My fifth child, Ian Patrick Hansen, graduated Saturday from Bishop Manogue Catholic High School.

I graduated back in the olden days — 1979 — from Sparks High School, and those 30 years represent a tiny drop in the span of time. But, truly the whole world has changed.

Ian is graduating into a world whose confidence has been shaken; the future seems more confined, less optimistic, less wide open. The economy is in trouble, the dollar is slipping, and the possibility, even the probability, of a real depression looms on the horizon.

At least that’s how it looks from a more pessimistic 48-year-old man, tempered by 30 years of work and struggle and raising eight kids.

And here is where nature, human nature, shows its brilliance. One of the most obnoxious stages of human life is the teenage years, when the “know it all” syndrome comes into play. Suddenly, parents, society, government, schools, churches, virtually everything “is stupid.” Somehow you, almost magically, have a gift from God no else has been granted: a visionary ability to see every flaw and correct every error. How the world managed to get along without you all these years is a bit of a mystery. It’s a great, albeit brief, time in life.

And this, combined with the magic of America, where ideas become reality, where both the opportunity and the discipline of the free market flourish, is where solutions arise. The young and vibrant Ian Hansens of the world will now rise to the occasion and with the optimism of youth tackle the problems and mold and shape the outcome to better their futures.

This confidence of youth is of course nothing new and every generation has soon spent these amazing powers battering against the massive solidity of Father Time. Most are eventually reconciled to the reality that meaningful change may not be quite as easy to secure as first imagined, and that maybe the older systems had reasons to exist, perhaps overlooked in our quest for improvement. It has been surprising how many hard-core liberals evolve into conservatives with age.

There is certainly nothing wrong with a burning desire to correct every injustice, right every wrong, lift the poor and humble the rich. In fact, it is commendable. But why things are the way they are, in shaping human behavior and modifying the vagaries of life, is a mystery not simply answered. Sometimes our tinkering makes things worse, and the alleged solutions end up expanding the very mess we wanted to suppress. The geniuses of today seem the fools of tomorrow. Freud’s brilliant insights into human nature have proven fraudulent. Margaret Meade’s alleged exposes of the paradise of a south sea island with no moral codes were faked. Marx and his system of making a worker’s paradise provided not abundant bread but breadlines. “God is dead,” said Nietzsche, but the reality is Nietzsche is dead and God lives on.

Whether Ian and his happy band strike forward or strike out, the future is now theirs to shape. My generation is now coming into its own, but soon, like all before us, we will be history, the torch of life slowly but always passing on. Well educated, well traveled, well read and hard working, Ian Patrick Hansen will fulfill his mission in life. Ian is the type of young man who gives hope to more cynical older folks like his ancient parents.

No doubt, looking back in 30 years, he will have done his part in the play of life. Ambition, drive and the will to succeed are the medicine to cure our current ills. God gave youth this gift to cut the apron strings and confidently go forward. The glass is either half empty or half full. Character and real leadership are, even if in small quantities, still present. As Patrick Henry so eloquently stated, “God still rules over the destinies of nations and he will raise up leaders for us.” Keep this ray of sunshine in your thoughts in these somewhat gloomy times. Adversity brings forth opportunity.

For Ian Patrick Hansen and those like him, this time of tempering will melt the weak but make steel of the strong. We have become soft but the pounding will drive out the dross. And American-made steel is still the finest ever known.

Ira Hansen is a lifelong resident of Sparks and owner of Ira Hansen and Sons Plumbing.