Forgive me for the deep, philosophical question, but what kind of world will our children inherit? I’m staggered at the pace of change in society over the past decade and feel more than a little confused about what the future holds. Actually, I feel a little more than that: What issues have us Gen X and Boomers created for our kids?
Just a few years ago, the world seemed politically stable and huge progress was being made on conservation and environmental protections. We now have major (and minor) political parties questioning the value of carbon net-zero policies, policies that would have done a great deal to secure the future of our children.
Discussion about gender equality and gender rights is also changing. If I think back to the high point of my blogging days when I was a stay at home dad, the discussion was about creating genuine equality between men and women.
Needless to say, my particular interest was in parenting equality and men and women having the genuine choice to stay at home, go to work or mix the two. The rhetoric from the United States worries me. It seems gender equality discussions over there are in reverse.
Only thing is, pointing the finger solely at the US is very unfair. Such rhetoric can also be heard in Hungary, Germany, Poland and even in the UK. It’s also very real and close to home. Some of the comments made to my kids at school worry me greatly. They’re the kind of opinions I never heard at school (and I was at school a very long time ago).
These are confusing times and it’s a confusing world. I’m not saying that, politically, some individuals aren’t raising concerns that need addressing. It simply seems the certainty my generation grew up with during our formative years has gone.
As a father, I find myself wondering what the future holds for younger generations. I’m sure this is something every generation of parents has said about their offspring. Perhaps the difference for us is that we live in a highly globalised, digitised world and change happens at incredible speed. Maybe the anxiety I feel is simply because my generation is the first to have lived with such rapid change. The one I can be certain of, is that I worry for the future and I know I am not alone.
