Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
It must depend on where you live and who you associate with. Our one granddaughter said, the year she started college many felt this way but by the time she graduated they were very involved. This goes for our other granddaughter, thier husbands and all of their friends or most. Many were Obama supporters, not all, but a good amount of them did vote in the last election and do have very strong views. No, they are not out laying down in the middle of the streets or marching, they are doing it quietly.
We became voting age about the late 50s, or early 60s. We lived in the bay area in the late 60s, we had friends who were active in politics on both sides and they too, did not demonstrate. Not marching does not mean not interested.
I think too many of you are generalizing.
Nita
Agreed.
I wasn't around in the 60's and 70's so I'm not sure if this may apply back then as it does today....but I've witnessed people my age (I'm 25) get fired from jobs, have their property vandalized and lose friends and family all over political views.
I can't get fired from my job... I need the health insurance for my disorder so I keep my political affiliations and opinions to myself. I also live in a smallish area and we always joke that there are 2 degrees of separation and you know everyone in the county. Word travels fast and I just can't risk certain things.
I help with a friends blog, I go on forums like this one, and I contribute money anonymously to causes I am for. You'll probably never find me publicly protesting much, though.
i don't think they are lazy but i do think they are unaware. the fact is that we have yet to experience the downside of all of this spending and all of this governmental looting. the market is being artificially propped up by derivative gambling and there is a support network in place currently for those who are losing their jobs.
i can guarantee that when that safety network has expired that people will choose to become involved in the process then, both young and old.
I can say (as a 23 year old) that I honestly don't care about politics enough to protest. The American government is a broken system, and older generations have run this country into the ground. I (and my generation) have been handed a giant mess right here at home, and until that is dealt with I don't see the point in putting any effort into anything overseas. Right out of college I got a job with a fortune 500 company and I am working hard (read: staying later than any of the 35+ year olds who only care about their paycheck and their morgage) to contribute to society. I donate money to my neighborhood, I work to make my city a better place. How in good conscience can I spend time and money and effort on issues surrounding Iraq when right here in Pittsburgh, in my backyard, there are murders, homelessness and hunger every day?
I think people my age are a little more focused on things we CAN change. I think working to improve local communities is a much bigger goal amongst people my age than it was with young people in the 60's and 70's.
Right or wrong, I couldn't care less about political protests. I want to focus on issues I can affect. I can't justify putting effort into broad 'feel good' political activism when there are problems which need to be dealt with in my own backyard.
Politics is hateful and depressing. I understand perfectly well why any young person would want to block it out of their lives. I'm 38 and look forward to the day when I can wean my current affairs-junkism out of my life.
I got to thinking about this today because my high school-aged daughter has a project due about the sixties. Well, as a Baby Boomer, I well remember those days. I was apolitical then, but being a Boomer, I had no choice but to be immersed in the culture going on then.
I remember things like Love-ins and Be-ins, and SDS cementing locks on university doors, and tear gas riots, and protests against Vietnam, and abortion becoming legal (almost had a friend die in an illegal one), hitch hiking through Europe, Woodstock, and all those "groovy" things.
I was telling my daughter that I couldn't believe with this whole Iraq mess (my opinion) that kids in their twenties weren't storming the White House and demanding change -- kids their OWN age are getting slaughtered ... for what? I feel LESS safe now, than more safe since this war started. Is it because there is no draft, and kids feel like other kids who go to Iraq and get killed "asked for it?"
My daughter said, "Maybe they're trying to make money...." and I'm like, "Excuse me, money is more important than saving people's lives??" What's going to happen to the world when the Boomers die off? Who will get things shakin' and movin'??
What is your impression about this? It seems like true apathy to me, but I don't know know. I'm confused about this. If you have any young people you know, are they the same? What do you think this is all about? I'm really curious about this because I find this trend disturbing.
All sides appreciated. (Remember, I'm apolitical, so I straddle the middle of the fence.) Thanks!
"The philosophy of the school room in one generation will be the philosophy of government in the next." - Abraham Lincoln.
The youth are exactly where the Teachers Union and the Left want them: uneducated, stupid and dependent on government.
Some young people may be a bit frightened to get involved politically because of possible repercussions in the job market. After this summer with all the anger on TV over reforming health insurance I'm certain a lot of young people don't want to take the risk of ostracizing future employment opportunities.
if you're still keeping track of this thread know that not all of my generation(awesome song by the way) that being generation z are apathetic losers hellbent on sitting on there asses and never doing anything
hopefully my generation will be the generation to make up for the failings of Y and X, and since it is easier now, then ever to see multiple sources of information Z might even be the one to finally see past all the government and media bull**** and make a stand against the imperialism of the modern world and stop all these pointless and fruitless wars.
i grew up just watching as the government steals my family's friend's and neighbors wages and watching them delve further and further into debt because the remainder of their money is being stolen by monopolies unchecked by our completely useless and ineffective imperialist oligarchy of a government, and then seeing everyone stand by as hundreds of thousands of innocent civilians are slaughtered for no reason other then to feed a ever growing military industrial complex and watching the apathetic masses click there tongues at the news of genocidal witch hunts in uganda and rwanda not even uttering a peep at our government or the UN for not doing a damn thing about it, or the countless other atrocities that were either unnoticed by the so called "peacekeepers of the world" the UN or were caused by them,
So, without saying something to get this comment removed, i'm not exactly that happy with our good friends the government.
Last edited by AlexanderWard; 05-14-2011 at 03:19 AM..
Reason: not enough rage.
It's no secret that the plethora of financial benefits offered to military personnel is a major draw for many new recruits. So I wouldn't consider the "maybe they're trying to make money" argument to be completely off-base. Especially those who enlisted in the mid-90's up to September 2001. If you recall, when we went to war there were news stories everywhere reporting on "conciensious objectors" trying to weasel their way out of being deployed. That expanse of peacetime offered a much better cost:benefit ratio for those enlistees, and the prospect of going to war probably only faintly factored into their decision to enlist. But, luckily, those few folks don't represent the majority of our mighty military. I believe that most of the new recruits do so out of love for country first, and personal benefit second. Those that DON'T enlist are the apathetic types.
Our entire culture and civilization is heading for nearly a complete disconnect from whats going on around them. Everywhere you look you see people on cell phones talking while shopping. Or sitting on their lunch hours or breaks texting or playing games or surfing the internet. Or they're listening to music. Its nothing but distraction and that has to have an impact on the thinking process. They even have portable video players so kids can vegetate in cars and adults can space out and be entertained. You see short tempers flare, tantrums thrown when somebody doesn't get they want, thats all due to instant gratification and a sense of entitlement. Nobody is interracting with anybody anymore. And technology is seen as a tool for increasing productivity and creativity. I say its having the opposite effect in many ways. We're getting ready to send a generation of adult 4 year olds out into the world and job market.
Talk radio, internet message boards like these and chat rooms are all thats keeping real exchanges of ideas and opinions going.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
