My Trip Through the Land of Today's Youth
Today if you ask a young person, "Did you check your mail today?" The answer most likely will be, "No, I haven't been on the internet yet," or they may flip their cell phone open and check their message box. Talk about a major difference in meaning.
Interestingly enough, this simple fact has a direct impact on the upcoming elections. Never in my life have I ever had so many young people 18 -25 asking me questions about the election process, where to vote, how to vote and how to know who to vote for and why. So, I slow down, take a deep breath and try to pull all the generational resources out of the dusty corners of my brain to answer said questions. When I talk about generational resources, I mean my experiences in raising my kids and the interactions we have had with friends and finally I reach the file in my mind labeled "Kid Speak". You can't talk to them in normal Gen X or Baby Boomer speak without facing the blank stares that say, "Huh?"
At this point my mind is saying, "Houston we have a problem." The young people (not all of them) don't understand anything about civics or government whichever your class was labeled in school. It's NOT the schools' fault. It's the Gen Xers and Baby Boomers not speaking to the young people in their language. Talk about a language barrier.
Kids do not really use phrases like "my BFF" and "OMG" and such as that in their daily conversations. It has to be simplified, but, it has to be long and drawn out with every single detail discussed. With the internet / technology explosion, those of us who used to just play around on the internet and viewed the cell phone as a novelty toy better get with the program or we will be left in the dust in our Golden Years. The Obama campaign seems to have picked up on this fact from the get go with the use of internet sites and text messaging as a campaign tool. I, personally, am not a big fan of Obama, but, I have to give him props for understanding his audience. I think this year will be a historical moment unlike anything seen in the last 50 years where young people ARE becoming engaged in the "goings on" in the world. They are beginning to take a definite interest in politics and global issues. And dare I say, they are taking an interest in personal responsibility for the people who are ruling their world.
During the city elections here in Fargo, they were questioning who these people were and what their vested interest in the city was and why. They were doing their homework. Anyone who appeared to be against their ideals were the topic of text messages, message boards and MySpace type sites with an adament, "Do or don't vote for so and so" and I must say they actually gave well thought out reasons. If you think the interests of the young people lie in the realms of the drinking age and legalizing marijuana think again. Their interests are much higher than that. In fact, Mayor Walaker got props on a couple of sites for his "green campaign" for the city. Unfortunately, some of the candidates were voted against due to the simple fact, the young people thought they were too old and set in their ways. The young people are interested in social justice, human rights, global warming, environmental issues, and the future of the country in relation to the rest of the world. Education was even high on their list based on their experiences in school; it didn't matter if they were from public or private schools. Bill Gates has had a significant impact with his call to overhaul the entire educational system in the United States. After reading some of their thoughts and opinions I have to agree that the educational system is antiquated to a 1950s world and not the global community we are encroaching upon.
They have expressed their thoughts and opinions on what success is and money is not high on their priority list. I don't know for certain the source of their opinion on this and I'm sure there are as many reasons as there are young people, but, I know that being insanely rich or having castles in the sky is not where their interest lies.
And the most interesting and thought provoking topic that I came across in my trip through young people land is they are all looking for that certain something that they can't quite put their finger on but they know it's there. This certain something is spirituality. I find it interesting that they don't ever really use the word religion. They are looking for God pure and simple. It could be the times in which we live that have sparked their interest, it could be the social community that they live in or any number of other things, but, it's becoming a more frequent topic and question. Now, in this regard to us Gen Xers and Baby Boomers, we have a responsibility to address this topic of interest with young people. Not sure exactly how we would go about it, because there is a certain respect and protocol to the whole thing in regards to respect for the religions and beliefs of others, but, if the kids are talking about it and asking about it, we better be prepared to answer the question in their language. If we don't the new playground of the internet will answer it for us, whether it be truth or not.
The world of young people today is a lot different than the world we lived in and I think we better start making a bona fide effort to understand it and embrace it. After all, these are the people who will be deciding our social environment when we are too old to do it ourselves. Everything from economics, health care and ecology will be in the hands of individuals that many of us don't understand or are too busy to learn about.
Posted by: PrairieWoman on 9/06/2008 at 12:10 PM | Comments (1) | Permalink
And baby makes two
Bristol Palin and the baby yet to come. I think this bit of news could be both helpful and hurtful to the Republican ticket. In an election where there seems to be a record number of youth watching and anticipating the outcome this little piece of information could definitely have some pull on their decision. Not enough to swing them from one ticket to the other, but, it may be enough to cause them to take pause and wonder.
Here, we have a young 17 year old girl, thrust into the national limelight through no real decision of her own having to announce, or have it announced, to the entire nation, that she is pregnant and unmarried. Engaged perhaps, but, still unmarried. Now, for someone like myself who has the common view that the Republican Party is highly conservative for the most part, I think that this could make it a little difficult to come out and uniformially say that it's a bad thing for teenagers to become pregnant.
