Has a better sense of self.
Becomes gradually more emotionally stable.
Has a greater concern for others.
Has thoughts about his or her purpose in life.
Has pride in his or her own work.
Social Development
Has become self-reliant and able to make own decisions.
Becomes more comfortable around parents.
Becomes interested in and concerned about serious relationships.
Can combine both emotional and physical intimacy in a relationship.
Has developed a clear sexual identity.
Mental Development
Has ability to think ideas through and set goals.
Has ability to express ideas.
Has developed a deeper view of life and may become involved in community issues (environment, homelessness, world hunger).
OK….now think how many teenagers you observe in your world who have never developed these milestones! Many of them cannot even read! These broken persons are sent out into an adult world where their decision making ability is immature, even mentally ill. Western society has broken down in the educational and maturational processes needed to bring a child to adulthood. Those causes are also multi-factoral but surely a great deal of the problem stems from the society and its political structures which really do not want to spend money on education and child development. Therefore the society continues to crumble.
As an artist this became apparent to me in my career. Audiences after WWII appreciated opera and the great voices on the stage. However, by the end of the Vietnam War, audiences were considerably less able to appreciate the arts. Johnny Carson, and Jack Paar before him, would bring opera singers on to the Tonight Show. But by the time Jay Leno took over, it was unthinkable to bring an opera singer on the show. The people simply had lost all appreciation, and more importantly, great artists were viewed as having psychological threat value to the weaker personalities that comprised the audience. As we produce more and more fragmented people, they have less and less ability to appreciate education and the arts. The Western Society we have produced reflects that. It is a superficial, anti-intellectual, anti-art, culture that we have developed. OF COURSE it does not want to spend money on education! It doesn’t value education!!! That is the vicious cycle that will eventually crash Western civilization…unless true visionary leaders appear!!! Where would they come from?
