Modern Technology: Peter Pan’s Dream: "I'll Never Grow Up?"

Peter Pan became a fantasy icon through his determination to never grow up. He was determined to remain a child forever, free of adult responsibilities and worries. He would have fit well into the modern technological world.

“A hundred years ago”, as my husband is fond of saying, going off to college was the Great Divide—the break between childhood and the world of adults. A young person would now plan and execute his own schedule, find his own friends and “place in the sun”, and manage his own money. As an adult, she would pick out her own clothes, cook her own food, and decorate her own dorm room. (I bought a blanket, put my boyfriend’s picture on the shelf and taped a picture of my family on my dorm room mirror. Done.) We were independent. We called home from a pay phone or our dorm room phones, with their 6 foot cords, once a month. At a cost of $2/minute, when money was more expensive and less available, we did our business and were off in 5 minutes. College was a make-it-or-break-it experience—you sank or swam, but you did it on your own.

What a difference a few decades makes. Is anybody independent anymore?

In a ten minute sojourn across the BYU campus recently, I heard no less that four fresh young students, male and female, carrying on conversations with their moms. “But mom, it was only a dollar more than I planned.”  “Hey, mom, did you get that picture I sent to your phone? Does that shirt go with my brown skirt?” I didn’t say that, mom, all I said to him was…”  “No, I didn’t do my homework last night because I went to a dance, but I will.”

What happened to growing up? Making your own decisions? Embracing independence?

During my college years I had a roommate that hadn’t cut the apron strings. Charlotte was an only child, the product of an obviously over-dominant mother and an obviously under-dominant father. She talked to her mom at least an hour every night, long distance to Arizona, about everything: every person she talked to, what she wore that day, and how she did her hair—they didn’t discuss grades much. The general consensus from the other five of us in the apartment was that she was weird, couldn’t do for herself, and wouldn’t have a life, as things were going. (Let it also be said--there was a great deal of resentment because she tied up the apartment’s only phone so those hordes of boys trying to date us couldn’t get through.)

By today’s standards, Charlotte is normal. Texting, cell phone cameras, facebook and twitter keep mom and her chicks connected at the ears, eyes, and fingertips. Suzie needn’t make any decisions for herself. She can text mom—and she does. Why think, experiment, risk a little, or develop your own tastes when a text is faster?

How do the mothers feel about this? Did they have things they wanted to do after the kids were gone? In today’s techie world, will they ever be gone?

Sound society and wise government depend on youth with insight and skills to replace those of us who are on the way out. The purpose of parenthood is to prepare youth for their leadership years in government, business, and the family. How can we trust our Constitution, our government, and our culture to those who haven’t yet figured out which shirt goes with which skirt?

Time passes, the old get wrinkled and the young blossom. Let us hope that the Charlotte Syndrome is a passing fancy, that young people learn to take risks and “go for it”, and that the Great Divide becomes a reality soon.

Where will you give Time or Money to Defeat Government Abuses?

NINE PIECES OF MAIL

Money talks and it speaks louder every day. Today I opened mail from 9 conservative groups pleading for money to fight the fed’s unconstitutional and illegal actions. Assaults on our freedoms are snowballing and concerned citizen groups are springing up everywhere to stand against the onslaught.

Remember Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s “How do I love thee? Let me count the ways”? To government, we could say, “How do you deceive and plunder me? Let us count the ways.”

The list of government abuses is astonishing, from the bribery of Obamacare and the deceit about its costs, to Benghazi’s proof the administration abandoned Americans under attack to cover up illegal activities, to the planned billions in unearned benefits to those criminally in the country. Evidence suggests that election fraud put Obama in office, paired with the pesky citizenship issue of Obama’s eligibility for office that refuses to go away. These are the tip of the iceberg. America has never seen the intensity of scandal and dishonesty awash in the country today.

Don’t stick your head in the sand and hope this all goes away. It won’t. The arrogance and disdain of the progressive movement swells daily. Why not? They do unimaginable things and nothing happens but hot air. The unthinkable grows bolder, the contempt for law and order more brash until public opinion becomes a buzzing fly to offending politicians. You must ask yourself, “Where and when will all this stop?”

Complaints are rampant. Talk is no longer enough, folks; its time to put your money where your mouth is.

Without funds these freedom movements go away and we lose our constitutional republic. Mailouts and postage, office help and rental space. phone bills—all take money.  It’s expensive to fight treachery, and the big dollar guys live on the other side of the issues.

Why does Daddy Warbucks always back the freedom killing causes? The answer is simple: competition. Once you “gain the gold” you want to keep it and the freedom called competition can take it in a hurry. The new kid with the nifty idea takes your market and your greenbacks fly out the door like Southwest Airlines off the Denver tarmac. So the rich kill competition with federal control.

Put your money where your mouth is and contribute to organizations at work to hold back the progressive tsunami. The pretty something for your bookcase, the new golf clubs, the family vacation will go away permanently if we don’t douse the bonfire that’s burning liberty. Spend the money, instead, to secure the possibility you will have those niceties in future.

Get involved. Pick the threatened liberty closest to your heart, research it, contribute to an honest organization battling that issue. Contribute time if you can, but also contribute money to save liberty. While downtown beautification and the local soccer league are worthy causes, they won’t stop Obamacare. Continue wise local efforts, but give money to fight for freedom. You can’t afford not to.

We picked Liberty Council as a worthy donation point. I’m not recruiting or driving traffic, just giving an example.

Do something, folks—freedom is dying left and right around us. Listen; you can hear it gasp.