There is a great deal of discussion today about what is thought to be a widening and unfortunate gulf between the generations. Attempts to find the reasons for a breakdown in communication between young people and their elders seem to ignore the fact that this is no new phenomenon; it is as old as history. Looking at the problem broadly and constructively in the light of Christian Science, we can see it as a recurring symptom of mankind's dissatisfaction with the way of life evolved by previous generations. It is an instinctive, if unconscious, reaching out for man's true inheritance of dominion and blessedness as the beloved son of God.
In this light we can recognize the claim of sharp division and lack of communication as a progressive stage in human experience to be welcomed rather than resented or deplored, to be cherished rather than condemned; for it must surely represent part of the overturning and rejection of false theories, values, and standards to which Ezekiel refers in this message from God: "I will overturn, overturn, overturn, it: and it shall be no more, until he come whose right it is; and I will give it him."
Ezek. 21:27
The gulf may be more sharply defined now than in the past because of prevailing trends which have placed the younger generation in an economic position that allows of their exploitation through mass media of communication unknown to earlier generations. Under a bombardment of propaganda and advertising it is scarcely surprising that young people respond by making the most of their opportunity to set the pace and call the tune.
