WHERE HAVE ALL THE ADULTS GONE?

                                                                       Jerry Fox

Its been quite a season.  Watching the talking heads screaming at one another, interrupting one another, and behaving generally boorishly.  Watching the continuing analysis of Iraq, the coverage of the Israil/Hizbollah conflict, the funnybusiness at the UN, and the hoopla over what entertainment figure says what outrageous thing, and today the “meaning” of Joe Lieberman’s loss in the democrat primary in Connecticut.  Not to mention the congresswoman from Georgia.

So the question that pops in my head seems simple - where have all the adults gone?  Turns out maybe I don’t have any better clue what an adult is than the screamers do.  Checking the dictionary does not help.  If you are through growing at both ends, and have reached whatever age is designated as the majority in your legal jurisdiction, then you are an adult.  Biological, chronological, and legal factors decide.  Doesn’t have anything at all to do with decorum, wisdom, good manners, morality, propriety, responsibility, accountability, or stuff like that.

Now I’m even more curious.  If I can’t find a definition I like for adulthood, then how about maturity.  I sort of thought I had a clue about this one.  Wrong.  The American Heritage dictionary says, “having reached full natural growth or development.”  Sounds biological and chronological again.  Definition three finally mentions something else, “of or having the mental and physical characteristics or qualities of full development; adult.”  Still nothing about behavior, but at least mental characteristics get a little notice.

So, where did I get my own apparently warped concept of what a mature adult is?  Turns out it has to be a conditioned view, based on my own circumstances and upbringing - shaping by parents, teachers, principals, preachers, bosses, cops , judges and the media.  So there does not appear to be a universal view that grown-ups should have strictly defined rules of social order to which they all should subscribe and against which they should measure each other.  And which they should pass on to their children. 

Dumb me.  Instead we have laws.  Somebody must think that the laws are  supposed to provide that framework. Well, the laws must not be doing such a hot job either, since the entire collection of lawyers, congressmen, pundits, and other folks - all of whom are through growing at both ends -  cannot seem to agree on what the laws mean.  

I cannot believe it took me so many years to discover this.  But there it is.  Being an adult is whatever each of us thinks it is.  Acting out our version of adulthood is up to each of us.  Staying within some vaguely understood legal set of lines is up to each of us by whatever means or interpretation might work.  Looks like that is where we are as a society. 

That must make it OK to stay a child in our outlook and behavior if that is what we want to do.  After all, children have a lot more fun, are a lot more creative, are a lot more honest, and are too innocent to be immoral.