In 1965, the British rock group The Who released the famous single “My Generation” about young people and their pride, their need to stick together, and how older people just don’t understand. Almost 50 years later, I’m realizing that my own generation needs lots of growth to earn that pride and older people still don’t understand, because if they did, we wouldn’t be facing many of today’s problems as well as the ones looming in the future. Though we have created certain problems of our own, my generation will be instrumental in fixing the ones created by our parents, the Baby Boomers. Our work is cut out for us and it’s good we understand this because we are the hope not only for the United States, but for the world in all ways –– economically, environmentally, and diplomatically.
For most of my high school years, I have watched the economy stumble, fall, and attempt a recovery. Never before has wealth in this country become so unequal. Hunger across America is at an all-time high along with unemployment. And yet, when I go to Wegman’s, it’s always packed, especially during the holiday season. Food shopping with my sister turns into a traffic jam in the grocery store aisles. The mall is also buzzing with customers and eager sales people. The crowds at stores like Best Buy and the Apple Store would indicate that many people have cash to spare.
Is wealth so concentrated that literally the rich get richer and the poor poorer? Historically the world has seen communism and constant class struggles between the bourgeoisie and the proletariat, and it seems the time has come for another class struggle.
Population dynamics in the United States will change dramatically very soon. The baby boomers are getting older. When they reach retirement age, there will be an influx of Americans living off the tax dollars of younger working citizens. What will be the future of social security and retirement benefits when older people outnumber the young, and there is no money left to sustain outdated government policies meant to protect retired citizens? What will be the focus of health care when geriatrics becomes the primary medical field?
My generation has the right to be angry when the country is so broken and yet, the Republicans in Congress want to waste even more time and money to try to repeal the health care bill, one of the major successes of President Obama’s presidency. Without proper health care, it would be even harder to tackle growing epidemics for youth, such as increasing rates of obesity, one of two toxic problems plaguing young people today. The staggering failures of our country’s public schools go hand-in-hand with poor nutrition; when it comes to school lunches, city budgets have been known to capitalize on cheap food like pizza, chicken nuggets and high fructose corn syrup-infused canned fruit.
In the latest Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study, TIMMS, in 2007, seven countries had higher percentages of eighth-grade students performing at or above the advanced international mathematics benchmark compared to the United States. How and when have we gotten so far behind, so much so that a $100-million donation by Facebook inventor Mark Zuckerberg to Newark public schools has been called a drop in the bucket compared to actual need?
I’m also worried for my generation because of the new technologies that are tearing down the way we interact socially and the dependence on technology that makes us helpless in some ways. I admit I would feel lost without my iPod, computer, and cell phone. It’s amazing how I can be friends online with people from France, Britain, and connect with friends I went to school with more than 10 years ago.
While we seem more connected, however, there is a certain irony in that we are communicating less than before and in much more superficial ways. When friends text instead of actually seeing each other, when people rely on E-mailing and dating sites for social interaction, we are actually creating a new generation of young people with no social skills — many are basically incapable of what would be considered “normal” interaction.
Another skill that has largely been lost to techno-dependence is map reading. I used to be a Girl Scout and I remember learning how to use a compass, but most of my friends have GPS in their cars and they wouldn’t know how to get from point A to point B without a computer voice telling them how. It’s frightening to think what would happen if the batteries went dead or if all the GPS satellites were hit by a meteor shower.
Technology can also decrease our planet’s level of sustainability. Companies bent on making profits constantly crank out newer versions of the same thing so that even if you aren’t one of those people who needs the latest gadget to feel cool, you still need an upgrade because the old equipment is no longer compatible. Then people have to dispose of electronics so acid doesn’t leak into the landfills, and those kinds of challenges have not been fully addressed.
My generation has a lot to think about and even more to do. Health care, public education, hunger, joblessness, the environment, and learning social grace are just a few items on our to-do list. Our future is ours to determine, and it’s time to recognize and act on the need for change. We can start out with small things, and New Year’s resolutions for 2011 can include such goals as learning how to read a map, collecting food for the local food pantry, tutoring other students, and disposing of batteries and printer cartridges in the proper places.
I’m talkin’ about my generation. I’m proud to be part of it, and I plan to continue to earn that pride by doing the right thing.
