Categories: uncategorized
Date: 09 May 2006 03:08:13
We went to a deb on the weekend. It's the second deb I've been to, the first being my youngest sister's last year. Again this time I was suprised at how vocal the audience is, chanting and shouting and clapping and yelling each time a couple came out to be presented. Granted, there was alcohol involved - which I understand isn't always the case and without which the ceremony would no doubt be more, well, ceremonious - but it still suprises me that young people get so excited about something that is at its core as traditional and old-fashioned as a debutante ball.
Then on Sunday we watched a bit of the logies. And the deb behaviour made sense. As I'm watching the starlets strutting up the red carpet, crowds cheering and taking photos, it reminded me enormously of the deb we'd been to a couple of nights before. I think the young people are using the deb scene to imitate their tv roll models. Certainly some of the blokes behave like they do at the brownlows, getting quite plastered and loud and stupid. And some of the girls aren't much better, shaking their assets on the dance floor. We saw one girl pull her skirt above her ears as part of her "dancing". Thank goodness she was wearing at least a little bit of underwear.
It also makes me sad sometimes going to events like that with lots of young people I don't know. It makes me realise how sheltered I really was growing up. There is no question that a large number of them get drunk and have sex with whoever's around and that it's not even an unusual or particularly special event for them (not all the kids, but a large number). It makes me sad. I want to sort of shake them, say Don't you understand! You're getting it all wrong! There's more to life than this!
But then I think - is there? Is there really? For some people, the answer is no, there's no more. That is life. Fair enough. But I think even if I wasn't a Christian I'd want more than that. I'd believe in more than that. And it's too bad anyway, because I am a Christian.
Times like this I remember a verse from John (can't remember exactly where). After the feeding the 5000 Jesus brings a particularly hard word to his followers, and many can't accept it and leave him. But when he asks the twelve if they're going to leave, Peter (I think) says "Where would we go?"
Where would I go? After knowing God there is no way I could find peace with anything else, even if I wanted to.
No way.
And that brings me a sort of assurance. Like maybe, even if I can never tell anyone else in the world that there's a better way of doing things, even if I occasionally want something that I just can't have, I still can't escape who I am.