Stream of Consciousness Writing

One of my professors has challenged me to write. He didn't give me a topic, just the challenge. It's a very freeing experience when you put it into context: an academic authority handing you the power to learn. Where do I sign on?!

Of course, right now my thoughts are pretty narrow, being subjected to the environment in which they are developing. I wish I could be ingenious with the ability to create out of thin air, but that's never been me. I'm not a storyteller. I'm a feeler, so I write about that which has penetrated my soul, that which has made living a reality and not just a concept.

Today I've decided to write a response to the book my professor borrowed me. It's a book written by 2 of his grad students, under his advising. I'm only in Chapter One, so my grasp of the ideas may evolve as the book contends itself, but for now, I'm just going for it.

One of the first sentences that grabbed me was "define youth as a social and not a biological category" (James, Jenks, & Prout, 1998). I thought this was genius! So often we label based upon age rather than experience. It's refreshing to think of age as a gauge based on one's pursuit (and application of) knowledge, experience, and understanding rather than merely a physiological design. To see age as an outcome of one's success at nurture rather than nature revolutioned my imagination. It gave me a headache! This view pursues a dissolving of ageism and supports equal opportunity (which, as we all know, is a highly debatable topic in my world!) It also brings up (just as it does in the book), the idea of citizenship, which really pisses me off!

A citizen, as defined by Merriam Webster, is "a person who owes allegiance to a government and is entitled to its protection." I had never looked up the definition of citizen before, and was shocked to discover that an agency presumes an indebtedness from those born under it's flag. I was also amazed that the words "owes" and "entitled" were within the same definition. How odd. Citizenship, in this manner, proposes that we are not entitled unless we pay our dues. Kind of like at a country club or sorority. I never rushed, did you?

The last reaction I got from Chapter 1 was: (yep, I'm gonna just copy my handwritten notes)

There exists a major conflict between adult perception of youth and youth perception of youth. However, adults are the powerful. They (we) create youth, mold youth, perpare and even establish youth culture through marketing, education, media, and stereotypes without direct consultation from youth. Then, using mediums they (we've) created, adults continue to perpetuate moral panic, which is wholly an adult construct as it, too, is created by adults through, oftentimes, misinterpreted, omitted, or deceiving facts and/or statistics. The amazing thing is that adults [supposedly] want the best for young people while simultaneously expecting, and even directly causing, failure through their (our) own powerful institutions.

Also, we know young people will typically follow the adult behavior model. Adults are the conduits to which young people become adults and young people learn adult behavior by and through the very institutions adults manipulate to destroy youth image. Essentially, adults are mismanaging youth culture with disgusting ignorance (and arrogance?). So, the questions become 1) do we change adult instituions versus changing youth institutions 2) can we enlighten adults to the folly of adult institutions (for adults will fiercely defend their correctness) and 3) (which is off topic, but arose during my thought process) is an adult who has lived through being young more knowledgable about doing youth than the youth him/herself? Who is the foreman in young people's lives?

As I see it, youth issues happen. X,P,U happen, and the moral panic is ballooned by adults. Adults decide what issues to balloon and, therefore, which issues to "fix." But what about youth issues that do not impact adult morality? Are these topics simply trivial, even though their significance in the lives of youth is far from minimal? Why are youth not involved in the process of "fixing" their own problems?! Youth engagement seems, to me, to be the nucleus of any cell, regardless of it's effect (or role) within the larger body system (social/political/etc). A system cannot breathe, succeed, live without cooperative cellular activity. We need their input, their "civic engagement" if you will, to maximize healthy social reproduction.

Thoughts? Either on my writing style, content of the writing, or anything else?