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September 30, 2008 12:37 pm
That first paragraph applies equally to an awful lot of Generation X (who came of age at exactly the same moment AIDS did, for example). Since we're all "inheriting" this world, I think the focus might be less on specific generations than on what all of us can do.
September 30, 2008 2:17 pm
You're 110% correct. I hope, however, that we as a generation don't end up like those that came before us, filled with piss and vinegar in our twenties, but washed up and disillusioned and part of the problem in our 30's and 40's.
September 30, 2008 2:55 pm
Thanks, Norcross. That's a great illustration of the point.
September 30, 2008 3:03 pm
This is exactly what every generation says.
Think about WWI, Depression, WWII, Korea, Vietnam, Late 70s/early 80s recession, Cold War, etc. Do you not think that every 20-something in those eras felt the compulsion to fix what was wrong with the world?
Every generation feels the duty to clean up the messes of the previous generations. They do so, however, by reaping the good that those generations have sown alongside the bad.
To paraphrase Mark Twain - history may not repeat, but it often seems to rhyme.
September 30, 2008 5:10 pm
Thanks for the comments, everyone. You're absolutely right that history does have a very real pattern. And if you look back at the events that shaped the last progressive movement, they are very similar to whats going on now. Further, if you do some research about generations, a good place to start is the book "Generations" by Strauss and Howe, you'll find that generations repeat in cycles of 4.
And Gen Y is poised to be the next "civic" generation, which is described as "dominant and outer-fixated. The members of this generational type are reared in a highly protected manner so that an orientation to societal challenges, problem solving, and institution building marks their adult lives."
The last civic generation was the GI or The Great Generation of WW2. So, yes, every generation believes things are wrong, but they all go about trying to fix them in different ways. Some rebel, some conform and others try to fix the problem from the inside. If you look at the course of history, Gen Y is poised to do the latter.
September 30, 2008 5:23 pm
What up Healy,
This post is so “progressive”- You managed to talk about recycling, starting non-profits, "change" the New York Times, going green, and how terrible the last 8 years were . . . But I digress....
If I had a child I would give them some straight talk right about now and tell them the following:
1) Work very hard in whatever it is you choose to pursue. This sounds obvious but I really don't think much of our generation's work ethic.
2) Be thankful you live in the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. Don't take that for granted. Try spending 8 years in any other country.
3) When/If you go to college, don't major in some fu-fu BS unless you are ok with being broke or you are absolutely exceptional at that subject. This means major in engineering, accounting, finance, math etc. Take up poetry, politics and english lit in your spare time. I'm sick of hearing psychology grads with average grades bitch about working in a dead in job - spare me.
4) Be prudent with your money. Do you really need the Iphone? You look cool now but you will look cooler with a maxed out 401k.
September 30, 2008 5:38 pm
Scott, I should have known you'd chime in on this one. You make some very good points. We do have it very very good in this country, and people often do take it for granted. But why settle for good when we can have great? :)
I'm glad we can have very differing views on politics and just about everything else, but still respect each others opinions.
September 30, 2008 8:30 pm
Great post Ryan. Generation We, I'll have to start using that!
"But recycling, going green, being fiscally responsible, starting non-profits, starting for-profits, and actively involving ourselves in the presidential election is a good start."
There's no need to single these items out either, a review site my company recently launched incorporates the social impact of products and companies on the world at large. It's a consumer based for profit site but ties ethics into its very core. Whereas previous generations were raised to believe that greed is good, we've seen that illusion fall apart and know there's more to life than money and power!
Your phrasing of the bailout rejection makes it seem that you're a bit upset that it failed. It's not a bad thing! Our current credit crisis cannot be solved with credit, it's literally like trying to fight fire with fire.
The bailout might give a temporary boost to the economy, but as your posts so eloquently puts it, we must look to the future and not rest on our laurels. A bailout merely props up the old power structure.
Banks gave out too much money and now they don't have enough left to pay their bills. The only way to solve this credit crisis is to cut up the credit card, tighten the belt, and start paying down the debt. There is simply no other economically sound solution. A bailout is a social solution to an economic issue.
In the grand scheme of things, the market drop was not so dramatic. As the world and its economies progress bigger point gains and drops are only natural. In terms of percentages, yesterday's event was a drop in the bucket, especially considering we quickly regained much of the lost value today.
I digress, government needs to get back to work installing and improving infrastructure, not paying off the banks bills. Sure, we might have a tougher lending situation in the immediate future but it'll force us to re-evaluate our consumer based lifestyles, which add little value to our lives while weighing down the rest of the world by forcing it to supply us with more cheap consumer crap.
Entrepreneurs will gladly step in and start new lending situations, but we've got to move the dead carcass of these bloated banks out of the way first, not put them on life support. A recession is just what this country needs. For too long we've coasted by and allowed our government to become huge, bloated and extremely cozy with corporations. The bailout rejection was a great day for this country and showed that the American public still has some fire in its belly.
We should seize this outrage and truly enact a peaceful revolution. We've long been told that our generation will be looked upon to save the world. Well, we cannot do it alone. We must work with the older generations and learn from their mistakes. They do have the wisdom and experience advantage over us, while we have the passion and energy. Before we can change the world, we must change our basic relationships with each other. We cannot blame others or tell the upcoming generation that it's their responsibility to fix the world. Everyone of us, in every generation must realize that we are all part of the problem and that we all must be part of the solution.
The first change we desperately need is to open the political debates. It does not matter if you support Obama, McCain, Nader, Barr, McKinney, Baldwin or any other candidate. Everyone should have a chance to debate and make their platform known to the American people. It's time we stop allowing corporations to own the debates. If we can knock down the walls surrounding these debates, anything becomes possible, even a 3rd party president! You want change, let's start with opening the debates.
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Grad School Zone
UVA (Darden) MBA Admissions Deadlines for 2010-2011
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The University of Virginia's Darden School of Business recently published its application deadlines for the coming admissions season. Here they are, followed by our comments in italics:
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