“I’ve never seen a happy child at Toys R Us.” Jerry Sittser
I had dinner this week with my favorite uncle – known to friends and family as “C.W.”. He’s 83 now and still the mentally toughest individual I know by far. I love hearing him tell stories of his youth – growing up on a farm in a small Florida community during the Great Depression. His academic and vocational choices were limited which required intense focus and determination. His father handed him $150 on the night of his high school graduation, told him he wished he could give him more, told his son he loved him, and wished him luck. C.W. caught a ride to the University of Florida that night with the professor who gave the graduation address. The professor dropped him off on the outskirts of town and also wished him luck. C.W. found cheap lodging and showed up at a local dairy the next morning looking for work. No jobs were available, but he committed to working at no pay until a job opened. He worked without compensation for three months.
For the next four years C.W. started work at 5:00 a.m., went to class in the afternoon, and studied at night. He joined the Marines the day after graduation because the job market was tight and he wanted to serve his country. He fought in the Pacific campaign, including Okinawa. After the war he farmed and built enough capital to branch out and ultimately become a very successful commercial developer and a pillar of his community.
I provide this quick bio as contrast to the choices available to young men today. I read a quote this week by author Jerry Sittser:
Considering the staggering number of good options my children will have, which college will they choose? How will they decide? How will they discover what God’s will is? It would be far easier if I decided for them. That day, however, is long gone. My children will have to choose for themselves. They feel overwhelmed already, and so do I.
Today young men have numerous choices and options to consider in the “macro” – choices on colleges, choices on vocations, etc.. But it’s the “micro” choices that are staggering – choices they make every day on their activities and their exchange of information – all of which are available 24/7. MySpace and Facebook compel them to constantly keep current with a “1 inch thick, 5 miles wide” network of contacts. Text messaging – fast becoming the darling “cash cow” of corporate commerce – fastens them to cell phones like insulin pumps.
We recently added text messaging to our family cell plan. Within a month, my son’s monthly text messages (combined sent and received) reached 256 per day – 7 days a week!
Has the blessing of choices in our society created an epidemic of distraction for our children? There is a universal rule of physics – Error increases with distance. If the site on a rifle is off 1/32 of an inch – the bullet will miss the target by several feet. What are the long-term implications of too many choices and distraction as a way of life? How can we pull back – and if we can’t pull back – how can we help young men redirect, focus, and take time to reflect so that they can find Purpose and engage in the incredible Adventure at hand?
I believe there is at least one alternative.
