Is Everybody a Badass?

My son is on the verge of being a senior in high school.  He and his friends are full of the energy and optimism of youth and inexperience.  They’re fit, strong, and bright young men and women that have a bit of swagger to them, but are they any different from anyone else at that age.

My older daughter is on the verge of being a a sophomore and isn’t so impressed with this group of  upperclassmen.  Her and her friends seem to want to throw their hat into the ring as the best and the brightest and the prettiest and the most sensitive and the most caring.  They’re  just a bunch Mother Theresa’s those female freshman.

My youngest daughter is still in elementary school and I can assure you that she and her friends think they know everything.  I can’t seem to tell them anything that they don’t already know.  From this, you must deduce that they think they’re the best of the best.

I remember a mom a couple of years ago that informed me that my son and his friends were an immature and childish group( yeah, they were in the ninth grade).  Her son and his friends(upperclassmen) were mature and smart and really with it.  It seems the parents get into this line of thinking also.  It gets even better when I hear parents constantly bragging about their children and trying to tell you they are better than the next coming of the savior.  Their gpa is this, they took these classes and they are on these sports teams.  Big deal.  My kids do all the same stuff. 

I say let’s be proud of our kids within reason.  What we are really trying to do is raise good solid citizens who are going to carry this country forward as we start to fade into the twilight of our lives in the next 25 years.  Being realistic, there are only going to be a handful of kids from each class that go onto the upper echelons of what we define as success in this country.  Those individuals are unique people that see the world in a different lense than the rest of us are the true leaders, movers and shakers of our society.  I’ve seen people from very meager upbringing accomplish great things and I’ve seen people with all the advantages in the world turn out to be total creeps.  The kids are going to find people that are smarter, brighter, faster, stronger or whatever than themselves.  Prepare them for the competition, but don’t hand them the trophy before their adult life begins.

Am I saying don’t do your best?  Am I saying don’t strive?  Am I saying don’t push and challenge yourself?  I’m not saying any of those things.  If you were one of those who were telling everyone that your kid knew the alphabet at two years old, then I can’t help you.  If you’re caught up a bit in which college your kid got into, then you might want to curb your pride a little.  American hubris seems to be more of a worldwide disease than a sought after trait.  When I’m on my soap box, hobby horse or in any other elevated state, I seem to fall pretty hard.  The fall keeps us humble.

If anyone is interested, the class of 1985 was the baddest of them all.

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