A Look at America's Future (People try to put us down...)

(...Talkin' 'bout my generation)

Hi Everyone,

Yes, I'm going for a twofer tonight. I'm back to talk briefly about America's younger generation, my generation, now that I've got that Who song stuck in your head (ha ha ha). Anyway, I'd like to elaborate briefly on perceptions about my generation, and what I've come to realize. I wrote this past February about a new trend in activism among young, college-age people like me. And since then, I've come to realize a lot more about my peers.

I was in Borders yesterday, and I spotted this book with the title on the cover reading The Dumbest Generation. The subtitle said something about how our generation's tech-savviness would bring about the end of reading, but I forget the exact wording of it. It seems to me that to be disparaging about the younger generation is a sure-fire crowd-pleaser in certain circles. It seems safe to complain of the forgotten values of "our generation." It seems like one can use this line over and over and not encounter any resistance.

I bought into this idea myself. When I was younger, I thought that no one around me thought deeply about anything, that they were all preoccupied with themselves, that they couldn't appreciate anything non-tech, and a myriad of other concerns. I believed all this myself for a while. But reading those articles that I discussed with you really changed. In an ethics class I took this past spring, along with a poli sci class, I found people my age very engaged and in the know about the things I've talked about with you, the reeders.

Now, I still understand some skepticism of the younger generation. We are quite imperfect. I am quite imperfect. There are plenty of things we could be better about. But this sort of cynicism about us is just the new verse of an old song. That old song is wrong. Elders similarly complained of the Baby Boomers, even of the Greatest Generation. It is not surprising, then, that the Millenial Generation, as we've come to be known (people born in the 80's and early 90's, would be the subject of similar derision. I'd like to elaborate more on this, but it is now about 1 in the morning, so it will have to wait for another day.

One last thing I'd like to leave you with is this clip. In it, Fox News's Steve Doocy talks to young children, much younger than me, even, about governmental policy towards school. Whether or not you agree with what these kids have to say, you have to acknowledge that these kids are knowledgeable, and that they are engaged in the issues. Listen to the one girl. Listen to her answers, and then remember that she is 11 years old. If only I'd been that smart when I was 11...just think of where I'd be now. Oh well, I'm plenty bright as it is.

This is the Daily Reeder, Over&out.