Want a whole new opinion on what our young people are doing?
All you have to do is change the way you look. I don’t
mean the way you dress or things you do. Nor do I mean what
you actually see. I just mean, where you look at what you’re
seeing.
Have
I totally confused you? Good because you and I have probably
only seen the outstanding - because we don’t notice what
is around us. We only see what we are shown - on the TV, the
net, newspapers and in magazines. We view photos of young people
drinking, smoking, being obnoxious. The reason for this behavior
is — if a magazine or news report were to emphasize
young people just being normal or themselves, there would
be no audience.
The outrageous, spectacular and scandalous are what draw
attention. We are drawn to look at the sensationalism not
the ordinary.
Think
about it, if the nightly news were to show a bunch of normal
people, it would not hold anyone’s attention.
Show a group of heavy-set people and you have a mainstream
story, a big headline — obesity. They make it seem
as if no matter where you look that is all you see. Perhaps
the
next show on TV or next section of a magazine you pick
up will feature young people drinking or rioting outside
a stadium
because their team lost an event. We see these presentations
so frequently we begin to believe they are the norm.
The
next time you visit a mall, pay attention to what attracts
your attention. Young people fighting, swearing or screaming
obscenities in the hallways. They may even be pushing
or shoving one another and even bump into you.
When
you get home, take out pen and paper and write down what
you saw. You probably did not notice the young man
and his
girlfriend shopping for a special piece of jewelry
because your attention was grabbed by the girl yelling at
her
friend or a youngster displaying “art” and
more than you care to see of it.
This
behavior is common because it gets attention. After all,
it’s what they see on TV, the net
and in their favorite magazines.
As
I see it, these youngsters are not the norm — they
just get noticed and that is why they carry on
as they do.
A few days ago Pat and I observed a banner advertising an event
at a local park near our home in the Keys. The event was a
swim meet and since I had competed in these types of competitions
as a young man, we thought it would be fun to attend. We gathered
information on the event and made plans to be in the bleachers
at the pool as observers.
The meet was a NCAA-supported function and it included college
students from all over the country, including a team from the
University of Michigan. As we looked around we found ourselves
in the midst of the competing teams. A young lady from F.I.U.
(Florida International University) explained details of the
competition to us. Although spectators were few, rivalry was
fierce. These teams had faced each other before at other meets.
The Michigan team did well as we hoped they would. The only
heat won by a wide margin was the 440 and a Michigan swimmer
prevailed. The various heats of the numerous events clicked
off, one right after the other with no time wasted. Watching
the competitors brought back pleasant memories for Pat and
me, we found it quite exciting. During a brief break as we
looked around, we both noted numerous facts.
A large number of competitors were all packed into the pool
area but we saw no disturbances. There was no swearing and
the only yelling we heard was done to cheer on teammates. All
of the young people were really physically fit, and although
dressed for swimming, there were no displays intended to attract
attention. In the whole group, we saw one tiny tat.
What we did see was a group of college students representing
five states intensely involved in a sport they truly enjoyed.
We saw great displays of good sportsmanship as the teams congratulated
one another and we saw superb self-confidence on the part of
all of them.
What an enjoyable experience — and
we just happened to see it for ourselves
because
we stopped
to look.