Summary of an Address delivered by
Mme Pacom of the University of Ottawa

May 6, 2001

In delivering her address, called "Young People in the context of Postmodernity" Mme Pacom rounded out very effectively what Bishop Durocher had presented the previous evening. We bathe in our culture like a baby in amniotic fluid, she stated. And culture is made up of the "habits of the heart" which are anchored in the profoundest part of our being and surface at the most unexpected moments. For example, feeding by our mother ... a joke ... an oath!

In previous times, people looked for certainty; today, in this period of postmodernity, it is impossible to find ready made answers and it is necessary to keep rethinking. An interesting clash: the young of yesterday, the "baby boomers, now parents and the young of today.

The baby boomers were, Mme Pacom asserted, a very special group in the sense that they were the first "teenagers" properly so called. Previously, people moved from childhood to maturity without too much trauma. That was not the case for the generation born 1943 - 1963. The young took hold of social development and we witnessed a true social revolution, a sweeping away of social conventions at every level. What is special about this group is that they are numerous, well off and educated. A cult of youth has been created, almost a religion.

Today's young people are less numerous and have much less to question. The walls have already been demolished, what is left? Young people have a need for stability. They needs models reflective of some certainties. As Kahil Gibran has said, it is good for young people to have the speed of the arrow but they also need the stability of archer. So today's adults need to become adult and to walk with the young while respecting their differences.