I'm sensing a change in the country. People seem to be more aware of what is going on in the government, (local, state and federal) and with what is going on in our environment. Here's hoping the 'surge' in interest and activism continues.
I've recently been elected to my Church Council. Church in America has changed so much over the last 50 years. I listened to an interesting videotape at our first council retreat. The speaker illustrated some major trends/changes in our country over the last 80 years. He referenced, I think, Daniel Yankelovich (not positive, if I'm misquoting someone, I apologise!)
In the 1930's and 40's, it was the time of Deferred Pleasure. If you wanted something, you waited until you had enough money to buy it. If you wanted dessert, your mother told you you had to finish your vegetables. People deferred their lives for World War I and World War II - they put off their schooling and their marriages for the good of the country. Same with religion - you deferred your pleasure on earth until later. You sublimated your desires, your needs, and your originality in many ways to fit in with everyone else, to make sure that the needs of the many were met rather than your own.
Something was invented in the 1950's that changed our lives and our culture. The Credit Card!
Now you didn't have to wait for things! Forget deferring pleasure, the 1960's became the Now Generation. If you wanted the Dean of the school to listen to you, you got other people who wanted the same things you did and you went and sat in his office until he heard you. The Civil Rights movement, Women's Lib, anti-war protests - they all happened in this timeframe. We knew there were inequalities in the world before. Why did we wait until the '60s to deal with it?
The Now Generation turned into the Me Generation in the 1970's. And the 1980's turned into the Greed Generation. I'm unhappy with my life - a new car will make me feel better!
Generation X signifies the people that were in their 20's during the 1990's. I'm a Gen Xer. They say that Gen Xers don't believe in Christianity, in the traditional family model, in company loyalty as they are the first generation to experience offshoring and downsizing, and are facing the burden of solving problems created for them by previous generations. Gen Xers grew up in families where divorce is the norm, inherited social problems such as homelessness, AIDS, federal deficits, unemployment and racial strife.
Generation Y, the Millennial Generation, is those people born between 1984 and 2001. These people came to age in the world of technology. They grew up with the Internet, with instant messaging, cell phones, and multiple cable televisions throughout the house. Gen Yers are more tolerant of racial differences and lifestyle choices. They are more spiritual and religious than their parents, but are searching for different ways to express and fulfill that personal need. On a positive note, Gen Y seems more interested in volunteering, in giving back to the community.
Watching the evening news, I wonder sometimes if my children, my Gen Yers, will grow up to be able to have their own families, to start a new generation. We have much to fix in the world, but I see that consciousness awakening in many people. I see ownership and people starting to take accountability for what we've done. There's even a rumor that GW will admit that global warming is a threat to the environment and to the world in his State of the Union address. Unfortunately, he's one I don't see taking much responsibility for his decisions.
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5 comments:
Yes, lots to ponder. They say the management grads colleges are turning out these days are great for short term stuff, but are not so goog when it comes to long term planning, they are used to having everything now, information, meetings, online chat, the web..
I see you like Bob Segar, I like him too. I love that song he did called "Mainstreet".
Yes, that lady in the poem, she moved on to better days. Funny, the lady in Marie Calendars was not a former battered wife, she was quite well dressed, but kept looking around the room, I caught her eyes several times, but I thought her husband was standing behind me, she kept this up for maybe 20 minutes, then all of a sudden got up and left, and I determined she had just dined alone, and got the title Table for One. I was just getting over being sick, and I tend to get quite creative. Anyhow, hope you liked the poem, it was an attempt to write something a bit more hard hitting than I normally do. :-)
LOL... Goog = good.
The concept of taking responsibility is an important one. If more and more kids start to really understand that concept and live it, then we will be in much better shape in the years to come. The age of instant gratification has brought on a sense of entitlement. Unfortunately, that sense of entitlement can cloud being able to take responsibility for one's actions.
Great post.
This is a great piece and well written, Cathy. I often wonder about the Generation Y'ers as we have two, and it is interesting to read the comments you make. I always thought that they were the generation of desensitivity, with the abundance of reality gaming, über violence and virtual everything. I have been looking at the phenomenon of the Hikikomori for the last couple of years to really understand if there is a hard psychological aspect to Internet, cell phones and virtual relationships. (I sometimes feel like I am addicted myself.)
When I look at my youngest stepson, I often see him struggle with situations in much the same way as I did, and it makes me wonder about the times my father said, “I was like you myself you know.” My stepson’s ipod is my VCR is my dad’s radio. I hope you are right, and there is a change afoot where the new generations want to give more to the community (I know, from my experience, that ‘going non-profit’ was very popular a few years back)
The new generation is lucky to have grown up with so much information at hand. If only I could get them to leave the bedroom!
Take care,
Paul
Hey Cathy With A C!
Sorry it took me so long to get back to you and thanks for your recent post to my blog. We are in a mess and as somebody years ago said "while our government foresaw this thing called the internet they didn't see down the road and how it would pull us together". In other words they didn't see the blog". Talk about a Town Hall Meeting. Yikes!
As for your writing about todays generation one can only wait and see where things go. Sometimes you need a war to get the younger set up off their duffs and activated whether it be for or against. But at least they are looking up at the world as opposed to cocooning themselves from it with gadgets and tech toys.
I noticed something funny when texting became "the thing" a few years back amongst the younger set. I had mentioned to somebody who is a part of that generation that they seem to be spending a lot of time typing. His reply was that his age group was more in touch than any other generation in the past. My reply was "How much of a meaningful conversation can you have with a text message". He then replied "Excuse me I am having a fight with my girlfriend" and resumed texting.
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