...So How far have We come, Really?

...call it one of nature's interesting quirks with a young person's coming of age...or perhaps not.

Our youth, upon reaching a year or two from adulthood, (my son very much included,) are enabled with an inborn trait, often released while biting into their birthday cake on their sixteenth birthday, of shaping their own opinions on our society's hot topics, and expressing those thoughts to anyone willing to lend an ear.  ...for as long as it takes.     

They raise a subject of concern at the dinner table or during advertisements prior to a movie, whether appropriate for a younger audience or not, and go right into their personal opinions without stopping for air, or heaven forbid, rebuttal from a parent.  If not mindful of an upcoming disagreement, such discussions can lead to a shouting match before the table is cleared of dirty dishes. 

This past weekend, left all but trapped inside as Mother Nature dealt us yet another blast of winter, our seventeen year old made the most of the opportunity, speaking of everything from politics to the legalities behind criminal execution, to the upcoming Super Bowl being played in sub-zero New York City.  

...and we listened, biting our tongues.  

The new drug administered to a death row criminal in Ohio that failed miserably, leading to a lawsuit by the deceased inmate's family.

Suffering through one of our country's coldest winter's on record, as a result of global warming trends, all at the fault of us, the wasteful.

Abortion rights. (When this subject slips from my son's lips, I find an excuse to leave the room, knowing that for the next twenty minutes, the boy and his mother will make for an uncomfortable evening.  They'll each look to me for backing each of their own opinion...and I won't be able to please them both.)

And the violence of us, in modern society.  Fighting over stuff, wants, not needs, bloodshed and a basic lack of common sense by those who should know better.

I'm proud of my son for his stand on many subjects, and question a few, but value his input.  It causes a parent to wonder if bringing a child into this world was really the smart thing to do?  

Or maybe, it'll be that child who will bring change.  Perhaps he/she will be the person this country's been waiting for all along.  Maybe...

"It's funny, despite all the amenities we, the modern consumers have achieved, how little we've actually grown as a society." 

My son's words, not mine.  And yet...

Young men still gather along the banks of the Feroe Island in Denmark every year, to slaughter hundreds of Calderon Dolphins with hooks and crowbars as a show of manhood.  Friendly creatures, nearly extinct, lured in to the coast, and killed for show, the coastline brimming in crimson for days following. 

  http://www.snopes.com/photos/hunting/dolphinhunt.asp

Receiving a call from Social Services to accept an abandoned child who was birthed into a toilet and left behind.  The mother?  She's on welfare, but driving around in a two year old Kia, paid for with monthly checks from the state.  

And so I listen to my son's opinions, agree with a few, shake my head at others, and think, "Please do better than we have.  Please."  

Thanks for reading, it's good to be back ;)

El