Thought of the Day 05.19.08

The other day at the park with my sons, I had an interesting opportunity arise. As we were playing in the sand, some Junior High age boys were playing basketball nearby. Basketball wasn’t the issue. Their constant profanity was.

Before acting, I pondered briefly whether to issue a command or to make a request. In the end, I think my realization that this question wouldn’t have even occurred to a man my age forty years ago answered it for me.

See, it’s not so much that my boys were being polluted by filthy words. I don’t think they were even listening. It’s that the community has an interest in clean public spaces. So there I was, representing the community. And the next time a couple choice words came out, I turned and sternly said, “Hey. Watch the language!” which elicited a sheepish “Yes, sir,” from the most obvious offender.

And that’s when I recognized the real issue. Teenage boys have a God-given need to be regularly scolded by older men. And if they don’t get it, they’ll never become men, no matter how old they get.