Coming Of Age Unceremonious For Most Young Americans

As the mother of a near teenager I am reminded of the difficulties young people are faced with in a society that avoids the sacred aid of the coming of age ceremony.  In many cultures these ceremonies teach young people what life is worth, how to persevere through challenges, and feel they are surrounded by a supportive community.  Of course, it all starts at a very young age when people are said to develop their personalities. This is where the media comes in...

Boys will be boys, and girls will be girls. Billions of dollars are spend every year vying for the hearts and minds of the very young, and the pocket-books of their parents.  The psyche is fed a never ending stream of sex identification through advertising consumer products. Emulous boys are often instilled with a tough veneer, masking emotions and encouraged toward competition. Both boys and girls are lured to desire material objects that are, now-in-days, high priced tech gadgets that only serve to drive a wedge between them, the natural world, and ultimately their inner self. Girls are subjected to seeing women objectified in the home, since all advertising pertaining to domestic care stars the mother-maid. Popular music is often rampant with promiscuity and dark deeds, and often is designed to promote shallowness.

In the Katsina Religion of the pueblo people living around the Four Corners, like the Hopi and Zuni, Katsina dolls were and are used to teach the people about cooperation, diversity, nature, and spirits. The Katsinam themselves were said to be spirits who sustained the people by bringing spiritual blessings and rain to the very dry lands.  Each Katsina represents something important to the knowledge and the life of these pueblo people, so when children are given these dolls, they are not given as toys as they are used to signify, not gratify. These principles and practices are still a part of these indigenous peoples lives today, and goes back perhaps over 1,000 years.

The Quinceanera is a pre-Columbian coming of age ceremony for girls turning 15, signifying their cross-over into womanhood. In this journey a girl, surrounded by her family, friends, and neighbors all work together to usher her into a new life with new responsibilities. A Quinceanera is elaborate; from the dress, cakes, dance, music, and guests, it makes sense that a girl turned woman would recognize that her community can be counted on, and that, likewise, they are counting on her. She must act like a "lady", and her four male dance partners must be perfect gentlemen.

Our educational system is plummeting to rank only 25th in the industrialized world, and the children are suffering for it. By the time a child begins to mature, they have heard so many falsehoods via their friends and media, and been approached to make unwise decisions at the behest of peers. It is no wonder that binge drinking and self-mutilation has become the new right of passage.