Generational Differences

Most of us remember our grandparents and our parents saying things like: “When I was your age we had to...” whatever was under discussion. The amazing thing is that we are saying the same thing to our children, are we not? “When I was your age we had to get up the couch to change the television channel.”

            What will our grandchildren tell their children about the pandemic? “We had to wear masks all the time.” Doesn’t sound so bad when you compare it to grandpa boasting that he walked three miles to school in snowstorms without proper footwear!!

            Will the pandemic sound so bad to young people who never experienced it? I mean, think about our parents and grandparents talking to us about the Second World War or the Great Depression. Sad times for sure, but it seemed so far back that we didn’t lose sleep over it. It didn’t affect us because it was part of the lives of those who came before us just as covid is now our scourge. Those who will come after us will hear recounting of how life was affected during the pandemic, but it will be a long-forgotten event with little interest for most of them.

            However, not so for those who lost relatives to the disease. That will always be part of the sad history of families. Will the generation yet to be born carry the shame of those who today refuse to abide by the rules to contain the disease? They may well have to come to terms with their families’ role in increasing the number of those who perished.

It’s more than time that we realize that we are all part of society and that we must stand together, not defy each other, when it comes to saving lives.