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Young Danish Woman Questions Her Peers

April 19, 2011

Stine.jpg"In all honesty, I'm sometimes embarrassed to be part of this generation."



by Stine (left)
(for henrymakow.com)

Sex is for entertainment, designer brands should be standard clothing and religion is for losers.

If that is where Danish youth is at, then count me out!

As a 21-year-old Christian with an inquiring mind, it's hard to understand the skin-deep approach to life held by my peers.

With all the turmoil and injustice in the world, one would expect the future generation to be concerned. Yet, when you quiz them, "world peace" is not one of their interests.

When you ask how they'll be spending their weekend, chances are they plan on getting plastered.

In all honesty, I'm sometimes embarrassed to be part of this generation. The more time I spend listening to gossip, Lady Gaga and other pointless  noise, I ask myself and those around me: is this really what we've come to?

MY CONFIRMATION CLASS

I teach Christianity to confirmation students at my local church. There I can  get them to reflect on crucial topics such as warfare, economic exploitation, and doing what's right versus doing what's fun.

But when it comes to their perception of self, I'm not sure what to think. Last Tuesday, I overheard a group of the girls talking about a new substitute teacher at their school. They were all more than willing to "hit that."

Keep in mind, these girls are only 14-years-old.

How did these teenagers get the idea that sex is a non-emotional issue?

Sure, Britney Spears and Katie Price have done their bit to bring womanhood down to a seedy level - but I was exposed to them as well and I didn't fantasize about conquering older men when I hit puberty.

Where are their parents? And more importantly; where is the incentive to pursue romance and respect over quick thrills with the highest bidder?

When I look at my generation, I see a pack of beautiful, fun, and privileged men and women with endless opportunities.

The vast majority can read and write; all of them have access to a broad variety of information. But when it comes to exercising our opportunities, most opt for easy solutions that don't require much of either brainpower or work.

Like the other day when a young man at a coffee shop tried to impress me with how deep and open-minded he is.

But when I ask for his take on the invasion of Libya, he sends me a haughty smile and replies that he would rather talk about "something less nerdy".

Last time I checked, having an opinion on the killings of innocent civilians is anything but nerdy.

Sometimes I think we could do with a war on our own soil - nothing too brutal or gory; just a few months of shooting and looting to remind us all how lucky we are and make us reconsider what's important in life.

ARE WE HAPPY?

So are we happy? Danes have been selected the "happiest people on Earth", due to our health care and high wages.

As someone who has spent a great deal of her life in and out of the psychologist's office trying to ward off a recurring depression, I never quite understood how scientists arrived at that conclusion.

Since it's part of my therapy to openly admit that I'm not exactly passing Life with flying colors, I decided to take some girlfriends out for beers to see if other people do a better job of being human than I.

Results: One woke up crying the previous night for no apparent reason; one ditched her boyfriend because, as she so diligently put it: "How can I expect him to love me when I can't even love myself?", and one is looking forward to a life as an unemployed academic because it seems like less of a hassle than being an employed one.

I left the bar feeling a lot of things but alone in the world was clearly not one of them. Does this sound like a spoiled and carefree generation?

Are those the 'happy Danes' we've heard so much about?

THE CARRIE BRADSHAW SYNDROME

In my opinion, my friends and I have all fallen into 'the Carrie Bradshaw-delusion': The delusion where life is glittery; you and your friends are  successful, hardworking and host a Zen-likely calm all at once.

Shopping is something you do on your way home from yet another brunch and fall in love with yet another pair of Christian Loubotin shoes - not something you do at 9.30 PM on a Tuesday when you're out of milk and cat litter.

How are we supposed to learn how to live and why, when all we see is images of a surreal and fake lifestyle?





 


Scruples - the game of moral dillemas

Comments for "Young Danish Woman Questions Her Peers "

Sonia said (April 25, 2011):

I'm certain one of the reasons for this girl's depression stems from the vapid, shallow , bored carnal indulgence of her robotic peers. It's difficult and depressing when surrounded as so many of us are by the herd mentality. I'm sorry to say that truth and reality is of no consequence to warehouse kids -- but the apples don't fall far from the trees so one can understand why they have no moral compass! She is so fortunate in taking the opportunity which allows her to have some influence in her church's confirmation class. I hope she continues - it only takes one person to make a big difference in someone's life! There are many who believe "they're alone in thinking this way" and they should be reached.

