This is hard for me to write, but I am ashamed of my generation. Those of us who grew up in the late ‘60s and early ‘70s set out to change the world–and for a while we did make changes, but now we seem to be mired in middle-age hypocrisy.
We claimed to have a higher goal, one that was based in fairness, logic, and respect for all. What happened to that?
How, for example, can the generation that fought so hard to end a senseless war now send us into one?
How can those of us who rejected materialism and created environmentalism now take joy in driving tanker-sized SUVs to the corner store?
How can we accept economic policies that keep our overpriced designer jeans“affordable” by shipping jobs overseas so corporations can pay mere cents to the children forced to sew them?
How can the generation who brought marijuana into the American mainstream refuse to legalize it and embrace zero tolerance policies that throw teenagers who smoke pot out of school?
How can the generation that forced America to recognize that it was unfair to draft young men at 18 without giving them the right to vote now say that anyone under 21 is too young to drink?
How can the very people who streaked down Elm Street now complain that your parties are out of hand?
None of it makes any sense to me, and I find myself hanging my head in shame and disbelief any time one of my younger friends questions these inane decisions. The truth is, in each of these decisions my generation is simply wrong.
Even more embarrassing to me is that these decisions are based on a general disrespect for anyone younger than us. I don’t know what they expect of you, but from drug dogs to the Patriot Act, my generation is stealing your rights from you.
And here’s the kicker: you’re letting them.
If you are on this campus, you are no longer a child. The adults around you can no longer send you to bed without supper or make you sit in time out. If they hand you a pile of crap, you have every right to demand they take it back.
That’s part of being an adult.
You are all old enough to vote. Even if you choose not to vote, you have the right to question your elected officials or tell them how you feel.
Remember the policies that were so unfair in high school? As an adult taxpayer, you can do something about them now. All you have to do is call your local school board members and speak your mind.
Do you think Stillwater police target students? Are you upset that a student who walks home after a few drinks rather than driving gets ticketed or arrested?
You can change that. All you have to do is speak up.
No, I’m not saying that one phone call will make any difference. Twenty would get their attention. Two hundred would make them twitch. Two thousand would make a change, and that’s fewer than 10 percent of you.
I’m telling you this now, because your generation will only get even more screwed over down the line. How in the world are you going to graduate with student debt, buy a house and a car, have a couple of children, and still pay for our retirement? You can’t–but that’s where you’re all headed, so get ready.
A scant year ago nobody thought George Bush was beatable; today he’s losing in many polls. The change in attitude started with an online campaign, staffed largely by young people and financed by an average contribution that was roughly the cost of a keg of beer.
That’s just the beginning of what your generation is capable of, but only if you do three things.
First, you must educate yourselves in what is really happening. Read the newspapers. Look at history. Talk amongst yourselves. Know the facts as they affect you.
Second, you must vote. It’s that simple. We have control because we vote and you don’t.
Finally, you must turn around, look my generation in the eye and tell us, adult to adult, that you no longer accept what we are trying do. Announce that you are taking control. It’s time.
Sooner or later you will run this nation. The question facing you is how much damage you allow us to do before you seize the reins.
When you do hold the reins of power, I hope you handle them with greater compassion and grace than we have. You will inherit a mess. May you bequeath something better to your own children.
Loading ...
All Articles