I’m 51 and can certainly understand. It’s not so much that we want anything that our kids do not want. We were just sold a bill of goods and thought that this is just what people do. Yes, it seems infantile now, but no more so than anyone else taking for granted the lessons of life that surround them and learning that more choices exist along the way than we realized. In essence, a form of long-con normalcy bias. We were indoctrinated and change is hard.

The world is much different now than when we were young adults and children, and some of us can’t help but feel sad that it was all just farcical fairytale. That said, I can promise that we’re more sad that we’ve had to educate ourselves to these truths and we were, in effect, duped by our own well-meaning, but equally clueless, elders. The saddest truth is watching our kids deal with the effects of the transitional lessons we witnessed coming to fruition.

Please understand, I’m not trying to argue your valid point. I just thought to offer a perspective gained over time and maybe some sympathy for the devil. Not all of us set out to be the villains, whether or not that’s the mantle we get to wear.