Wanted: Adults

I have officially decided that my Theme Movie for the 2008 Election, and for American Culture writ large shall be, until further notice, Peter Pan. To begin our new theme, here are excerpts from "I Won't Grow Up," Peter Pan's personal theme song.

If growing up means
It would be beneath my dignity to climb a tree,
I'll never grow up, never grow up, never grow up
Not me!
I won't grow up,
I don't want to wear a tie.
And a serious expression
In the middle of July.
And if it means I must prepare
To shoulder burdens with a worried air,
I'll never grow up, never grow up, never grow up
Never gonna be a man,
I won't!
Like to see somebody try
And make me.
Anyone who wants to try
And make me turn into a man,
Catch me if you can.
I won't grow up.
Not a penny will I pinch.
I will never grow a mustache,
Or a fraction of an inch.
'Cause growing up is awfuller
Than all the awful things that ever were.
I'll never grow up, never grow up, never grow up,
I won't grow up!
We won't grow up!
We will never grow a day
And if someone tries to make it
We will simply run away
And Never Land will always be
The home of beauty and joy
And neverty
I'll never grow up, never grow up, never grow up
Not me!
----

It dawned on me this morning, halfway through my second cup of coffee, the fundamental problem characterizing most of our cultural, social, and political malaise: we are quickly running out of adults. I do not know the source of these characteristics, but here is what Wikipedia lists as "qualities that symbolize adultness in most cultures."

* Self-control - restraint, emotional control.
* Stability - stable personality, strength.
* Independence - ability to self-regulate.
* Seriousness - ability to deal with life in a serious manner.
* Responsibility - accountability, commitment and reliability.
* Method/Tact - ability to think ahead and plan for the future, patience.
* Endurance - ability and willingness to cope with difficulties that present themselves.
* Experience - breadth of mind, understanding.
* Objectivity - perspective and realism.

Come back from science fiction land for a minute now, and hang your head with me in lamentation of the fact that it is difficult to find many people who have reached the "age of majority," who display even half of these characteristics on a consistent and daily basis. If we examine the world of politics, for example, we find that our political officeholders (I would not deign to denigrate the word "leader" by using it to describe our current set of officeholders) is particularly severely lacking in Self-control, Independence, Responsibility, Method/Tact, Experience, Objectivity. And the others are just a wash, at best.

Our churches have largely become either empty or glorified social clubs. We have prostitute preachers who use their silver tongue to keep the big offering checks rolling in. We have a laity suffering from the most grotesque form of intellectual and spiritual laziness. Many denominations are fighting internal discordant battles over tangential issues.

Our schools are run by Educrats who were indoctrinated by the so-called "Schools of Education" to espouse feel-good nonsense that is handicapping our children in a global marketplace. Our students run amok because there are no adults at home, and there are fewer and fewer adults running the schools (Educrats notoriously lack the objectivity/realism quality listed above), and we are approaching an almost Lord-of-the-Flies-esque educational polity whose feeble pillars are collapsing under the weight of the fat bodied obesity of our thin-minded children.

Business, the last haven of adulthood, is suffering the consequences. The economy cannot sustain itself, in the long-run, with a nation of children. The free market itself breeds adults. Socialism and the Nanny State perpetuates childishness. It has become popular to talk about the "overcompensation" of CEOs in this country, and to talk about business as being "uncaring" and "cut-throat." Some of these things may be true in certain circumstances, but I would argue that by and large, business is just being adult. Google takes particularly good care of its employees, provides them lavish benefits, etc. But they subscribe to the philosophy, I'm sure of "To whom much is given, much is also required." Google employees work long hours, and spend the vast majority of their waking time at work. And if they didn't, they would be replaced.

Adulthood does not meant stuffiness (thank God!), but it does mean having to grow up. It doesn't mean having to wear a tie in July, but it does mean taking reality as it comes, and being a responsible agent in a world of problems. The old cliche saying "you can't teach an old dog new tricks," is probably true in our present circumstance. The Baby Boomers spent too long being children. They were, in fact, the first generation of The Lost Boys. They rebelled against their parents' conservatism, and replaced it with a vacuous notion of "freedom." The eschewed the rules, but the rules came back to haunt them. They worshiped youth, and now they are old. But they are not mature. As Kipling said, using the Gods of the Copybook Headings as a metaphor for wisdom and, perhaps we could even say 'adultness,'

"The Gods of the Copybook Headings limped up to explain it once more.
As it will be in the future, it was at the birth of man.
There are only four things certain since social progress began:
That the dog returns to his vomit, and the sow returns to her mire,
And the burnt fool's bandaged finger goes wobbling back to the fire.
And as soon as this is accomplished, and the brave new world begins;
When all men are paid for existing, and no man must pay for his sins.
As surely as water will wet us, as surely as fire will burn,
The Gods of the Copybook Headings with terror and slaughter return."

As a member of Generation Y, I know that the only person for whom I can take responsibility is myself, and vicariously, for my generation. I can point out the problems with past generations, but I cannot preach to them, and I am highly unlikely to change them. But I can take responsibility for myself, and for being a voice in the wilderness to my own people, the 20-somethings and bordering-on-30-somethings with whom I went to kindergarten, elementary school, high school, and college, and with whom I am now working in my everyday life, who I meet at Starbucks or the local wine bar.

We have to be adults, even if nobody else wants to. The world needs us, and it needs us now.