Random musings from a car ride with Kris

[fianasylph]

So any of you who have talked to me for a bit about it knows how much it irks me that there are articles and articles talking about how terrible my generation is: the entitlement, the laziness, the disloyalty to companies (look at the economy and shrinking benefits packages and ask, is that really our fault

Comments

[leperunclean]

Second, look at the wording. It's you CAN be anything you want. Not you WILL be. In other words, the establishment will not prevent you from following your dreams. Frankly, it doesn't give a shit if you want to be an astronaut, be you male, female, black, white, upper crust or blue collar. In other words, the onus is on you.

Which is also in part a myth, since the establishment takes the "We don't have laws against the black/women/immigrant/etc. folk anymore, so obviously there's no additional difficulties for those types to be whatever they want to be." And I think if anything, it was the end of the 60s that really taught future generations, "Guess what? Nothing you do matters, HAHAHAHA!" Hunter Thompson has a great quote about a high-water mark in Fear and Loathing.

[symbot]

Second, look at the wording. It's you CAN be anything you want. Not you WILL be. In other words, the establishment will not prevent you from following your dreams. Frankly, it doesn't give a shit if you want to be an astronaut, be you male, female, black, white, upper crust or blue collar. In other words, the onus is on you.While I generally agree with you on this subject, I think you strike a pretty dramatic reversal in this suggestion. I don't think "You can be anything you want" is really equivalent to saying "You're on your own, it's your responsibility." Offering an open space, as the self-esteem movement tried to do, is very different from refusing to provide support, as hard-liners and Darwinists are wont to do

[fianasylph]

Very good point....

And to bring it all together, who is it that told us we were letting their family/team/etc down? Who said that we would be a failure if we made less than a certain salary or got into a subpar school or didn't make dean's list?

The baby boomers. The same generation who is lamenting how fucked up we are. My mom used to always say, "how can you go out like that, how can you do that? It reflects on me. What will people think of me, I'm your mom and responsible for you.

Yup. You guys are responsible for us, good or bad.