An Embarassment of Riches

As a young camper, all my energies were focused on building plaques, painting scenery, finding someone to snuggle with under a blanket on movie night and other simple diversions that seemed so intensely important at that time. I took for granted the things my Mother and Father worked so hard to provide for me and my brother. And that's exactly how they wanted it. The fact that my parents had obligations and responsibilities were abstract concepts. It was all about me.

How many fathers would build a recording studio in his basement so that his young sons could better follow their muse? He knew first-hand how hard life could be; a child of the depression, compelled by circumstance to provide for his mother and sister at a very young age, working his way up the economic ladder until he was able to ensure that his sons might never know the struggles he endured. My mother created a warm and comfortable home, filled with love and laughter, while writing temple shows, running a travel agency and a camp. And she made it look so easy.

I think we're all well aware of the topsy-turvy world in which we now live. It was evident at the reunion that many of the Omegan alumni are doing well, as are their offspring. What keeps me up nights is: what kind of world will my children inherit?

I can't help but be reminded of the sixties and how many of us (myself included)felt we were going to change the world. Money was the root of all evil, down with the establishment,peace, love and rock and roll and all that hip and cool phraseology. Ironically, our parents were working in the establishment so that we could have the unfettered imagination to dream of this Utopian society. Now that we ARE the establishment, it's our responsibility to provide the same for the next generation. But many of us see our children struggling. For them, pensions are pipe dreams, benefits are bygones and changing jobs is a necessary evil. Some are living paycheck to paycheck and need our help to make ends meet. Unfortunately, this now seems to be the norm, rather than the exception. In a country of such great opportunity, the have-nots are in danger of becoming the never-wills, despite our best efforts.

Are we riding a cycle of alternating disparities? The old axiom that says the next generation should do better than the previous one appears to be dysfunctional. If so, can we break this vicious cycle and restore sanity to our society? I don't have the answers to these distressing questions. What I do know is that our parents lived through a depression and a world war, yet somehow found a way to overcome those obstacles and restore the prosperity of a free democracy to our country. May their efforts give us the hope and resolve we now need to emulate their example, and make the right decisions that, hopefully, may leave a better world for those who will inherit it.