To me this bit of information has the potential to become a source of national debate regardless of the privacy afforded to children of candidates and public officials. The girl has no control over the thoughts and opinions of the public at large and is probably in for some heavy criticism. I feel bad for her. I really do. I have no judgment on her as far as what has already happened. I don't think it comes down to the abortion debate. However, either the far right wing condones it or they don't. One of the greatest issues touted by the far right wing is that of family values, morals etc. This definitely does not fall into that category. However, now all those far right people have no choice but to support it if they are going to continue voting Republican. Personally, they don't have to make that choice. But, as part of a political whole they do.
Through my own personal experience as a mother of a pregnant teen, I certainly do not condone it, support it or think that it can be spun into something good. Yes, it's a beautiful thing to have a little baby pitter pattering through your house, but, it's quite another to have the entire nation watch it happen.
Thankfully for Bristol, she has a wealthy family to fall back on when times are rough. Most pregnant teens do not. It will be interesting to watch how this thing unfolds in the news.
Posted by: PrairieWoman on 9/01/2008 at 5:43 PM | Comments (2) | Permalink
Townies and Farm Kids on Mainstreet
Growing up on "Mainstreet" rural America is an experience like no other. Oh we had our "hoods", but they weren't like the hoods of city folk. Nope our "hoods" were so big that they expanded over miles and miles. These were the hoods of the Townies and the Farm Kids. Now the Townies, like myself, always felt that perhaps in some way we were more sophisticated than the rough and tumble Farm Kids. Your categorization began the day you were brought home and you didn't have any choice in the matter. You were either brought home to one of the houses in town where electricity and running water was taken for granted; or you were taken to home in the country where you might still have a cistern in the basement, have to haul water from the well or crank a generator once in a great while.
The first day of Kindergarten was when you learned that in fact, these categories actually existed. The townies would usually arrive first as they did not depend on the bus system to transport them. The townies would gather together in the room and start playing games together. Then the Farm kids would arrive in their jeans and button down shirts, cowboy (girl) boots and big belt buckles. The townie girls would return to their game of dollies with pretty little dresses and tea sets and completely ignore the farm girls. The townie boys would be playing with the building blocks or the cars; again ignoring the fact that the farm kids had arrived. And then the games had begun to be played over the next 13 years.
In elementary school the playground was divided among the townies and the farm kids and never shall the two cross. I was always torn because although I was a townie by birth, I had cousins that were farm kids. At one time I had 12 cousins in the same school from both sides of the fence so to speak. We associated with one another outside of school but in school playground rules and protocol must be followed at all times. So there we were.
In junior high it didn't really matter that much anymore, except our best friends forever, were those whom we first played with that fateful first day of Kindergarten. Now in my town, being on the reservation, we also had Native American kids in the class. Guess what, like all kids, we didn't care what color your skin or hair was. What mattered most was were you a townie (which most were) or a farm kid. Those forged friendships over the last 7 years (junior high was 7th and 8th grades) continued on through the two years of junior high. The lunch room was divided for the most part, with some people daring to sit with the opposite group and actually speaking to them and forging new friendships. This was unheard of to some of the kids, from both sides, and many a dramafest began because of this. Ridiculous I know, but, it remains an unchangeable fact of history.
In high school things began to change a lot. Especially as junior and senior year fast approached. Nostalgia was setting in. Old times frequently talked about. Laughter was heard in the lunch room, at games and at other times regarding the nonsense we had begun at the tender ages of 5 and 6. By the time I was a senior in high school whether or not you were a townie or a farm kid was something from long ago days in elementary school. We all had great times together our senior year. We took a class trip to Rapid City, SD which was a very fun time, but, a pact had been made that never would the true events behind hotel room doors ever be devulged to anyone. We did a class play together, which was filled with drama both on and off the stage, but, we managed to put on a hell of a show together and had a great time afterward.
In those 13 years of life, the 15 of us in the graduating class learned more about life outside the classroom than inside. We laughed together, cried together and made many memorable moments. I enjoy remembering most of the kids I went to school with back in the day. I can't say that I don't like any of the kids I went to school with today. I have no regrets. I haven't heard from most of them in almost 20 years, but, that is my doing and not theirs. I know that most of them have done very well for themselves and when I do see them again, I will not remember which was a townie and which was a farm kid. I will only remember that they were my friends.
Posted by: PrairieWoman on 8/30/2008 at 3:05 PM | Comments (2) | Permalink
I am who I am.
