Aim for the stars
Our generation is often attacked for not having many lasting achievements. Compared to the generation before, we seem to have done little. Our parents brought us the cultural revolution of the 1960s, with all of its improvements in civil rights and equality. They ended the cold war. They eradicated small pox. They went to the goddamned moon. And we, well, not so much. Sure, we've done some things, but we don't look like we're on track to do anything as monumental as the generation before us, and certainly not the generation before them (Who are saddled with the title "Greatest generation" by the popular press).
But why do we seem to fall so short? Well, I can think of three main reasons:
1- We are young still. History is the sole way to see the real importance of things and no one is a prophet in their own time. And, also, we simply haven't had much time to do remarkable things. Our "generation" has many years still to make its mark on the world, and as I pointed out, the true significance of our actions will likely remain unknown for a decade or more.
2- We act in different ways. The internet is our world. We might as well admit to that. And it is a world hidden from outside eyes in many ways. So much of what we do seems so small, the actions of oddly scattered individuals, when in reality, we ARE organized, we ARE united, just not by geography, and not in "traditional" fashion. Our significance will likely not be visible to those who don't know our world. It will be more subtle than the actions of the past in other ways as well, I feel that we are less likely to fight for our political beliefs and more likely to act for them. We won't make alot of noise, but we will get the job done.
3 (I feel this is the big one)- We lack direction. I feel like our generation has yet to solidify on a major task yet. We feel, to me, scattered, schizophrenic, lacking a unifying force. Maybe we need a leader (Or group of leaders), maybe we await our FDR, our King, our Kennedy, our Wilson. Maybe a task, eliminating smallpox, ended the depression, fighting WWII, the race to the moon.
As I said, I think three is the most critical. We have so much passion and energy (Look at Darfur) we have so much power (Look at Obama) we have so much influence (Look at China) if only we could manifest it into a more focused form. I feel like this is a problem not only for our generation, but for our entire nation right now. We diffuse our energy over too many tasks, and therefore, we stagnate. We need a direction, and I don't know if that direction will stem from a task that will arise, or from a leader who shows us a way.
Paix et amour,
Joe!
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