The Great Divide

My Father mentioned to me last week that he had cancelled his internet connection because he doesn't use his computer. To anyone under 30 this would appear to be an act of foolishness akin to cutting off your own leg. The advent of the computer has brought about a sea-change in society and my generation seems to be the bridge between two alien worlds. There are some intrepid silver surfers who have managed to cross the divide but to most people over 70 the internet is a mystery of the dark arts. On the other hand, anyone under 25 couldn't imagine living without social networking, mobile phones or video games. They have grown up with computers and they are ingrained in the fabric of their lives.

My sons have no interest in making things with their hands or any curiosity about how things work. They have no idea of the satisfaction to be gained from mending something with tools worn smooth from age and use that used to belong to their grandfather. They lack the competence to take something apart to see how it works and then put it back together. People used to get fulfilment from working with wood or tinkering with cars but they don't bother anymore. Who can blame them when you can buy a brand new table from Ikea for £7 and get it delivered to your door and cars are too complicated to be tinkered with.

If you gave my Dad a physical problem to solve such as building anything from a cupboard to a patio, he would work out what materials he needed and how to put it together in his head. Then he would set about constructing it while overcoming any problems with practical ingenuity. My sons would have the same answer within a few key taps and bravely set about building it with no real understanding of what they were doing. It's not that either way is right or wrong, just far removed from each other.

And another thing... My Dad also mentioned that he would have voted UKIP had there been a candidate to vote for. He is fed up with the identikit public-schoolboy politicians in their indistinguishable parties spouting the same old rhetoric while they sell the country down the river. My wife agrees with him and so do a lot of other people judging by the big gains made by UKIP in the polls. It brings to mind another politician from the 1930's who was derided as a clown and irrelevant by the establishment but rose to power in a bankrupt country on a wave of nationalism. Perhaps Enoch Powell's 'Rivers of Blood' shouldn't be assigned to the prophesy dustbin just yet.