Every next generation is the new generation. They’re different. Special. Apart. They want different things. Have a different upbringing. Hold different values. Expect the world to be a certain way, other than it is now.
Or is it? Are our values as a species that mutable? How do we account for societies which experience significant generational dichotomies vs. those which remain steadfast and constant? What matters to one and not the other? What happens in one and not the other?
Undoubtedly, human evolution and “progress” have altered the nature of our nature. Yes, we still tend towards violence, but we have curbed that urge and that nature in favor of a more collaborative, community-centric harmony, experimenting with various forms of governance until arriving at the Western model of representative democracy (you can argue about political models all day long; it’s hard to refute the impact and diaspora of this particular model, however). The change in our outward behavior has certainly affected and altered our inner nature.
The pace of growth and transfiguration of human society suggests a need for faster, quicker, more open adaptability from future generations. Or we’ll regress (arguably, some of that is in evidence today).
There is no destination in life, only the journey (thanks for that, Jewel). Where we’ve been, where we are, and where we’re going are just threads in the story. Humanity remains itself, merely flexing different muscles at different times to accommodate our “becoming.” Up close, it appears like each generation embarks on a radical shift from their predecessors. In truth, when viewed as a whole, the changes are minute, yet important, and reflect growth and discomfort with what has been, to what is now, and what is shaping up for the future.
The next generation doesn’t do this on its own. Members of the current generation adapt and guide, having been through the process once themselves. That’s important to realize: the child becomes the parent; the parent, the child. Every generation was, for a time, the next generation.
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