bateman

The one thing that needs to be clear about this time in history is that there are no more "those people" out there.  The modern mind got into the habit of labeling whole groups of people and throwing them all into the mix.  This was a clever way of naming them out of existence so that we no longer needed to deal with them.  Out of this came thoughts that are apalling, but nevertheless real.  How do we build an organization with those kind of people?  Do you think you can raise funds with these people?  Or the worst of all....these people are all the same. 

I say all of this because I am in danger of doing a similar thing.  I want to lump everyone who is under 35 into a category and label them as being the same.  The truth is that for every 10 people under 35, there are more than 10 different ways to categorize each and every one of them.  There is no one label that fits with them any more than there is one label that fits with the over 35 group.  Let's face it, when Tom Brokaw called the depression era/WWII survivors the "greatest generation" he did a disservice to those men and women.  They may have been the greatest but they were and remain so much more.  In the same way, the young people who are going to revolutionize our world are much more than the sum of their parts.

I have friends who are older and more mature who are scared to death of what might happen if we unleash the wild ideas of the youth today.  After all, we are overly protective of the stuff that we allow to be read, seen, thought or spoken.  I find it peculiar that we are so involved with trying to stop people from reading the latest book by Donald Miller or William P. Young but most of the youth couldn't care less.  The more ideas the better.  Let's uncork the bottle and let the genie out for a while.  Maybe then we can begin to exercise discernment....oh, but that would mean we would be out of control from those who are trying to tell us how to use our minds, what to see, and what to think.  I can see how upsetting this is....but I also see how futile it is.  Our youth are not going to wait until they have permission.  They are just going to take it.  Are you ready?

 

I love T-Bone Burnett.  I know that few know who he is, but he wrote a song a few years back called "The Wild Truth."  In it, he says, "whatever happened to the man walking down the street with his hands in his pockets whistling a tune? science fiction and nostalgia have become the same thing. i don't know how to make any choices anymore i mean, who do i vote for? i get the feeling that as soon as something appears in the paper it ceases to be true. i want to meet the man who can crack this world of justice like a safe. someone with the courage to allow room for good deeds to run wild into the wild truth."  I think we are about to meet this "man."  He is every man and he is every woman who ever thought that maybe there was something more than they were getting from the system.  I am looking forward to that day.

"are we supposed to take all this greed and fear and hatred
seriously? it's like watching dust settle it never changes
it's too consistent

mercy is not consistent it's like the wind
it goes where it will. mercy is comic, and it's the only
thing worth taking seriously

i need the wild truth"  T-Bone Burnett