New Ageless

It’s not only a cliche, but an obsolete one. As a concept, as reality, “Passing the Torch” is passe.

Passing the torch from whom? To whom? From one generation to another? Wouldn’t that depend on what the meaning of the word “generation” is (sorry, folks, I couldn’t resist the cheap shot).

Obviously, in any given family unit, we have generations. Parents are one. The kids are another. But it only really works there. In our modern time, the moment we venture out into the society, the lines get so blurry, they become impossible to distinguish.

It used to be easy. The gap between the Boomers and their parents was easy to distinguish. The elders celebrated ideals such as patriotism, virginity, other strict religious and moral constraints, doing what you were told. They danced to the muzak of the big bands.

Then came the ’60s. The music became rock ‘n’ roll, with all it symbolized. The ruling ethic became rebellion, with free love, feminism, and anti-war movements making it fashionable for kids to challenge authority in every form, in every way. It still is.

And those who are no longer kids are benefiting from medical advances that have added decades to overall physical health and sexual attractiveness. Look no further than all the ads for Viagra and other enhancers to realize we now have a circumstance where age is meaningless till much later in life. Some of us are not children anymore, but we’re still immature. The old definitions that guide policymakers and trendspotters just don’t work anymore.

The new Democratic ticket makes the point. Barack Obama is the father of young children. Joe Biden is a grandfather many times over. Still, they speak the same language.

They share the very same goal of achieving drastic change in a society whose calcified institutions need to be wrenched from the hands of the malignantly powerful few.

In fact, the two of them highlight one of the huge mistakes we make. We tend to disregard the significance of EXPERIENCE. It is an important double-edged sword. Experience can provide a knowledge of what works. Sadly, it can also impart a defeatism about what doesn’t. Or at least what has not — thus far.

It’s probably much more accurate to describe today’s 20-, 30-, 40-, 50-, 60-, etc., “somethings” not in terms of finite decades, but as part of a continuum.

We should all learn from the struggles of the past. We should all engage in the struggles for the future. We are all in this together. With the probability that robust life expectancy will continue to redefine youth, it becomes obvious that we should carry the torch that lights the way together.

Visit Mr. Franken’s website at www.bobfranken.tv.