Many of us gathered around a war memorial during the commemoration of Remembrance Sunday. You may have laid a wreath, said a prayer or simply paused for reflection. The overriding mood of that day is to look backwards. We think about the losses of life, hope and futures occasioned by two world wars and subsequent conflicts.

Over recent years we have also been urged to remember those serving today and making the timeless sacrifice in support of freedom and the collective values we hold dear. In so doing we remember that war, duty and sacrifice are not just an historical phenomena but with us – ever present.
I am perpetually worried by what I call inter-generational disconnect. Never has there seemed to be a time when there is a greater gap between the generations. There is a growing feeling among the young that older generations had a less stressful time. A lifetime job, ease of getting on the property ladder, free student tuition has been replaced and has seen added to them geopolitical uncertainties, Climate Change and the pressures of work-life balanced occasioned by 24/7 access to IT.
Older residents see the younger generation as less robust and resilient than theirs. Political correctness, ‘wokeness’ and the like all play into this.

Fewer families grow up around a few streets or village where the residual wisdom of grandparents, aunts, uncles and the like could be tapped into for reaffirming support. Families are farther flung and, as a result, young and old do not mix as much as once they did. This seems to lead to tensions, fears and a lack of mutual understanding. Both seem to speak a language alien to the other.
We discussed this recently when I hosted two meetings with local town councils and the Police and Police & Crime Commissioner. Something which arose from those conversations was the fact that we get most of our information about youth crime based on what is happening in the big cities. Too many believe that most young people carry knives, are involved with drugs and hellbent on violence. Dorset, like everywhere else, has issues with drugs and the criminality that flows from it, but we must not sleepwalk into thinking that North Dorset has anything like the scale of problems cities like London face.

That said, young people congregating en masse to simply ‘hang out’ can be disconcerting to older people. Mindless teenage vandalism degrades our built environment while exacerbating those generational tensions.
Returning to Remembrance Sunday and linked to the above paragraph, it’s always great to see cubs, scouts, guides, brownies and cadets on parade. Commemorating the past – ensuring the next generation ‘remembers them’ but also, subliminally, bridging the generational gaps. There is hope.