We baby boomers had relatively peaceful childhoods, with a relatively so-called optimistic view of the world. Of course, there are always those who might have had volatile home or other lives,…but I’m not talking about that. I’m referring to our overall feeling of security and peace.
I’m sad for our children, and their children. (I don’t want to go beyond this, because I’m trying to be optimistic that maybe, by the time their children have children the world will be a better place).
Aside from the world being a different place for our children because of advances in technology – which inevitably make it a much, much different world than the one we grew up in (both larger and a lot smaller, in some ways) – it’s no longer a world where children can feel, or actually know, what it’s like to walk outside, be in a crowd, fly on an airplane, walk on the street, travel to a foreign country, turn on the news, read the paper, learn modern history, walk into a synagogue or church, visit a national monument (you get the idea)…without feeling tentative, unsafe or unsure.
They can’t become doctors without learning how to treat victims of bombings, without considering that an innocent runner might lose a limb, a small child might lose their life, a cheering bystander might come in with shrapnel lodged deep inside their body.
They can’t become adults without learning that an ordinary day worthy of celebration and merriment could, in an instant, turn into an indescribably pathetic scene of utter chaos, sadness and longing for what once was.
Brette says
Tomorrow my son’s school is having a school shooting drill, complete with fake guns, blanks, and hostages and victims. This is where we’re at. Maybe this will allow them to feel safe, the way school fire drills never made us worry about a real fire.
Alexandra says
I think about this all the time, what a different world my grandchildren are growing up in. I was in Boston, or rather on my way there, when the bombs went off. I brought up my kids in France and from the time they were teenagers, we were faced with bombs being placed on subways and buildings with guards. At first, when I rode the T in Boston and saw an abandoned bag, I would automatically think of terrorists because we were taught, in the 1980s, in France, to be watchful. Apparently NY has had that policy since 9/11. I guess it is better to be more aware and keep one’s eyes open but it does signal an end to innocence. This marathon was such a joyful event.
Irene S. Levine says
The tragedy in Boston has left me heartbroken. So senseless~
Kerry says
not all parts of the world — or all parts of the United States — had such a peaceful time of it in past years. yet the civil rights years, for example, brought forth many native southerners of every race, well known and not widely known out side their own communties, who teach and speak of and act in peace. let us look for and support and *be* those voices and actions as the next generations unfold.
ruth pennebaker says
I agree to a point — but let’s not forget that this country is much safer and more secure than many others. We’ve all been fortunate not to grow up or rear our kids in a war zone. The horrific bombings in Boston were — let’s hope — an aberration.
Alisa Bowman says
You know? I think they adapt. I grew up with the Atlanta child murders, Jeffrey Dahmer and the threat of a nuclear end of the world–and I still managed to have a very happy childhood. I feel a loss of innocence even now with the various shootings and bombings. Our kids will grow up a little thickened by it, but it might not be a bad thing. It could allow them to love even more deeply.
Vera Marie Badertscher says
It seems a lot worse because we are subjected to minute-by-minute speculation on cable news, Twitter and Facebook. But in the 50s’ we were convinced there was going to be an atomic war and were terrified of that; in the 60’s there were race riots and Vietnam riots and anarchists galore to scare us. Each generation has something scary out there. It is necessary to put in in proportion and remember that even in something as horrific as the Boston Marathon bombing, there were thousands of people performing acts of bravery and kindness and two people doing evil.
Donna Hull says
What happened in Boston makes me so sad. Maybe I’m the eternal optimist but I like to think that we are resilient and adaptive. And time has a way of smoothing over troubles in our own childhood. Maybe it wasn’t as safe and rosy as we like to recall.
MyKidsEatSquid says
I’ve given this quite a bit of thought, having grown up less than a mile from Columbine. The Boston tragedy showed both the worst and the best in people. As awful as it was to have had such a terrible thing happen to so many, reading the stories of those who rushed in to help and those who are assisting the injured in their rehabilitation…it makes me feel like there’s still plenty of hope in the world and for our kids.
Living Large says
When I was a kid, we used to play in our neighborhood until our mothers stepped out onto the stoop and called us home. We didn’t have a problem with childhood obesity because we were always on the go running and playing or on our bikes. I think it is a sad world now and I’m sorry that children can’t know the joys of playing in their neighborhood until the streetlamps come on.