Harbison: Open minds to older generation
Bethany Harbison
Issue date: 3/27/08 Section: Opinion
Each time I tell someone the topic of my first feature story for my Media Features course, without fail, they wrinkle their nose, look at me quizzically and ask me why.
They assume, of course, my topic was one that was forced upon me, and they automatically suppose it is one I would never choose for myself. It isn't that it is a topic with few possibilities or even one with a high degree of difficulty — that is not their issue.
My topic? World War II veterans and the ways they tell their stories.
People's response? A rolled eye and a feigned snore.
Their issue is, I believe, not the subject itself but the age of my interviewees — the same factor, ironically, that drew me toward the idea.
At the risk of generalizing, I would say my generation, the generation who is preparing to soon take over the reins and control the world, possesses a serious misconception about the generations that have preceded us. The assumption seems to be that as people age, they become more and more boring and less and less relevant.
I wholeheartedly disagree.
The men and women who served in and lived through World War II can tell, as I discovered in my research for my story, the most fascinating of stories — stories filled with romance and terror and mystery. Yet because their tales' action occurred so many years ago, so many my age turn a deaf, disinterested ear.
Before losing my Granddaddy last May, I too failed to truly recognize the value of what the older generation has to say. Before that moment, I also did not quite comprehend how quickly time can slip away.
But slip away it did and slip away it does.
All of our days are numbered, but with a generation who is dying by the thousands every day, the moments we all have to invest in them are rapidly dwindling.
I am not recommending my peers immerse themselves knee-deep in history books or all embark upon a series of in-depth interviews with the elderly. That isn't realistic.
They assume, of course, my topic was one that was forced upon me, and they automatically suppose it is one I would never choose for myself. It isn't that it is a topic with few possibilities or even one with a high degree of difficulty — that is not their issue.
My topic? World War II veterans and the ways they tell their stories.
People's response? A rolled eye and a feigned snore.
Their issue is, I believe, not the subject itself but the age of my interviewees — the same factor, ironically, that drew me toward the idea.
At the risk of generalizing, I would say my generation, the generation who is preparing to soon take over the reins and control the world, possesses a serious misconception about the generations that have preceded us. The assumption seems to be that as people age, they become more and more boring and less and less relevant.
I wholeheartedly disagree.
The men and women who served in and lived through World War II can tell, as I discovered in my research for my story, the most fascinating of stories — stories filled with romance and terror and mystery. Yet because their tales' action occurred so many years ago, so many my age turn a deaf, disinterested ear.
Before losing my Granddaddy last May, I too failed to truly recognize the value of what the older generation has to say. Before that moment, I also did not quite comprehend how quickly time can slip away.
But slip away it did and slip away it does.
All of our days are numbered, but with a generation who is dying by the thousands every day, the moments we all have to invest in them are rapidly dwindling.
I am not recommending my peers immerse themselves knee-deep in history books or all embark upon a series of in-depth interviews with the elderly. That isn't realistic.
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