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Let me play Devil's Advocate and put it in this perspective. Nearly Every other generation of Americans has received nearly everything that they've worked for. It wasn't a matter of if, but when and how for most people. And the question of "how to make it" wasn't needed. If you do this, this, and that, and don't do this, you'll get what you want.
The following was how things used to be. Now, my generation (Gen Y) and younger generations aren't guaranteed anything that our previous generations were heavily assured. Things include but aren't limited to:
-A decent job. Older generations were guaranteed a stable job for life as long as they did decent in school. And the more education one received, the higher the salary was given. Now, we have recent college graduates (and I'm not talking about those who got their majors in Basket-Knitting) who can't even get jobs, or jobs that are way below or irrelevant of their majors. And now we're at the point where career-specific entry-level jobs are almost non-existent. And to not even get ahead, but to get in the "good, stable, and high-paying job club," you either have to do a lot of backstabbing, a$$kissing, or know someone in the loop already.
-Good relationships and a decent spouse. In the past, morals played more into the lives of individuals and dating ranged from either formal and courting (pre-60s) to wild-yet-everyone-still-had-fun (60s-90s). Now, it's all about "game" and "showing off" that dominates the dating scene. Back then, you conducted yourself decently, and you were guaranteed a good spouse. Now, you do the same thing and end up with a "has-been-wh*re" or a "retired playa" who is just looking to "settle" because their looks have faded off. Why do you think kids are having sex at younger ages.
-Well-raised children. Back in the day, parents were pretty good with disciplining their child, all without overbearing them or being ruthless ogres. Now, even if you raise your kids well, even their constant discipline and good behavior isn't guaranteed with all of the influences in this society that forces them to do everything opposite of what the parents instilled in them. Whether it's the school, the neighborhood, or the TV, something is always at the beckoning call for your son to be a thug, cholo, or preppy, and your daughter to be a mean-girl, american-MTV princess, or a teen s**t.
-Retirement and Social Security/Pensions. This has been discussed ad-nauseum. Even though social security will last long enough for my generation to have access to it, will the amount we receive be enough to sustain a livable standard of living? Will pensions received through out jobs be guaranteed, or will we be swindled out of those? Will we be able to spend our days golfing and going to the Grand Canyon, orwill we have to work at Wal-Mart as greeters until we drop dead?
Granted there are a lot of spoiled people in my generation, but guess what: Those are the people who get their way, almost all of the time! Greedy and spoiled people are almost never satisfied with having "just enough and then some" and always demand more. And I'll be the first one to admit that Gen-Y has more than our fair share of greedy and spoiled brats. But not everyone who is complaining about not having something is a pretentious brat. There are some people who are rightfully disgruntled over their quality of live compared to their parents and earlier generations, and only seek out the same standard of living.
So think about next time when some kid in their twenties is frustrated over not having something that you had (or at least were guaranteed to have) back when you were his age!
Last edited by Do a Barrel Roll; 08-25-2010 at 03:13 PM..
I don't mean to be rude, but your post shows a complete ignorance of US history. Maybe you could ask your grandparents what the depression was like, if they are the right age. It is probable that your parents grew up during the 50's and 60's. They were likely supplied some version of the 50's ideal in terms of a house, food and clothing etc. My generation (Gen X) were told we were lazy and whining. So when I hear a Gen Y complaining, I don't have a lot of sympathy for them. I guess the one thing we have in common is that a lot of Gen X'ers and Gen Y's lived in their parent's basements until they were in their 20's.
As a Gen Xer, my own life experience was growing up in a poor family. Then I worked 40 hrs a week while going to school at night to get my B.S. degree. What did I get from my parents? $5 and a jar of (pretty good) homemade soup. My dad thought that was a big deal because he had almost nothing. After school I moved to California during the end of the mid 90's recession but before the dot com bubble. I couldn't find a permanent job for a year so I took contract/temp jobs until I could find something better.
You want to whine about a pension? Tell me where my pension is? Oh, that's right, I don't get one. The biggest problem with "your generation" is that they expect to have things in their 20's that other generations didn't EARN until they were in their 30's, 40's or later.
Let me play Devil's Advocate and put it in this perspective. Nearly Every other generation of Americans has received nearly everything that they've worked for. It wasn't a matter of if, but when and how for most people. And the question of "how to make it" wasn't needed. If you do this, this, and that, and don't do this, you'll get what you want.
The following was how things used to be. Now, my generation (Gen Y) and younger generations aren't guaranteed anything that our previous generations were heavily assured. Things include but aren't limited to:
-A decent job. Older generations were guaranteed a stable job for life as long as they did decent in school. And the more education one received, the higher the salary was given. Now, we have recent college graduates (and I'm not talking about those who got their majors in Basket-Knitting) who can't even get jobs, or jobs that are way below or irrelevant of their majors. And now we're at the point where career-specific entry-level jobs are almost non-existent. And to not even get ahead, but to get in the "good, stable, and high-paying job club," you either have to do a lot of backstabbing, a$$kissing, or know someone in the loop already.
