{"id":1423,"date":"2013-02-07T06:17:45","date_gmt":"2013-02-07T11:17:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/intramuralist.com\/?p=1423"},"modified":"2013-02-07T06:17:45","modified_gmt":"2013-02-07T11:17:45","slug":"yolo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/intramuralist.com\/?p=1423","title":{"rendered":"YOLO!"},"content":{"rendered":"

Fail.<\/em><\/p>\n

Probs.<\/em><\/p>\n

Sick.<\/em><\/p>\n

Swag.<\/em><\/p>\n

Hater.<\/em><\/p>\n

Ging.<\/em><\/p>\n

Rachet.<\/em><\/p>\n

Photobomb.<\/em><\/p>\n

Hakuna matata.<\/em><\/p>\n

Whatever.<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u2018Kids say the darndest things.\u2019\u00a0 The question is whether our teens are more \u201ckids\u201d or adults \u2014 and whether \u201cdarndest\u201d qualifies more as foolish or as wise.\u00a0 One \u201cdarnd\u201d thing I\u2019ve heard far too often from these growing young men and women is the colloquial justification that \u201ceverybody\u2019s doing it.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cEverybody\u2019s doing it, Mom…<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s doing it.\u00a0 She\u2019s doing it.\u00a0 I should be able to do it, too!\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Seemingly suddenly, society\u2019s evolving standard of morality is dependent upon what everyone else does \u2014 hence, the existence of a slippery, (un)<\/em>scrupulous slope upon which current culture continues to ride.\u00a0 Sometimes it feels like a bit of an \u2018adventure land\u2018<\/em> \u2014 like riding a roller coaster… hands up… smiles on… the participants unaware of any lurking calamity awaiting at the end of the ride.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Don\u2019t let me be too hard on our teens.\u00a0 It\u2019s not as if this is merely a problem indigenous to their generation.\u00a0 They have watched their parents; they have watched celebrities; they have watched the politicians and elected leaders in the land; they have watched them squabble and base their behavior on what others do.\u00a0 Dare I suggest, they have watched us all a little too well.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Prior to our teens being teens, they\u2019ve watched previous generations ride an often parallel, (un)<\/em>scrupulous pitch.\u00a0 We may or may not have articulated our actions via the \u201ceveryone\u2019s doing it\u201d logic.\u00a0 However, the teens have seen our not-so-subtle \u201ckeeping up with the Jones\u2019s\u201d act; they\u2019ve seen us subtly (or not)<\/em> be continually indignant or stubborn or selfish or even refuse to extend grace \u2014 again all based upon the behavior of other people.\u00a0 They\u2019ve even seen us look, act, or even dress a certain way, all motivated by \u201cimpression management\u201d \u2014 our fairly futile attempts to control the perception others have of us.\u00a0 Further still, in my semi-humble opinion (emphasis on the <\/em>semi<\/em><\/strong>),<\/em> the youth in this country have seen reasonably intelligent adults discern what\u2019s right or wrong based on other people.\u00a0 Worse yet, they\u2019ve witnessed us actually change <\/em><\/strong>what we believe to be right or wrong \u2014 based upon other people.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cEveybody\u2019s doing it, Mom…\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

On what do we base what\u2019s right and what\u2019s wrong?<\/p>\n

Does it change?<\/p>\n

If it continually changes, how can it be wise?\u00a0 … even from reasonably intelligent adults?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

From Jan. of 1998 through June of 2000, gifted comedian, Bill Cosby, hosted a comedy series on CBS entitled \u201cKids Say the Darndest Things.\u201d\u00a0 The premise of the show was that Cosby would ask a kid a question, and that kid \u2014 usually between the ages of 3 to 8 \u2014 would respond with a \u201ccute\u201d answer.\u00a0 The inherent joy of the show was found in the innocence of the child.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

While our teens aren\u2019t quite still children nor quite yet adults, the reality is that their justification for all sorts of beliefs and behaviors may or may not be innocent; we haven\u2019t necessarily always taught them well.\u00a0 The reality also then exists that the articulated justification for their beliefs and behaviors \u2014 and the articulated justification for our<\/em><\/strong> beliefs and behaviors \u2014 is nowhere close to \u201ccute.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

What will we base our belief system upon?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cYOLO!\u201d as the teens sometimes say.\u00a0 You Only Live Once.<\/em>\u00a0 Yet if we only live once,\u00a0we better figure the basis for that belief system out.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Respectfully,<\/p>\n

AR<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Fail. Probs. Sick. Swag. Hater. Ging. Rachet. Photobomb. Hakuna matata. Whatever.   \u2018Kids say the darndest things.\u2019\u00a0 The question is whether our teens are more \u201ckids\u201d or adults \u2014 and whether \u201cdarndest\u201d qualifies more as foolish or as wise.\u00a0 One \u201cdarnd\u201d thing I\u2019ve heard far too often from these growing young men and women is … <\/p>\n

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