The Fallacy of Youth

By Ryan Mimna

The fallacy of youth lies in the same ideals inexplicably tied to it.

Change,

Rage,

Hope,

all wrapped in ideals that have us going against the tides of the world, and even ourselves.

Yet, it is those same things that make us defiant toward the world that break us against its tide. Where is there rage without hope? And in what dark crevices does hope lie without rage to bring it to the light?

Oh,

the ideals of youth are fallacies.

Yet,

they are also truths.

The same little truths that make up the large lies of the world to which we are beholden.

Just as time brings us into this world, it is wisdom that gently whispers these truths to us.

What wisdom do I speak of?

It is the small acts we do to make the world a better place.

It is a man with one leg teaching a baby to walk so that it may see sights he only dreamed of.

Time makes fools of us all, but also masters, if only we change our perceptions.

The fallacy of youth, I suppose, is the reconciliation of truth and wisdom.

What are ideals against the stark face of reality?

Perhaps it is wisdom that will show us our better nature, for hope is a fallacy of youth when all dreams are born to die.

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Ryan Mimna lives in Philadelphia and works in the finance industry. He served in the U.S. Army from 2011 to 2015 and, after completing the Ranger pipeline, served with 1st Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, including multiple tours in Afghanistan. After leaving the Army, he finished a bachelor’s degree in political science at the University of Pennsylvania, where he began writing and later turned toward poetry. For The Havok Journal, he writes reflective pieces and poetry, often centered on fear, meaning, and the inner life.

As the Voice of the Veteran Community, The Havok Journal seeks to publish a variety of perspectives on a number of sensitive subjects. Unless specifically noted otherwise, nothing we publish is an official point of view of The Havok Journal or any part of the U.S. government.