Youth is too precious to be wasted on the young? With age, we understand such statements whether or not we agree with them. In The Rebel Worlds, Dominic Flandry suggests that the Didonian composite consciousnesses have solved the "if youth would, if age could" problem.
When my mother quoted, "Youth is too precious to be wasted on the young," to me as a small child, it was said as a put down. There was real resentment across the "generation gap" between those born before the atom bomb and those born after it. By contrast, I have felt nothing but respect for my daughter and her generation.
Together, we must build a future instead of recriminating about our pasts and there might be a generation that has a more secure and enjoyable present. See Blue And Green Planet.
1 comment:
Kaor, Paul!
I agree with your ASPIRATIONS or hopes, but I am skeptical of them ever being more than partially realized. And I see no special wisdom in people merely because they are young. Wisdom and knowledge comes, for most of us, only with the passing of time and hard won understanding. I'm reminded of Steven Matuchek's apt reflections on very similar points near the end of Chapter XXI of OPERATION CHAOS. Reflections I agree with.
Sean
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