Obssession With Youth
Youth. It's everywhere. Try driving down the road for 2 minutes and not seeing a billboard promising some form of youth for sale. America is obssessed with youth. How to enjoy it when you have it, how to hold on to it as we move past it, and how to have it, cut, sucked, botoxed, filled, and enhanced along the way. Growing old gracefully is something Americans just don't do anymore. For the most part, we fight time with every nickle, dime, and ounce of energy. I am currently serving in South Korea. Asia is "different" than back home. Their society is built on order, on status, and status is only earned as people age. Wisdom is revered here. Age is looked on as something to be respected. Having said that, and as much as I admire it, it is also a place where new ideas, creativity, and the ability to look outside the box just don't exist societally. They are great "copiers" of good ideas. They're great at making things faster, cheaper, and more efficien