"Come mothers and fathers Throughout the landAnd don't criticizeWhat you can't understandYour sons and your daughtersAre beyond your commandYour old road is rapidly agin'Please get out of the new oneIf you can't lend your handFor the times they are a-changin'”
Bob Dylan wrote these words in his great song, The Times They Are A-Changin in 1964, when he was in his late teens. Every generation has come up with some sort of the “Times They are a Changing.” Nearly every generation thinks their ideas are superior to their parents. Dylan’s song was a masterpiece as well as a big hit. I love the song. But let’s look at it a little closer. Is change good? Depends on what you want to change. Certainly, the prejudice of Dylan's times against black Americans needed changing. Prejudice against any group is always bad and needs changing. Dylan did not say what the change was; he left it open and perhaps on purpose.
If you grew up in the 1950s things were certainly different than today, but then nothing ever stays the same. There was bad and there was good. What was good? The 1950s Los Angeles, for example, was Mayberry compared to today. Very little crime, you could walk, take public transportation safely for the most part. I do not remember any gangs, drive-by shootings, car-jackings, or the like. The above lyrics of the song admonishes parents about not criticizing what they don’t understand. Really? This is a very subjective point of view. Perhaps they did understand. Bill Maher has an interesting video on Instagram about the “Trad dad” the traditional dad who told you that “because I said so” is a good reason for you to do it. Today, modern parenting has been reversed. Children are in command. Jordan Peterson also has a video on Instagram about not doing something for your kids that they could do for themselves.
In the 1950s, if you wanted a car, or a bicycle, for example, you got a job saved money and bought one yourself. Today, mom or dad will buy it for you. Parents today are their kid’s friend, not necessarily their parent. A friend of mine told me about what he told his two sons when they were young: “I’m your dad, not your friend.” Both grew up self-reliant and very successful.
In the 1960s we had changes for sure: Drugs became rampant, rebellion was a right of passage, crime increased. We had the Vietnam War, riots in the major cities, three major assassinations, President Kennedy, Martin Luther king and Bobby Kennedy. Was change good?
