August 26, 2023 - I admit that I am from the old school of doing things, therefore much of the fads and activities of the current generation are puzzling to me. Gone are the days when people consulted Emily Post to see if their actions were “appropriate”. There were also certain unwritten rules governing activities and dress that were adhered to by most everyone. Rare were the “lone wolves” who lived by their own rules amongst us, and those people were pretty well shunned by everyone else.
We are now living in an age when anything goes, it seems. Everyone has their own agenda and we older folks just have to adjust. However, there are some things going on today that I will never understand. Among those are:
Men with full heads of hair are now shaving it all off, some even removing their eyebrows. It seems that the “bald look” is now in vogue. Some guys even shave all their body hair as well. Apparently they want the “Mr. Clean” look. And even more amazing, the women seem to like that look.
Back in my day, guys did everything they could to save whatever hair that nature gave them. Guys would examine their hair in the mirror and even cry when a comb contained a hand full of shed hair. Men would get hair transplants, and as a last resort purchase toupees to cover their balding head. Now, it seems, a bald head is a badge of honor. I’ll never understand that.
Everyone now adores tattoos. Again, back in my day, tattoos were worn only by sailors and motorcycle gang members. They were looked down upon by society as tacky and degrading. I will never understand why otherwise sane and sensible men want to mark their body all over with pictures and decals that will never come off. They resemble a walking mural. Even women today are getting into the act. Most women under thirty have some kind of tattoo, some are hidden and some are out in the open for all to see. I am told that tattoos are a form of creative art, and perhaps it is for some, but I will never understand it.
Body piercing is now a fad, and has been for some time. I will never be comfortable with men who wear ear rings (along with their tattoos). It seems that the females are the ones that have gone overboard with all the piercing of their tongues, lips, eyelids, ears, navels, and certain unmentionable body parts. Again, it seems a special honor to be laden down with several pounds of silver studs situated all over the body. I’ll never understand this fad. How does it improve their looks and image? Beats me how they think it does.
Wearing the baseball cap backwards is another fad that is doggedly hanging on among the younger set. The baseball cap was designed to help keep the sun out of one’s eyes. That does not work on those who insist on wearing the bill in the back, that is, unless they have eyes in the back of their heads. I know some guys that refuse to remove that backward cap for any reason, including taking their engagement picture, entering a church building, and I would assume taking a shower. I have to assume that these guys can look in the mirror and not recognize how stupid they actually look to others.
It seems that it is now in vogue to tempt fate with certain death. High wire walkers are notorious in tempting fate while praying all the while for God to preserve them. Skydiving, mountain climbing, scaling the walls of sky scrapers, are but a few activities that tempt fate with certain death in the event of one slip up. The “Good Book” tells us that we are not to tempt God, but some folk seem to do it for the notoriety or the adrenaline rush. I will never understand their rationalization of such activities.
I suppose that human nature is at work here. Since others are doing the activity, others want to be included. I can just hear Adam in the Garden of Eden when God asked him why he ate of the forbidden fruit, “But, God, everybody else is doing it!” Adam was kicked out of the Garden anyway. Perhaps there is a lesson here for all of us.
