Generational Perspectives

My wise husband made a very interesting observation the other evening, following the second of the more "traditional" (i.e. non town-hall style) debates.

Have you noticed that the pundits afterwards are always swift to point out which debater was best at looking into the camera (meaning "into the faces of the American people") and which spent too much time looking down at the moderator? At least, that's how it always sounds to me, as though all the brownie points and gold stars go the ones who look straight into the camera.

My husband's careful observation is that, in both debates, at least at the beginning, the candidates who most naturally talked to the camera were the younger ones, the 40-something candidates. And in both debates, the older candidates were the ones whose natural, first tendency was to look at the moderator, the actual living human being in the room with them, the one asking the questions.

We got to talking about this and we agreed that it seems like a big difference in generational perspective. And in many ways, we empathized with the older candidates (despite the fact that we're closer in age to the younger ones). Yes, I know in the age of televised debates how one looks means a lot, and I know that it's important that potential presidents and vice presidents of the United States understand how to use visual mediums and technology. But it still seems a shame that we can't take a moment to reflect on the fact that it's not necessarily a character flaw or a mark of stupidity that one's first response is to actually look at the real person who is speaking to you, rather than into a camera lens that represents a general group of unseen people "out there."

Of course, I say all this by way of a blog. Hmm.

I think there's an obvious reason, beyond all the other obvious reasons given, why an older candidate would pick a younger or a younger candidate would pick an older one. It's not just about the older candidate needing someone with vitality and energy and hip-ness (for lack of a better term) and the older candidate needing someone with gravitas and experience. It's the blending of two whole different perspectives. Youth and age both have their advantages and even wisdom, but they're very different kinds. And they need each other. Maybe that's one reason so many families are struggling today to stay healthy and whole, because so many times the generations are isolated from one another when they need to live and work together.