When I was a child, I believed adults were wiser, more reasonable, and fairer than the rest. But as I grew older and became an adult among other adults, I realised this is far from the truth. Most adults are egocentric, fallacious thinkers, difficult to reason with, and fundamentally injudicious. Children, on the other hand, possess a remarkable sense of curiosity—a natural inclination to question and explore. Yet, as they grow, this curiosity is often forcibly suppressed. They are taught that the only things worth pursuing in life as they become adults are work and sex. This narrow perspective is relentlessly drilled into them, stifling any deeper intellectual exploration or creative thought.
Young people are constantly instructed to obey their elders without question. The reasoning is simple: adults believe they have more life experience, and that young people still have “a lot to learn.” However, many adults themselves navigate life without learning much beyond what was naively passed down to them by the generation before. It becomes, in essence, memetic. This cycle of ignorance is precisely how absurd belief systems and nonsensical traditions are maintained and perpetuated through the generations.
To come to this realisation, all one needs to do is closely observe the behaviours, attitudes, and thought patterns of adults. Human idiocy is laid bare before us, not only in personal encounters but also in the vast repetition of modern entertainment, news footage, and other forms of media. And now, more than ever, it’s visible through any form of lay-written content—social media comments, posts, and the like—easily accessible through the boundless expanse of the internet. The overwhelming evidence of this pernicious degree of stupidity is there for anyone willing to look.
The lesson to be drawn from this critique is a simple yet profound message to the people ruled by grown-ups. Do not assume that all adults, or anyone who may wield authority, are inherently moral, of sound mind, or capable of good decision-making. They are not. Adults perpetuate the myth that they possess greater wisdom than youth. In reality, most adults are clueless, with the added problem of being masked by years of accumulated biases and unexamined beliefs. Question everything. Think critically. And remember that age does not always equate to wisdom.