Christine said (April 22, 2011):

Thanks for posting this article. From what the young lady says, I think depression is a normal reaction to the cultural, moral, and spiritual decline of the West. And seeing a shrink will not make her feel better - they are hopeless quacks who mislead you. It's better to "cast your cares on God, because He cares for you," as the Bible teaches us.

She might also want to try using high doses of Vitamin D if she can get it. I hear that vitamins are hard to come by in Europe. Vitamin D helps depression, as does fish oil.

KLS said (April 21, 2011):

Firstly, thank you for the article. It takes courage to profess Christianity these days. I wish I could offer you some constructive advice. We seem to be entering an horrific age. NATO are now hitting selected areas of Libya with depleted uranium. Not a 'nerdy', concern at all! It is all o k when 'we' do it. But apart from you, and some others, who even notices, let alone cares?
Few seem to have realized yet, but the Northern Pacific ocean, along with European agriculture, has just been, and is being, irredeemably poisoned with radioactive fallout. Dark times ahead.

In my assessment, being 'happy' is not a passive state. Happiness comes from trying to see clearly, having objectives, and trying to achieve them, even if we should fall short. Faith seems to work, but Faith is very hard to acquire. Distrust ALL authority. We just have to keep trying and keep seeking as individuals.
Stay away from psychologists. They mostly work from a false premise and are unlikely to do any good in the long term.

Pam said (April 21, 2011):

Good for the mature, highly perceptive young Danish woman.

What I've been saying for years, am still saying and will say with my dying breath is: MOTHERS NEED TO STAY HOME AND TAKE CARE OF THEIR OWN CHILDREN UNTIL THEY ARE READY FOR COLLEGE.

I won't go into all the many, many reasons why this is so vitally important... but I will say, this business of children being raised in daycare institutions, being trapped in extended day at school, run about from one sports team to the next with no mother at home during the day is the main reason why these last two generations of children are fairly lost in so many ways. That babysitter, that teacher does not love the child. They don't nuture the child. They don't care for the child, emotionally. They don't listen to the child's problems and triumphs. And, sorry, but a tired Mom at the end of a long day doesn't really have the energy nor the time, not really, not in the way a full-time Mom does.

And mothers of high school students.... they have no clue what their children are doing, especially where no other mothers are home, either. Who is watching over those kids? Trust me, high school kids need supervision when out of school.

When my daughter was in high school, there were only a few girls who were stable. In almost every single case, the stable girls had full-time Moms, the non-stable girls had working Moms.

Yes, some mothers have no choice, they need to work to put food on the table but I also say, if there were less women in the work-force, there would be more jobs for the men and higher-paying jobs for the men so that they could completely provide for their families. Also, SUV's, fancy vacations, jewels and the latest fashions are not necessities. Many full-time Moms make sacrficies so they can stay at home because their children are their priority.

I've had mothers tell me they are too bored when they stay at home. I tell them, then you lack intelligence. You can study anything you want if you are a full-time Mom, There are hand-crafts to learn and pass down to the next generation. There is always something to do if you use your brain a bit.

Others say it's easier to work in an office than to stay at home and take care of the kids. Wow, do you think? Please remember that the next time you have something derogatory to say about stay at home Moms and GrandMoms.

I know I am a minority in my beliefs, but I have lived long enough to see the difference between working mothers and their children and non-working mothers and their off-spring. Again, there are always exceptions.

Some say, oh, if a woman stays at home it is a form of slavery. Oh, really? Full-time Moms aren't the ones running around with their heads cut off almost 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Think about it. Working Moms are the slaves.

If you don't want to stay home and take care of your own children, then don't have children in the first place only to have someone else, for whom it is merely a job, raise them.

Henry Makow received his Ph.D. in English Literature from the University of Toronto in 1982. He welcomes your comments at

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