Daily Meditation: Tuesday, August 20, 1996

Adolescents today have fallen victim to the culture around …

08/20/1996

Adolescents today have fallen victim to the culture around them, to the films they see, the books and magazines they read, the conversations, points of view and, most of all, to the music they hear. They are shaped, modelled, impregnated by the senseless and dangerous theories put forward by writers, thinkers, film producers and musicians who are not aware of the responsibilities they hold. These people are adults, and despite this they have never thought about how powerful words, writing, sound or images are and about how they can disturb and unbalance the public, and in particular young people, who are so much more vulnerable. If young people are rebelling today and if they give in to all kinds of excesses, it is the adults' fault. Instead of seeking to find the best ways to bring youngsters up, to guide them, they dump all kinds of wild ideas on them. And then they are surprised with how these youngsters react. They have no right to be surprised. If they are honest there remains only one thing for them to do and that is to see themselves in these young people – like looking in a mirror– and to say to themselves: ‘It is we who have made these children what they are', and to learn from this experience and change their approach.