Throughout history, not only in ancient Israel, virtually every society greatly valued old people—because old people were associated with wisdom, and wisdom was valued. In the contemporary world, especially in the West, youth is increasingly valued more than age. That is a reflection of the fact that wisdom is less valued and therefore the old are less valued, or the old are less valued and therefore wisdom is less valued. It is hard to know which came first—the devaluing of the old or the devaluing of wisdom. But whichever cause the other, both are tragedies.
In answer to some young people who told the great German-Jewish actor Fritz Kortner he could not understand their problems, Kortner responded, “You were never as old as I am; on the other hand I was as young as you are now.”
The devaluation of old people is a tragedy for their sake, for society’s sake, and for the sake of the young who can so benefit from being with and learning from the old. Anyone who has, or has had, a bond with a grandparent or a mentor knows how true this is. And the devaluation of wisdom is an even greater tragedy. We live in an age that values—or at least claims to value—knowledge. But knowledge without wisdom tells you nothing about how to lead your life. It is like owning a map but have no destination. If you don’t know where you need to go, knowing exactly where you are is useless.
Dennis Prager, The Rational Bible, Exodus: God, Slavery, and Freedom, pg.355-356
No comments:
Post a Comment