People not sheeple

Unplug from the Matrix folks, be people, not sheeple.

- galenkp -

I ran into a friend by chance yesterday and we took the time to sit down for a coffee and chat. His son was there, a twelve year old, whose head was firmly planted in his phone screen as his dad and I talked.

We were talking about the old days, (both born in the very early 1970's), and how different a child's upbringing and experiences are these days compared to our own. We reminisced about the great (and stupid) things we did and how they have helped shape us and we both agreed that we had a far better youth than kids today and that we'd not trade it for anything in the world.

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At first his son paid us no mind but as the stories unfolded, (some ridiculously hilarious and often scary ones about the dumb things we did), I could see him taking interest until he eventually put his phone down and was fully engaged. Before long, he spoke up commenting on how we managed to have such a good time without the internet, video games, 300 TV channels, mobile phones, social media, fast food outlets and other things that are so commonplace these days.

I totally get it, kids these days have no concept, or understanding, of how things were back then and prior and it probably seems incomprehensible that a kid can feel they've had a valid and enjoyable youth without them.

It was possible though and I'm so glad to have been born in a time when those things I mention above weren't available.

We'd make our own fun, make physical things and play with them, and use our imaginations; we'd ride our bikes (with no fucken helmets), climb trees and make forts and tree houses, we played sport in real life not on a computer, and our friends weren't in a gaming headset they were in person. We were physically active so ate what we wanted generally without weight gain and what we ate wasn't genetically modified or loaded with sugar, salt, food colourings and preservatives and we drank water from the tap or garden hose not a VOSS mineral water bottle and sports or energy drinks? Yep, that was water. We played sport because we wanted to...and we kept score; there were winners and losers and being the latter made us try harder next time.

We made mistakes, sometimes terrible ones, and learned from them and sometimes not in which case we'd make them again - eventually those mistakes helped us grow and develop; we were not insulated from the realities of life, we were immersed in them. News stories and images weren't sanitised, they were in-your-face and often brutal, and we learned to recognise right and wrong, to understand that life isn't always fair and a person cannot always win even when doing the right things. We failed, achieved average things and great ones too, and we didn't need a reward over and above the thing itself and neither did we need to spread it far and wide, boast and self-promote in a bid for validation and acceptance, we just got on with things.

Experiences meant more than stuff mostly, especially for me as my parents didn't have much to physically give...but they gave knowledge, lessons, understanding, a good example to follow and wisdom, not stuff...and they gave love and care too. They were present, not absent away on social media, and we learned manners, respect and courtesy from them because they took an active interest in raising us as best they could.

Experiences...real ones...were captured on black and white film but they held vibrant, colourful and lasting memories that we've carried forward.

We now live in a world largely devoid of those things, a society where mediocrity is rewarded and encouraged, where creativity, passion and personality is retarding and in which simple values like respect, manners and care for others are almost non-existent. Egoism, hubris, selfishness and greed are on the rise while family values decline; honesty, humility, modesty and humanity have given way to less noble traits and...society is lesser for it.

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I don't know where it's going to lead, nowhere good I presume, and all the while those younger generations (in their typically clueless, delusional, hubristic and naive way) make excuses, talk up how good things are and how bright the future is. Those of us who have lived more life, who remember how things used to be often think (know) differently and usually give thanks for the upbringing we had, the experiences.

I had a good time reminiscing with my friend and I think his son enjoyed it once he'd turned his phone game off. I like to think he'll move forward with some new thoughts and maybe even make some changes but who knows I guess; society is so geared towards feeding people propaganda, to brainwashing the population, and creating sheep out of them, followers not leaders. Thinking on it, I feel that those born pre-1980 had a chance to be real people and these days being sheeple is about all people can hope for.

Unplug from the Matrix folks, be people, not sheeple.