I have read countless posts on YouTube and Facebook of people slamming our generation, calling us lazy, selfish, and the dumbest generation to have walked this Earth yet. They blame us for auto-tuning and the loss of “original rock n’ roll”, global warming and the loss of global biodiversity, obesity and the loss of interest in nature.
Well, I’m kind of sick of these posts. It’s easy for anybody to criticize somebody else; it’s harder to find true feats within yourself.
Myth #1: We’re lazy.
Think back on the time you were in high school. Think back on what you were doing when you were our age at the same point in your life. Were you drinking? Partying? Hanging out with friends?
Many of us do the same thing, plus excelling at something else given the same amount of time. If we’re not good at making grades, we have to play an instrument. If we can’t play an instrument, we have to play some sport. If we can’t play a sport, we have to work our asses off at some place that never pays well. If we can’t work, we have to volunteer our time and give to the community. If we don’t do anything, college isn’t a given. Average doesn’t cut it anymore, like it did for you.
Myth #2: We’re selfish.
Our politicians gerrymander the voting parameters annually so that they are elected into office year after year. Our teachers care more about getting their PhD than they do about teaching their classes. Our economy is shifting so that the upper middle class, not the middle class, now hold the greatest power.
I agree—but guess what? Your generation is the one that holds power in politics right now. Your peers are the one teaching our schools right now. Your generation is the reason our economy is making such a tumultuous shift. We don’t have an ounce of control here to be accused as selfish. Our generation, on the other hand, is holding protests around the world to overthrow demagogues and unjust powers. Our generation wears panda shirts to support the WWF with what little influence we have. We do care about the environment, but your generation is destroying it faster than we can spread the word. Our generation cares about our families and our friends, but you’re the ones getting divorces and seeing marriage counselors to make our lives a living hell.
Myth #3: We’re dumb.
Your generation landed on the moon, discovered rock n’ roll, and invented the computer. But you know what? Your generation has also constructed more nuclear weapons than there are hands to handle them. You have advocated various artists and groups that smoked and flaunted their sexuality—yet you blame us for being too sexual.
Our generation has taken your computers and made movies and music without a scratch on paper. Our generation has used your “high-tech” software to create the largest social network the world has ever known. Our generation has made education affordable worldwide by forming the largest library ever built by man—the Internet. You call us idiots; I call us opportunists.
Myth #4: We don’t care.
If we didn’t care, there wouldn’t be a growing number of nurses, doctors, soldiers, and teachers joining the work force every year. If we didn’t care, there wouldn’t be 1,000,000,000,000+ articles online discussing the issues around Global Warming and how we can alleviate its effects tomorrow. If we didn’t care, colleges wouldn’t feel the need to mention that they have many student clubs and organizations on their campus. We do care, and we make it a deciding factor in our every day lives.
Sure there are teenagers here and there that are pot-bellied narcissists that don’t give a damn about humanity or anyone besides themselves. But, you have your share of idiots too. Here are some words from your generation:
Mariah Carey - “Whenever I watch TV and see those poor starving kids all over the world, I can’t help but cry. I mean I’d love to be skinny like that, but not with all those flies and death and stuff.”
Arnold Shwarzenegger, Governor of California - “I think gay marriage is something that should be between a man and a woman.”
Last but not least, if we didn’t care, I wouldn’t be writing this post. I recognize that our generation has its flaws just like your generation had their flaws. We owe our existence to you as much as you owe your existence to us. I wrote this post mostly because I wanted to give our generation some confidence about what we’ve accomplished thus far. We can make a difference and we will. It would be even better to have your help.
my experience is my weapon I hold high
your inexperience is your experience, you also hold high
blade to blade, the walls shall ring
when neither shall fall
when similar woes shall come from two different things
Why does our generation seem so … depressed, compared to our parents? Maybe we’ve complicated our lives too much. Maybe the simpler way to live is the better way to live because letting Nature have control of us instead of the other way around allows Nature to take care of us the best way she knows how. And all the lack of face-to-face communication really gets on us too. If only we had people surrounding us daily to share our grief, our pain, our happiness… instead of making it seem as though people have to face their problems all by themselves if they want to be considered strong. It’s not our fault for being where we are, and by we, I mean humanity. It’s just where we are. But at the same time, it doesn’t mean that we can’t adapt by preserving pieces of history that have kept humanity lively and happy.
You walked into my life…
… and we had a great time…
… but then, just as quickly, you walked out.
It’s almost like we never happened…
…but that’s what’s beautiful about life
… right?
Because those moments on the street,
when crowd would rock with me,
I felt like the biggest man, the biggest man in Los Angeles
“I was in the middle before I knew that I had begun.”
…If only every man could heed his words.
