Colleagues,
Perhaps it is time we reflected upon human foibles-especially our own.
Whenever colleagues talk about how woefully ignorant the younger
generation is, I recall a conversation I overheard between two history
professors in 1965 or 1966. They discussed how woefully unprepared were
the undergraduates "nowadays" and how my generation did not know the
basic elements of American History, let alone world history. We were
even surprisingly ignorant of recent events of only 10-20 years ago.
This conversation was only remarkable only because I've heard it many
times since then, and not only from historians and archivists. It all
breaks down to the same phenomenon-the younger generation is pitiful.
Give the kids a break-they haven't lived through half the stuff the rest
of us have, nor have they had the opportunity to read even 5% as much as
the average old timer. Besides, it seems that no one has ever learned
all that much about American History in High School. And what do we
know of their culture? How many of us over 50 watch their shows, listen
to their music, or play their games? I don't. The average teenager
today probably knows more about rock-and-roll than I know about hip hop.
The bottom line is that the younger generation is going to the
dogs-always has been-always will. But, in the end, they will bury us.
Paul R. Scott, CA, CRM
(Curmudgeon 3rd Class)
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