Here it is: Age in and of itself, does not equal wisdom. One can be wise through long life, yes; but experience is why. If one does not live an experienced life, they will still be just as unwise and potentially as dumb as those who are younger than them. Likewise, someone who has lived a rich and fulfilling life no matter how those events play out, can be just as wise if not wiser than those older than them.
So while youth can be ignorance, so too can the egotism of age. This will continue to be a problem in society until the day when everyone can come to agree that our lives are not equal, and never will be; because we cannot experience everything the same way across the world. It is that diversity in experience which is why it is so important that we learn to listen to each other, even if we don't like what they have to say. To expect obedience from anyone due to age alone is just a form of authoritarianism which has no right to exist; especially when the evidence shows abundantly that the older generations didn't get everything right either. Just like how no one in their right mind expects the younger to get everything right as well.
It is only the daft and delusional that think they have gotten everything right.
And from the looks of things out there in society, we have much more of that going on, than we have any wisdom being shared.
As a final word.
If you found this wise, consider this. I'm turning 34 soon.
And with that said, this is the last any of you will hear from me. This is all I have to say.
Well, that’s one way that’s relevant to the discussion anyway.
Though supposedly it hits diminishing returns soon after that..?
And I don't want to spend my life constantly regretting choices made a few years before !
Teenagers are idiots. They think they know everything but know little to nothing. They loudly reject and rebel against the legacy world.
Around their 30s, they dial it back significantly. Understand they were wrong, their ideas stupid and unhinged, and perhaps regret some style and music choices of their teenage years. Which will be total fun for this generation, the internet is forever. This is also the point where they get skin in the game of The System.
Rather than overthrow the system, they'll work it to their personal benefit because that's what adulthood requires. The more successful they are at it, the more they become the system.
New teenagers emerge which are now found annoying, and wrong. Cycle completed.
Which generation of rebellious youngsters became the ultimate neoliberal capitalists?
...HIPPIES!
They also know what things did absolutely fucking nothing for them growing up and feel viscerally the harm that the previous generation caused them, and set out in their lives to live in a way that reduces that harm.
Boomers grew up being wild individualists having been raised by a generation of relatively sadistic collectivists. Millenials realize the downfall of unrestrained narcissism and tend towards more tolerant collectivism.
Gen Z was raised by a generation that valued emotional openness but couldn’t attain it in healthy way. They’re really into boundaries and prevention of emotional harm.
All this is basically what you said but without the value judgement.
Youth is ignorance, and the only cure is getting older. When that happens you will marvel at how much you thought you knew and understood. You will listen or read the next generation making preposterous proclamations about older people and the older generations. Laughable in their certainty. Judging older people and finding them unworthy. Especially family. You may try to convey to the younger generation how you were just like them once, trying to shortcut the wisdom of age for them.
But there are no shortcuts. There is no easy way. So we can watch and reflect, those older than us probably have the same thoughts about us. Those ignorant 60 year olds think they know everything. Wait till they hit 90.