Sometimes we have to take things, and even people, as "just the way it; he or she is". That's a fact. So here's the thing. People will have to understand something about old PrairieWoman here, I am what I am, I am who I am and I don't pretend to be anything else. That's the end of it.
I was raised in a home where we didn't repress our thoughts or feelings about anything. Yes, we used descretion, but, for the most part we knew where we stood with each other. If we disagreed with something that someone was doing we said so. If we felt that someone was doing something good; we said so. We were blunt and to the point. None of this nandy pandy beating around the bush nonsense. And our family was not the only family in our town that was like this; pretty much everyone was. If you disagreed with someone you said so and said why. Talked it out right then and there. I learned this from my grandparents, who taught it to their kids and so on.
In my young years there was plenty of finger-shaking reprimands to go around from my grandpa usually starting with, "Now you listen here...." And trust me, we did listen. Our grandparents never raised a hand to any of us and by God they didn't have too. We respected our grandparents because they were our grandparents and we were scared to death of what might happen if we didn't. I don't think any of us really found out what would happen....hmmmm...I wonder....LOL! We listened to our Mother because she was our mother and for no other reason. We weren't afraid of her, we didn't have to be, we were more afraid of disappointing her and hurting her feelings.
So what is the point of all of this rambling about being direct or blunt? Sometimes people in the world have to understand that people are blunt and to the point regardless of whether the other person's feelings are going to be hurt or not. I'm not talking about children today, I'm talking about adults. Since I have moved to Fargo I have had to tip toe around people's feelings and try to say things in a nice way etc... Does anyone have any idea how difficult this is for someone like me? In my mind, sometimes people, including myself, need to be told in a direct blunt way that what they are doing is wrong; period. In fact, I prefer to be told directly whatever people are trying to say. You see, because I am a direct person myself, I have not had the training on how to decipher what people are trying to say. For God's sake, just say it. Don't be so worried about what I might say or do.
I'm tired of all this politically correct, indirect, soft approach, pansy ass way of dealing with people. I love people. Really I do. I'm just sick and tired of people getting upset because I have asked a direct question or made a blunt and to the point statement. Get over it people. Sometimes you just have to accept people the way they are. You can't control what others do, only how you react to it.
So, if you encounter me and I am direct and blunt, and you get all upset about it, I'll use my children's saying from days past: Cry me a river, build me a bridge and get over it. I am who I am, I will always be who I am and that's just the way it is.
Posted by: PrairieWoman on 8/29/2008 at 10:00 PM | Comments (3) | Permalink
Those were the days
I loved being a kid. Sometimes, I wish I could be a kid again. It's always nice to run back down that path that only exists in your mind. The path that leads to the days when life was simple. There was nothing that had gray areas. Either it was or it wasn't. End of story. Sometimes I wonder if we adults overcomplicate things. But, I digress. Back to growing up on the prairie without any worries. I'm not saying life was perfect all the time, but, at the time, it was.
I remember my first bicycle, in fact, the only bicycle that I ever owned. I saved my money - ten whole dollars - and I bought that bicycle all by myself. I bought it off another girl in my class who got a brand new ten speed. It was a pink banana bike with pink handles. The streamers long ripped off by the previous owner. I put more miles on that bike than I have on one of my cars I think. The town was a total of 2 square miles give or take, but, there was always somewhere important that me and my sister had to be. My sister was my best friend. If one was there, so was the other. We rode our bikes to the creek that was completely and totally off-limits to us. We rode our bikes to the old fort that only us kids knew about. We rode to the playground and just rode everywhere. You can't forget the wind against your face and your hair blowing in the breeze. Of course, this being back in the days when cars didn't necessarily have seatbelts, carseats were unheard of, and bike helmets hadn't been invented yet.
And I can't forget sledding. How many of us have ever been sledding down a hill that leads to a street that has no stop signs and lived to tell about it? Oh, I guess I forgot to mention the part about playing dodge car while sledding. Do NOT try this at home, especially in a large city, you can and probably will get killed. We would wait to see if cars were coming down the street (they didn't really plow or clear the streets) then when the timing was just right, take a running jump and zip down the hill at break neck speeds barely missing the car. The idea was to come out behind the car, not in front of it. There were a couple of near misses, but, that was just the boys showing off. Then there was the scariest hill ever; Rock Museum hill of death. It was at the top of a ravine that had big left over granite boulders buried in the ground at the bottom and a tree grove also at the bottom. If you didn't hit the bottom of the hill just right, the next thing you knew your sled was airborne and you were praying that you didn't hit one of the boulders when you landed.
I have tons of hair raising stories from when I was a kid, and the more I think about them, the more I wonder how I lived to be 40 years old. :)
Those were the days....but life only gets better...and safer.
Posted by: PrairieWoman on 8/26/2008 at 9:25 PM | Comments (4) | Permalink