Shelter Island Reporter editorial: Those damned kids
Young people are materialistic, in love with luxury, have atrocious manners, no respect for others and are obsessed with chatter via texting.
The mini-rant above, with just a touch of modernizing, was an opinion Socrates had about 2,500 years ago.
He was a wise and tolerant fellow, but everyone’s entitled to a bad day now and then.
The point is that older generations have always shaken their heads with disappointment over “those damned kids.” Part of the reason is that the oldsters have been blinded by new styles and haven’t looked closer at youngsters who are trying to make their way in the world.
An example of Shelter Island’s refuting the idea that its youth are pushing the handcart to hell was recently demonstrated by service High School students offered and made significant changes in people’s lives.
On a recent Saturday morning, a group of students, along with two adult volunteers, loaded up two vehicles and headed to a Habitat for Humanity building site in Riverhead.
Thanks to a grant from the Shelter Island Presbyterian Church, the students were able to bring along many wish-list tools for the builder, generously discounted by Shelter Island Ace Hardware Store. Once on site, our students learned a bit more about the Habitat for Humanity model. It is a “hand up, not a handout,” to a working family.
The soon-to-be homeowner, Dennis, a Vietnam veteran and a lung cancer survivor, currently lives with his adult brother with Down Syndrome in a cramped studio apartment. His down payment is paid in the form of sweat equity. Dennis’s mortgage is low interest, significantly lower than an average home purchase because most of the labor is essentially free, and the land was donated by Riverhead Town.
Recently deceased President Jimmy Carter and his wife, Rosalynn, worked on Habitat for Humanity for more than 30 years, and brought the organization’s work into the public dialogue.
According to Habitat’s annual fiscal report for 2023, the organization helped 13.4 million people build or improve a place to call home. An additional 9.5 million people gained the potential to improve their housing conditions through training programs and advocacy work driven by Habitat in local communities.
And also just recently, a group of students raised almost 500 donated items to stock the Shelter Island Food Pantry, which will bring comfort and sustenance to Island families among us down on their luck and suffering from food insecurity.
We should also mention Janine Mahoney, the National Honor Society’s adviser at the school, for inspiring students to strive for community involvement.
Socrates, a teacher himself, invented a method of questioning students, rather than browbeating them with accepted wisdom. He taught that to move the world, first move yourself, an idea that seems alive at Shelter Island School.
