A Revolt of the "Good" Kids

The nerds, geeks and wallflowers have found their voice.

Seriously.

We are witnessing the revolt of the "good" kids in today's political debates. It's heartening, timely and oh so needed.

The 1960's are billed as the era of revolution: drugs sex and rock n roll. And the good kids were made fun of as out of it and irrelevant. So the Boomer revolution took on a monolithic status of liberal lifestyles combined with compassion (as long as it was funded by someone else). This was epitomized by the rise to power of Bill Clinton: one of the few free-loving respectable hippies to get elected. His worldview was/is pure Boomer stereotype.

Something happened to the generation labeled Boomer during his presidency: the "Good" kids of that generation got upset. They realized that they could no longer protect their kids, life and country by homeschooling, hiding behind the veil of religious conviction, and congregating with the like minded. Clinton's mandate was to hunt the good kids down and begin to make them conform to his worldview. The good kids realized that the USA was no longer going to be good if they left it alone.

We floated with the Bush years. (I am identifying with the "Good" kids of the Boomers and Busters) He was tolerable and there was a crisis going on. But even the so-called War in Iraq grew tiresome. (Let's win the damn thing and move on!)

And then, doing the "good" thing, many of us helped to elect the first black president. Many did it quietly and would never admit to voting for him. Many were just voting against McCain, believing that the system would absorb the most heinous of the Obama goals. But never did the "good" kids believe that we would be going down the sewer of forced sameness.

I do not want to live like the hippies, druggies and loud braggarts of the Boomer generation. At least for a time, the "Good" kids are coming out of their shells to protest the excesses of their peers. We are witnessing the revolt of the "Good" kids.

This is the culture war that must be fought.

18

I'm on my knees today.

I had the talk with my 13 year old... the one that starts "Do you realize you only have 5 years till you are 18?"

It might be a heavy load for a 13 year old, but when you fight against good habits someone is missing the big picture. The big picture is that good habits developed when a kid is 13 will carry them right through to independence and old age. On their own.

Parenting is kind of like a cross country race: when you get 2/3rds through you think it's never going to end. And the real reason I'm on my knees has to do with the current debate about the role of government and the extent of government. What will the world be like five years from now? What should I be training my kids to expect, accept, and adapt for?

I don't know, but God does. So I ask him to help me to focus on the present with an eye to the future, and forever. Help me to keep the goal in front of both me and my loved ones. Help us to see the sinful rebellion in our souls and concentrate on the habits of a Godly and useful life. Steer us clear of the pitfalls and easy trails that lead to laziness, gluttony, and ruin. Interrupt my child's life when they are willfully choosing to hurt themselves: either in attitude or action.

The next five years are a mystery. But the Godly will still be at peace, harmony, and confident in a God who has seen it all.

May that lesson be an integral part of my children: more than the tidiness of their room.