As I travel around the country speaking and coaching there is a constant question that continuously comes up.

“What’s wrong with these young people today?”

That question drives me nuts. I frequently respond, “The same thing that’s wrong with the adults is the same thing that’s wrong with the students: detrimental values.”

Think about it.  This is all about exposure and students are the spitting image of the adult values they are exposed to the most.

You might be thinking

• “Hey, I don’t wear my pants hanging off of my butt.”
• “My hair isn’t pink and green.”
• “My clothes aren’t so tight that it looks like I painted them on me.”

True, but…

Kids don’t own the movie theaters, TV stations, clothing companies, or radio stations.  They don’t produce and distribute the DVD’s, CD’s, and MP3’s.

So while you’re getting angry and frustrated with the kids, remember the adults. They are the ones who put the value on the products they produce.

One day when I was speaking at a community center I saw a guy fussing at some teenagers about how they were dressed.

“Y’all need to pull your pants up. And y’all young girls got clothes that’s way too tight.”

The guy had on an old, oily baseball cap turned to the back.  He was wearing an off-yellow, grayish tank top that used to be white.  And there were so many peas in his beard that he could’ve opened a supermarket! (Translation: His beard was unkempt).

Uh…hello. What’s wrong with this picture?    

That’s no different than someone with a $20,000 home theater in his or her house, no home library, and yet he or she has the nerve to be pissed off because his or her kids don’t read and study enough.

We live in a society where it’s more important for most adults to have a home entertainment center than it is to have a bookcase.  Now that is pitiful.

But you know what? I’m through ranting for today. Here’s the bottom line-

Empowerment begins and ends with adult values.

So the question isn’t “What’s wrong with these young people today?” The question is- “What’s wrong with adult values today?”