Family Is Where Hope Lives
The 2010 Soccer World Cup drew to a close last night and South Africa proved, without a doubt, that playful optimism is contagious regardless of the challenges, problems and bad press that predisposed the world to thinking that we couldn’t do it. Perhaps this is something we really need to keep close to our hearts as we guide our children in the 21st century. I’m not just talking about optimism for South Africa, but optimism about life and this planet in general. I’m talking about ensuring that our children are hopeful and positive about their future despite the fact that overpopulation, dwindling natural resources, violent religious extremism, runaway computer intelligence, global warming and devastating famines, to name just a few, are already some of the issues threatening life as we know it.
Since 2001, a thousand 16 year old boys and a thousand 16 year old girls have been surveyed every year in South Africa to determine their level of hope in the future. A ten point scale is used to measure the trust they have in a meaningful future in both this country and the world at large. In 2001, 63% had hope for the future. This figure has now dropped, alarmingly, to 22%! In fact, they believe that the world is on the brink of disaster, says South African futurist, Pieter de Villiers who is involved in this research. And it’s not surprising when you consider the amount of negativity they are bombarded with minute by minute every day via the media, because good news doesn’t sell (except for the past month during the World Cup, of course!).
He explains the danger of youth without hope: “They start living for now. They want maximum fun NOW, regardless of the consequences. They become destructive to themselves and the environment. Why should they care when they don’t believe there is any hope for the future? We need to make a conscious effort to show our children a positive attitude towards the future despite the challenges we face.” I believe this starts with us, in our homes and families, with love, security, values and structure.
James Martin, founder of the James Martin 21st Century School at Oxford University and author of bestselling book The Meaning of the 21st Century (Eden Project Books, 2006) says that this is an amazing time in history to be a young person precisely because there is so much opportunity to create a new and better world for all. “If I could choose any time to live, I would want to be a teenager now (in a country with a great education) [he adds]……The most important reason I would choose today is that, more than at any other time, young people will make a spectacular difference. The 21st Century Revolution is absolutely essential, and today’s young people will make it happen. There needs to be an absolute crusading determination to bring about the changes……..Today’s young people will collectively determine whether civilisation survives or not. It will be a time of revolution establishing the processes by which humankind can achieve levels of greatness never dreamed of before. With technologies that are infinite in all directions, what can humanity become?”
I would like to add that while technology will help us solve many of our challenges, without a rise in consciousness about what it means to really be human, we are at risk of becoming technology-driven human doings instead of human beings. There can only be hope if we share not just our technological breakthroughs with each other (the head stuff), but if we share our humanity with each other — our connectedness, our feelings, emotions and spirituality (the heart stuff). And that was exactly what made this Soccer World Cup special and different to any other. As FIFA’s Sepp Blatter said, “Thank you South Africa for sharing your humanity with the world.” We must all become a purveyors of hope to give the next generation hope.
“Family is where hope lives.”
Nikki Bush & Graeme Codrington, Future-proof Your Child (Penguin, 2008)
