While not strictly a generation, those citizens currently over the age of forty constitute a group of people that have caused possibly insurmountable problems, massive debts, and extreme hardship, both now and in the years to come, for those younger than them – this is the Failed Generation.
Baby Boomers and the older half of Generation X like to claim to be the greatest generation the world’s ever seen, and consistently congratulate themselves on what they imagine to be a job well done, having indelibly effected the world for the better; however, this could not be further from the truth.
This Failed Generation has been behind almost all of the disasters and problems that existed in the late 20th century and in the first decade of the 21st century – the blame can be passed to no-one else. Governments have become stagnant at best, the world was brought to the brink of economic collapse, the civil rights of countless groups have been subjugated, massive accumulated debts both personal and national will take many decades to repay, human-accelerated planetary ecological danger has been ignored for countless years, monetary greed surmounts any and all other nodes of life, public education has been all but ruined, intellectualism is highly distrusted and unwanted, liberating technological innovations are hampered with procedure and censure, and considerably more. Welcome to the greatest generation the world’s ever seen.
It is these individuals that are solely responsible for the current state of the world, and there are a few prevailing themes: greed, stupidity, and traditionalism. For the latter half of Generation X and Millennials, the future looks exceedingly bleak, since many of these issues will likely have a disturbing large effect on how much can be accomplished during their reign of power. Instead of innovation, exploration, and the betterment of society, the majority of effort now has to be spent on fixing the problems created over the last fifty years, which is, in and of itself, an entirely unprecedented event. Yet this work cannot begin until those in power are replaced and the electoral population is modern enough to address these issues – gay marriage, a perfect example in generational differences, is only likely to become a non-issue once the older generations either die out or are stripped of all their influence.
Those who grew up on Star Trek/Star Wars, computers, and dreaming of the stars must now downgrade their dreams to far more earthly and mundane goals, implementing a method of self-control that was simply not part of the Baby Boomer or early Generation-X’s vocabulary. College graduates that had entered school with hopes, dreams, and a shining future are now scrounging for jobs, and have had their careers substantially set back by both years and income. It is these young citizens who will, literally and metaphorically, save the world, and still they are cheated, ignored, and generally used by the selfsame individuals who need saving.
Keep your chin held high, Failed Generation – it’s the only pride you’ll ever have, since history will not smile kindly upon you.
From Kyle Brady…
Kyle can be found on his blog, via email, or on Twitter.
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