America is entering its teenager phase

By Tony Farkas
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

As a quasi-musician and definite music lover, I spent a lot of time playing and talking about songs, playing, music trends and the lot.

One of my musically inclined friend said something that was pretty telling when we were talking about the differences in lyrics and topics over the years.

I can remember most of the song lyrics from tunes I loved growing up in the 60s and 70s (even though I can’t remember why I went into the kitchen), which for the most part were about love and hope and all kinds of positivity.

I lamented that lyrics nowadays were dark, hateful, narcissistic and containing all the depth of a sheet of paper, and he said that it was easy to craft music to pander to the disillusioned, as most teens are. (Trust me, I have two of them. Yikes.)

Many countries around the world have existed for hundreds, if not thousands, of years, and have, for lack of a better term, matured not only politically but socially. America, though, is barely 246 years old, so in the grand scheme of things, is really just getting started.

Both in the political and social sense, we’ve gone from a staunch sense of wonder and independence to grasping at any little thing that might fill a real or perceived void. You can see that with the rampaging “fad” of transgenderism, which has been shown to be a cultural phenomenon and not a scientific one.

Think of it like this. The 60s, with its explosion of creativity, interests, social interactions and expression was us as a society entering the terrible teens. The following decades continued that trend, with experimentation in all manner of social and political discourse and ideals in an effort to move away from the dour authoritarianism of the past.

This isn’t about transgenderism in and of itself; it’s instead about us as a people trying to figure out who and what we are, and what we want to be when we grow up. The sad thing is, as with many teenagers, is the damage that is done by embracing things without much thought.

Our leaders have gone from being essentially arms-length parents — leaving us to our own designs — to being the doting helicopter parent that indulges any whim and defends our desire. While that may be an endearing trait, it does more damage than good, as any parent worth their salt knows.

Kids are unhappy? Given them everything, tell them it’s free, and replace it if it gets broken. If a tragedy happens, rush in to “do something” like pass laws against guns or that allow genetic males to play in female sports. While in the short term is keeps society (mostly) happy, in the long term it becomes a problem that will require even more interference to solve, which the government will be happy to do, since that keeps them “loved” and in power.

Politics of the immediate equates to giving a child the thing that has caused the tantrum and puts the burden of responsibility on bureaucracy. Better to back off and become the more mature adults.