The Wisdom of Youth

Mary Shelley wrote Frankenstein when she was just 19. Her husband Percy wrote some of his best poetry before the age of 24. Helen Keller wrote her autobiography The Story of My Life when she was 22. Author Rimbaud wrote his most celebrated poetry while still a teenager. Alexander Pope wrote his masterpiece at age 24. S.E. Hinton wrote The Outsiders while still in high school. And Stephen Crane was 23 when he wrote The Red Badge of Courage.

Of course young people have achieved great things in other fields, too. Music, art, dance, drama, mathematics, science, athletics… Friedrich Nietzsche was a full professor with tenure by the time he was 24. But I chose to highlight achievements in literature because I think certain stories and poetry resonate with us because the authors have shown through these works that they had great insight into the human condition. Insight, maturity and wisdom.

It may be unusual for a young person to write a book or a poem that we still relish and read decades later, but that’s unusual for anybody of any age. The point is young people often have the capacity to see things, have things to teach us, and some are articulate enough to pass on their wisdom and insight.

Maybe it’s true that some people gain wisdom and insight as they get older. I like to think I have. But I don’t think there is any guarantee that we’ll be smarter when we’re older. I’ve known a number of people who have, in my opinion, gotten dumber, meaner, more stubborn as they have grown older. They were more open and more curious about the world around them and the people in it when they were young. With time, they have become bitter, unpleasant, hostile and self-important, not wise at all.

And yet, I have noticed that many older people have a tendency to talk about the young as if they are necessarily stupid and their opinions have little value. While others talk about the young as if they necessarily need our guidance and protection. I think in many cases vanity fuels these attitudes. We want to believe that simply by surviving a number of decades we are more knowledgeable and more competent. But, I think, much to the chagrin of some of us, sometimes the young ones know better.

For instance, those under 30 are the ones most likely to understand LGBT people and support our rights. Those least likely are those over 60. Many young people stand behind us even as we look down on them.