Time to throw off the shackles.

I'm getting to know the teen-agers in my neighborhood. Used to ignore them. Focused instead on adults. On their parents. Which was kinda stupid. Teen-agers are worth knowing. They are more impressionable than their parents. Parents are sort of fixed in their ways. But teen-agers are still creating themselves. Hopefully as independent human beings. And as mavericks. And rebels. Some of 'em may even have the idea that they can make a difference. And have a real significant impact on the world. That may be naive. But still, it readies them for adventure. For risks. For taking chances. For learning something about themselves. And hey, teen-agers constitute our future. They'll be leaders some day. Replacing old foggies. Many of whom have been around for far too long. Dragging down the world. Politically. Economically. Socially. They have created bad times. Maybe even the worst of times. I suspect that the new and emerging generations can do a much better job of it. They'll throw off the shackles of immoral, greedy capitalism. And work for the common good. I'm gonna try to sell them on the merits of pursuing lives as romantic idealists, spiritual free-thinkers, political liberals, lovers and dreamers. Sure beats being carbon copies of their sometimes dull and robotic and lifeless parents. --Jim Broede