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JFK International Airport in New York - Source: Reuters -
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If you are under, say, 30, read no further. If you are not, then a great pleasure awaits. Well, a modest one; let's face it, after 30, most pleasures are modest.
The fact is that the young have really done it this time. News wires are buzzing with a story about how a child was directing aircraft to land and take off at JFK a couple of weeks ago. "This is what you get guys when the kids are out of school," the father told pilots, who reportedly were in on the stunt.
Dad and the supervisor who allowed this to happen are now suspended and the Federal Aviation Authority is investigating.
But this is the beginning, surely, of civilisation's twilight.
Let's assume this kid was under 10. So you're a kid. Your biggest worry is that your seven-year-old sister is so lame. You wonder if Jimmy Smith up the road gets a better breakfast than you, waffles or some such; Mum always cooks porridge. You hate porridge (okay, you hate oatmeal, given that you're American, but bear with me.) Probably you'll grow up to be like those dudes who own Google. Oh, and you're working the tower at one of the nation's busiest airports, one which funnels around 48 million passengers a year though its nexus of terminals and runways.
Such an event places the rest of life in a giant shadow. Your teens will no doubt be a massive downer. And society will have to pay.
This kid is an emblem of the generational cancer. Young people are trouble. They want too much. They overvalue their limited experience. They're always on their goddamn phones. They don't like being told what to do. They hate being told off. They hate being told what to do. They're lazy, and greedy.
Um, drop the phone stuff, and this pretty much is a picture of me in my 20s. And let me tell you, I was awesome!
The arguments that the young are vile are variously repeated by, well the older generation, but they're nicely encapsulated in The Narcissism Epidemic: Living In An Age of Entitlement by Jean M Twenge, and W Keith Campbell. Ordinary people hire fake paparazzi to follow them around, and create the impression of fame. High school kids post themselves beating up others on You Tube to get attention. Everyone is a self-esteem junkie.
Jean Twenge has a line in this kind of thing. Her last book was called Generation Me: Why Today's Young Americans Are More Confident, Assertive, Entitled - And More Miserable Than Ever Before.
But the kid directing planes at JFK probably wasn't miserable at all. I'm sure he was living the dream. What next, a seven-year-old running for President? An enquiry should be held. A group of thoughtful grey-heads should convene and find out who created this gang of little emo-thugs, crying and kvetching their way to the top.
Hey old person, do you have a mirror?
Read more of Tim Wilson's blogs.
