their children to see the real relationship between them.” III. Generational differences today become more pronounced than before, because of the rapidly chang ing customs and behavioral patterns, and because of the overwhelming increase in the amount of younger people in the population. Today, almost 50 percent of our population are 25 or younger. It is predicted that there will be al most twice as many students in colleges and uni versities in the 1970s as there were in the 1960s, for instance. As Vassar College’s Professor Stone pointed out, “ Certainly there is disagreement between generations, because of the different experiences of the population over 25 and the population under 25. The under 25s have never known a world without nuclear bombs or television, for example. Today, the generations are different in another simple, but perhaps obvious respect: never before have so few persons over 25 had to face so many under 25. If we are extraordin arily aware of the young and their problems, it is partly because there are so many of them, and that they simply loom larger. In terms of population, we face an unusual imbalance.” Dr. Robert J. Havinghurst, University of Chicago sociologist, thinks that the “ disagreements between father and son are more public now, because young people have the time, money, numbers and energy to protest in a society that isn’t pushing them. They find themselves in new and peculiar situations. Their adult role doesn’t come until after they finish col lege. This means they have a lot of free time between adolescence and adulthood.” The experts tend to see this generation of youth’s preoccupation with far out hairstyles, weird clothing, hallucinatory drugs and indiscriminate sexual be havior as a combination of kookiness, and acceptance, of certain patterns actually set by the “ establish ment." Professor J. H. Gagnon, a sociologist at New York’s Stoneybrook University, thinks the current gen eration “ may, in fact, be acknowledging how influen tial that older generation was.” He points out that the “ two-martini lunch and the cocktail party have become potent symbols of frantic, achievement- oriented Western culture. The young drug-taker is his generation’s counterpart of the middle-aged drunk.” IV. The so-called generation gap should not be al lowed to inhibit or destroy dialogue between the generations. Dr. Robert Gould, of UCLA Medical Center, is of the opinion that the generation gap should not “ be bridged, in terms of covered over, suppressed, or gotten rid of. It is a healthy sort of phenomenon, and the best way to react to it is to interact with it, to continue the dialogue between the generations.” “ Children today have become accustomed to luxury. They have bad manners, contempt for au- NOVEMBER, 1970
thority, disrespect for their elders, and they like to talk instead of work. They contradict their parents, chatter before company, and tyrannize their teach ers.” Socrates, great Greek philosopher, in Athens, Greece, said this 2,370 years ago! Seems they had something akin to our situation today. What part do the Scriptures play in all this? What is the Christian answer to the situation as it now stands? The book of Proverbs portrays among the young of its times a picture of drunkenness, prosti tution, lying, cheating, stealing and general rebellion against the rules of their society. It also shows among the elders greediness, oppression of the poor, and many sinful indulgences. The young are constantly warned not to go in the way of their sinful elders and cautioned that only the “ fear of the Lord” could bring that wisdom out of which a useful life could be con structed. Parents then were pressing their children to “ abstain from evil," just as good parents today do. In Paul’s time not much had changed. He points out the true Christian relationship between the young er set and their elders, as follows: “ Fathers, provoke not your children unto wrath; but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord” (Eph. 6:4). Parents owe it to children to be reasonable with them, to try to understand what they are saying; to discuss freely with them all phases of life. If parents did far less scolding and more listening; if they took the time and patience to understand the nature and quality of the children’s problems, it would go far toward help ing them to understand their young. Go along as far as you can with youth, then point out why they cannot do this or that. Have a good, sound, solid, Scriptural, logical, and reasonable rea son for your prohibition— not a mere old-time notion of your own! “ Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right" (Eph. 6:1). Young people often do not under stand why parents demand this or that of them. Par ents are morally obligated to make it plain, and be Scriptural in their demands of their children. It par ents will take time to sit down and explain, thorough ly, and Scripturally, just why they ask obedience; why they advise this as against that; why they cannot allow them to do certain things, instead of the cus tomary, “ It’s none of your business; you do it because I told you to!” attitude, young people will listen. Usually, they will take the parents’ advice and do the right thing, even though they do not fully understand the whys and wherefores of it all. The generation gap as an unbridgable hiatus does not exist except as we allow it as an idea to control our efforts at mutual understanding. There have al ways been differences between age groups, between social groups— even between any two people. So don't become inhibited by this newly-created term for an age-old problem. kb Dr. Deal is a Marriage, Family and Youth Counselor, licensed by the State of California. 17
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