You may have seen the letter below, or a version of it, on Facebook recently. It was written in 1959 by a judge who spent his career in the juvenile court system. According to The Rebelution, Judge Philip Gilliam “was a tireless advocate for the young, wielding his substantial popularity to direct new resources towards preventing juvenile delinquency and helping those already in the system.” In this article, called “Letter to the Teen-Ager,” he issued a blunt call to action and responsibility.
Always we hear the plaintive cry of the teen-ager. What can we do? … Where can we go?
The answer is GO HOME!
Hang the storm windows, paint the woodwork. Rake the leaves, mow the lawn, shovel the walk. Wash the car, learn to cook, scrub some floors. Repair the sink, build a boat, get a job.
Help the minister, priest, or rabbi, the Red Cross, the Salvation Army. Visit the sick, assist the poor, study your lessons. And then when you are through — and not too tired — read a book.
Your parents do not owe you entertainment. Your city or village does not owe you recreational activities.
The world does not owe you a living… You owe the world something.
You owe it your time and your energy and your talents so that no one will be at war or in poverty or sick or lonely again.
Grow up; quit being a crybaby. Get out of your dream world and develop a backbone, not a wishbone, and start acting like a man or a lady.
You’re supposed to be mature enough to accept some of the responsibility your parents have carried for years.
They have nursed, protected, helped, appealed, begged, excused, tolerated and denied themselves needed comforts so that you could have every benefit. This they have done gladly, for you are their dearest treasure.
But now, you have no right to expect them to bow to every whim and fancy just because selfish ego instead of common sense dominates your personality, thinking and request.
In Heaven’s name, grow up and go home!
The key sentence is right in the middle: “The world does not owe you a living… You owe the world something.” A child looks for what he can get; an adult looks for what he can contribute.
Our nation voted last week to elect a president who promises us a living. It was the childish choice. Sadly, voters under the age of 30 agreed with that decision 12-7.
Our generation is growing up. It’s still undecided whether we will be a generation of adults or delinquents, but the evidence is leaning in favor of delinquency. The rest of the world is waiting for the verdict. Will the youth of America accept the privileges and responsibilities of liberty in the heroic spirit of past great generations, or will they continue to sit resentfully crying for a nanny state to buy them toys and feed them something sweet?
The only way to keep the children from destroying this country is for the adults, and enough adults, to show up. For our generation, “the adults” means you.
I’m so proud of what I’ve seen of you Patriots in the weeks leading up to the election. You showed up. You were working. You were praying. You were contributing to the world around you. I’d tell you to keep it up, but I know you don’t need me to. You care about freedom as much as I do. Love of liberty burns in you and cannot be quenched. To you, there is no greater fear than spending your sunset years telling your children and your children’s children what it was once like in the United States where men were free. And you don’t even need me to tell you whom I just quoted. That phrase haunts you as much as it haunts me.
But “the adults” means more than you. If the children outnumber the adults 12-7 and have an equal voice, simple math dictates that the children will win every time.
You have to double yourself.
There are plenty of ways to double yourself. I’m going to keep it simple and suggest just one: pick one friend–just one–and get them to come to Patriot Academy. I’m not saying that because it does anything for me. I don’t get paid to promote the Academy. If you think they will learn more and be inspired to join the ranks of the adults more deeply somewhere else, that’s fine. Send them there. But for your sake and the sake of the future, send them somewhere. While you’re at it, send two, or three. There’s nothing wrong with multiplication.
The good news is, simple math works both ways. It’s time to swing the odds back in favor of the adults.
