September 9, 2011
Reflection
‘Are you watching this?’
By STEVE DABROWSKI (Director, Youth andYoung Adult Ministry)
The question bounced off my tired brain like headlights from fog. “Watching what?”
“Turn on your television,” my sister said, obviously crying.
And I watched one of the towers fall.
Only months into starting Bosco Youth Ministry in Jasper, I had planned to sleep in that morning, but I knew what I was seeing would not only change my day, but the way the young people would view the world for the rest of their lives. I phoned then-principal of Jasper High School, Gerald Roberts, and I asked how my adult leaders and I could help. He simply asked if we could be present to the young people: “They’re scared, and they’re going to have questions.” I spent the majority of my day in a high school cafeteria helping young people make sense of the senseless.
One fear that was repeated throughout that day was that Crane Naval Surface Warfare, about an hour north of Jasper, would also be attacked. In the minds those students, Crane was an obvious target due to its military function, and they were worried about parents, family and neighbors who worked there. I’ll bet very few adults had the same thought, but to young people, this was a logical conclusion — the Twin Towers, the Pentagon, and a naval facility north of Loogootee.
There is no more creative or energetic group of individuals on the planet than young people, but it is important to re-member that experience is an integral part of learning one’s way in the world, and 16 years just don’t provide much guidance in a crisis. That’s why Mr. Roberts invited us to the school: As a wise administrator, his many years taught him what youth needed most — adults with enough experience to help them calm needless worry. There was enough about which to worry already, and there was no need to compound it.
The need of young people for good mentors isn’t true only in crises: Young people need rational adults to help them “learn the ropes” of everyday life, too. As poor banking decisions harm our economy, young people need those who lived through an economic depression to show them that things will stabilize. When war wages in Iraq and Afghanistan, young people need those who experienced world war to show them that peace will follow. Youth need the experience of adults to help them face fears and anxieties, and in the absence of good mentors, the imaginations of youth, combined with a lack of experience, will lead them to dire conclusions and desperation.
“Are you watching this?” Young people need to hear a strong reply from the experienced adults God places in their lives: “Yes, we’re watching, and we have the experience to help you process this — even if we don’t fully understand it ourselves.” Good mentors produce good mentors — those who will overcome the crises of the future. When buildings fall and confusion abounds, we can raise youth who will stand strong no matter the circumstance.