Silence of the Lambs

No more. No more silence, of the lambs, our kids and grandkids.

They speak their truth. So stark and fresh is it, many who oppose the message – not the kids, just the message – have spread false conspiracy theories. Fear mongering is the response to truth.

But the lambs will not be silent.

We witnessed this in the 1960’s; it spread into the 70’s. The war in Viet Nam closed due to public pressure. Stubbornly, authorities waged the losing war for decades (started in the late 1940’s, although its beginning date is officially 1955; ended in 1975), but it was the youth of America that brought the hideous military action to an end.

The 60’s witnessed these surprising changes in American life:

·       Civil Rights for African-Americans

·       Voting Rights for all

·       Relaxed social norms to accept much more diversity, individuality

·       The Flower Power Generation

·       The Sexual Revolution

A flowering of personal freedoms occurred in the 1960’s. The movement continued into the 70’s, and involvement in public affairs and political matters grew along with the other changes. Culture shock happened at the time, as well; many elders felt their world spinning out of control. Yet it wasn’t out of control. It merely answered to fresh new needs and logic of the community.

That’s what youth brings to our community. One at a time they come into our midst. We know them as our kids; we know them as our grandkids. At times their perspectives are jarring; but always fresh. New. Ponderable.

We learn who they are from this interaction. If we listen, we learn; if we don’t listen, we cause hurt and separation. The wave of fresh spirit is thwarted at those times. We interrupt their growth and development. Odd things can and do occur from that point on – drugs, ennui, separation, anger and frustration? Who knows for sure where this leads? Mostly it is not a good ending. We have much evidence of that.

But listening and learning brings them into the mainstream of our culture and social life. Included they share; excluded they create a separate culture we don’t understand.

Waves of change come eventually. Change always comes but knowing it and embracing it is almost always difficult. There are times when change becomes crystal clear – the youth movement of the 1960’s was one such time. I think we are witnessing another crystal clear moment in our evolution as a nation.

The youth movement of 2018 has laid down a challenge: keep us safe in school. From bullying to guns, they want safety to learn, to be themselves, and to develop as we did a generation or two before them. This is their birthright – to find their voice and their purpose. We don’t give that to them; they must find it for themselves.

And they have.

They are our lambs. They will not be silent.

Listen. Learn. Rejoice in their clarity.

We have a future in them. Heed their message. Heed them!

February 22, 2018