This country is in trouble, already, and in for more in the future.
I'm in my mid-20s, and my generation is anything but special. But those that followed me, well....sorry to a lot of you on here in your teens right now, but your generation may be the harbinger of the downfall of America.
You grew up with MTV that didn't play music, but instead showed a steady stream of trashy "reality" TV which is about as far from "real" as you can get.
You grew up with bullshit, computer-gen "cartoons" with no substance and little real-world relevance (I remember G.I. Joe doing little bits to tell kids to stay off drugs, etc.). Even more adult cartoons, like Family Guy and Simpsons - which I both love - give young impressional minds a sense that not only is mediocrity ok, but it can be funny too! Funny until you realize at age 40 that you really ARE a Peter Griffin...guess the jokes on you, huh?
You grew up surrounded by news media that, were you even interested enough to watch, will inform you more about Britney Spear's pathetic waste of a life than the pathetic waste of life that accompanies the various conflicts occurring across the globe.
You grew up in households with average credit card debt loads in the 10's of thousands, so that the prospect of this happening to you in the future probably seems normal and you will proably assume it as the natural course of things as you grow older.
In fact, this debt is probably a primary reason you to have a car to drive to school right when you turn 16, to have cell-phones and electronic devices you bug your parents about incessantly, or wear retarded-ass ripped-up clothes that make you look like a hobo right out of the box.
I feel like an old codger, but I get to see all of these factors at work anytime I hang out at my girlfriends' parents house when we're back home visiting. It's not so much the fault of these teens as it is a byproduct of the cultural cesspool that America has become. It has tainted their parents and family members, to the point that it now affects them as well.
I don't know how we will pull out of our downward spiral, but I do truly hope it happens. I still have faith in people, but sometimes they just make it so damn hard.
I'm in my mid-20s, and my generation is anything but special. But those that followed me, well....sorry to a lot of you on here in your teens right now, but your generation may be the harbinger of the downfall of America.
You grew up with MTV that didn't play music, but instead showed a steady stream of trashy "reality" TV which is about as far from "real" as you can get.
You grew up with bullshit, computer-gen "cartoons" with no substance and little real-world relevance (I remember G.I. Joe doing little bits to tell kids to stay off drugs, etc.). Even more adult cartoons, like Family Guy and Simpsons - which I both love - give young impressional minds a sense that not only is mediocrity ok, but it can be funny too! Funny until you realize at age 40 that you really ARE a Peter Griffin...guess the jokes on you, huh?
You grew up surrounded by news media that, were you even interested enough to watch, will inform you more about Britney Spear's pathetic waste of a life than the pathetic waste of life that accompanies the various conflicts occurring across the globe.
You grew up in households with average credit card debt loads in the 10's of thousands, so that the prospect of this happening to you in the future probably seems normal and you will proably assume it as the natural course of things as you grow older.
In fact, this debt is probably a primary reason you to have a car to drive to school right when you turn 16, to have cell-phones and electronic devices you bug your parents about incessantly, or wear retarded-ass ripped-up clothes that make you look like a hobo right out of the box.
I feel like an old codger, but I get to see all of these factors at work anytime I hang out at my girlfriends' parents house when we're back home visiting. It's not so much the fault of these teens as it is a byproduct of the cultural cesspool that America has become. It has tainted their parents and family members, to the point that it now affects them as well.
I don't know how we will pull out of our downward spiral, but I do truly hope it happens. I still have faith in people, but sometimes they just make it so damn hard.
