Youth and Adults: Crossing the Divide
by Husayn Allmart
Overview
Based on the Ridván 2000 message from the Universal House of Justice,
this workshop is an exploration into the interactions between youth
and adults. The purpose is to analyze them, share our experiences with
youth and adults in small groups, and work together to develop the “appropriate
attitude” mentioned by the House.
Outline
The workshop is based on three main ideas and questions, all taken
from letters of the Universal House of Justice.
1. Youth represent a special population:
Throughout the writings there are references to the special and unique
capacities youth possess. Shoghi Effendi refers to their zeal and vitality,
and in even as recent a work as Century of Light, the House catalogues
the immortal achievements of youth in the Cause.
2. There is a sense of alienation
between youth and adults: The House mentions this alienation in the
Ridván 2000 letter (Appendix A). It is also detailed by scholars outside
the Faith (Appendix B)
3. There is a need to develop an
“appropriate attitude” towards younger members of the community.
What is this attitude, and what does it look like?: My feeling is that
we all possess pieces of the answer and only by talking with each other
can we develop an adequate response to the House’s call. (The remainder
of the workshop consists of an exercise described below).
Exercise: Fold a sheet of paper
in half lengthwise (hot-dog style, as one participant put it). Without
unfolding the piece of paper, on the left side write a)
whatever comes to mind when you think of youth, b)
how youth are seen by society in general. When you’re done with
that flip the paper over, again without unfolding it, and write any
words or phrases that stick out from the passages I will read from the
Bahá’í writings concerning youth (Appendix C).
Now unfold the paper and compare yours’ and societys’ view
of youth and how the Faith views them. Think about any differences and/or
similarities and how they came to be.
Form groups that have an even mix of youth and adults, if possible,
and share your thoughts and responses.
Look for patterns in the experiences of the youth and adults in your
group. What is harmful? What perceptions about each other keep people
from interacting positively? From what you’ve heard, is your community
friendly to youth? To adults? Have you developed an appropriate attitude?
One intended outcome of this exercise is to make explicit certain things.
We all have mental models, certain assumptions about the world that
shape how we see things. We all have mental models about both youth
and adults. Often these are contrary to the spirit of the Faith. Many
will say that if they had been asked to think about Bahá’í
youth specifically instead of youth in general they would have been
more positive. Is the House asking us to develop an appropriate attitude
only towards Bahá’í youth? Aren't youth outside of
the Faith one of the largest groups responding to the National Media
Campaign? Also, how do we view adults? Do youth see them as being in
the way? Boring? Resistant to change? Which aspects of these mental
models are true, of both youth and adults, and which of them need to
be changed to create the kind of community Bahá’ú’lláh
intended?
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Youth
& Adults: Crossing the Divide
—Appendix A
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Youth
& Adults: Crossing the Divide
—Appendix B
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Youth
& Adults: Crossing the Divide
—Appendix C
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