Children of Dysfunction Leading in Justice

The other day my wise co-worker Jennifer Hagin noted a pattern that I thought was interesting.

In some corners of the world this student generation is being called "the justice generation." This generation of students (on the whole) is passionate not just about getting through college to get a job; they're also passionate about national and international issues of economics, race, gender, and...well...justice.

Jennifer suggested that many of the students that she has worked with over the years that have the deepest commitment to justice come from divorced or severely dysfunctional families.

These students have experienced feelings of abandonment or at the very least being overlooked and are committed to helping others who themselves might be overlooked.

This has the potential to be the redemption of pain. But it also can be detrimental to true healing.

Sometimes burying our pain by helping others is just another coping mechanism to not deal with the stuff inside of us. I've seen plenty of times in my own life where I felt it much easier to help others deal with their baggage than it was to sort through my own.

If Jennifer's right, given the ever-increasing amount of familial dysfunction the "justice generation" will only continue to grow.

Of course, seeking justice for others is just one of many possible responses to divorce and dysfunction. Others are not so productive. And there's lots of questions about what kinds of families X-ers and Millenials will themselves create, but the early returns are not terribly promising.

But it's good to see that amdist the rubble of the family landscape, there's good stuff that pokes through.