Young rebels’ ideals sure to be tested
Thoughtful protest or juvenile petulance?
That’s what I’ve been asking myself after reading about two recent newsworthy incidents. The first involved an estimated 150 Notre Dame University graduates who walked out of their own commencement ceremony to protest the presence of Vice President Mike Pence. The former Indiana governor was on hand to deliver the day’s main oration.
One Notre Dame grad who chose not to walk out “stood in the front row with her back turned to the vice president,” according to a report in Britain’s Daily Telegraph.
The second story concerned a group of around 100 New Jersey middle school students who on a trip to Washington, D.C., passed up the opportunity to have their photo taken with U.S. House Speaker Paul Ryan. Instead, according to Newsweek.com, the students “fled to a parking lot across the street.”
Explaining her decision, one student said: “I think that taking the picture represents that you agree with the same political views, and I don’t agree with his political views so I chose not to be in it.”
First of all, I have no problem with young folks disrespecting their elders on important issues. It demonstrates an admirable engagement with the world, however misguided it might appear to those of us accustomed to the routine compromises and dialogues of everyday life. After all, most of us at some point in our youth made sure to set our parents and teachers straight on politics, economics, books and ideas.
What I wonder about these emerging rebels, however, is whether their high-profile actions will have any deeper significance in their lives other than exciting their appetite for further celebrity. For instance, in the case of the protesting Notre Dame grads, will their idealism extend to their upcoming job searches? Will they forgo employment with any of the Wall Street investment banks, whose practices in recent years have been incompetent at best, despicable at worst? And will they turn down a position with one of the big tech firms like Facebook or Google, whose insidious data-mining is turning every aspect of our lives into a lucrative commodity?
As for the middle school kids, will their noble intentions remain strong as the cutthroat competition for admission to an upper- echelon college approaches? And will they come to see in 2020 and beyond that sometimes the other side has an argument that requires spirited rebuttal not outright dismissal?
Perhaps the last word is best left to the Sage of Concord, Henry David Thoreau, who advised over 150 years ago, when the nation’s soul was likewise being contested by rival factions: “If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost; that is where they should be. Now put the foundations under them.”
I have no problem with young folks disrespecting their elders on important issues. It demonstrates an admirable engagement with the world, however misguided it may be.