-Good relationships and a decent spouse. In the past, morals played more into the lives of individuals and dating ranged from either formal and courting (pre-60s) to wild-yet-everyone-still-had-fun (60s-90s). Now, it's all about "game" and "showing off" that dominates the dating scene. Back then, you conducted yourself decently, and you were guaranteed a good spouse. Now, you do the same thing and end up with a "has-been-wh*re" or a "retired playa" who is just looking to "settle" because their looks have faded off. Why do you think kids are having sex at younger ages.
-Well-raised children. Back in the day, parents were pretty good with disciplining their child, all without overbearing them or being ruthless ogres. Now, even if you raise your kids well, even their constant discipline and good behavior isn't guaranteed with all of the influences in this society that forces them to do everything opposite of what the parents instilled in them. Whether it's the school, the neighborhood, or the TV, something is always at the beckoning call for your son to be a thug, cholo, or preppy, and your daughter to be a mean-girl, american-MTV princess, or a teen s**t.
-Retirement and Social Security/Pensions. This has been discussed ad-nauseum. Even though social security will last long enough for my generation to have access to it, will the amount we receive be enough to sustain a livable standard of living? Will pensions received through out jobs be guaranteed, or will we be swindled out of those? Will we be able to spend our days golfing and going to the Grand Canyon, orwill we have to work at Wal-Mart as greeters until we drop dead?
Granted there are a lot of spoiled people in my generation, but guess what: Those are the people who get their way, almost all of the time! Greedy and spoiled people are almost never satisfied with having "just enough and then some" and always demand more. And I'll be the first one to admit that Gen-Y has more than our fair share of greedy and spoiled brats. But not everyone who is complaining about not having something is a pretentious brat. There are some people who are rightfully disgruntled over their quality of live compared to their parents and earlier generations, and only seek out the same standard of living.
So think about next time when some kid in their twenties is frustrated over not having something that you had (or at least were guaranteed to have) back when you were his age!
I hate to tell you this but NOTHING, for any generation, has EVER been "guaranteed". Everything my generation, and the ones before me, got was only because they worked hard and not necessarily at high paying jobs that included a pension at the end of it. I can only think of two people in my entire extended family that retired with a pension. One worked for the railroad from high school graduation to retirement and the other worked for the state hiway dept. for as many years. There are no guarantees in life, ever.
There were plenty of bad marriages back in the day but they stuck it out because they mostly had no other options. Especially the women. The vast majority of them didn't have higher educations, didn't have careers, didn't have "their own" money and were totally dependent on the man they married. Didn't matter if he was good, bad or ugly, if he treated them right or was a mean SOB, they had to stay. There were also plenty of good marriages and the "courtship" WAS pretty cut and dried. Neither gender put as much stock in looks as the younger people do. The women didn't care as much what kind of job a guy had, what kind of car he drove or how much money he had. It WAS important that he be able to support a family but even so there were some who didn't. At least not very well.
Most of the kids I knew growing up WERE "well raised children" but they had quite a bit of attention too. Even in my family of six kids my parents managed to "be there" for each of us. There were "bad" kids around then too and they managed to get into trouble. Most of us were too scared of "juvy" to get into trouble and, truth be told, there just wasn't that much to get into trouble doing! We weren't allowed to go to the mall and hang out all day with our friends...there were no malls. We had chores at home and we did them. We were disciplined, sometimes harshly but mostly not, and some parents were downright mean. Nowadays a parent can barely TALK to their kids without worrying that someone will call CPS and accuse them of abuse. The kids have the upper hand and they know it.
Social Security was never intended to be used to actually live on. It was always intended as a "supplement" to whatever people managed to save up during their working years. Pensions are, pretty much, a thing of the past unless you work for the government or some high power corporation and there's no guarantee they will be there in the future either. If, like me, you haven't managed to save up enough money to supplement your Social Security so you can spend your days golfing, etc., there's nothing wrong with being a greeter at Wal Mart. Actually, that's exactly what I'm doing these days and I don't mind it a bit. With what I'm paid, and my Social Security, I do quite well. I might even do it till I "drop dead".
My advice is stop whining. Things could be worse and, who knows? It might even GET worse before it gets better. If you can't have a positive attitude then at least quit whining about it and DO something constructive. People have lived through some pretty tough times and darned if they aren't still here to talk about it! Tough times don't kill you but they sure put things into perspective.
Nothing has really changed except it always gotten easier to survive. Their are more entitlements where in the 50's and before there where nne. Ther are and never have beeen nay guarantees in life. Its alwasy beeen a competiiton between people within a generation but now mnaythigns are given. Perhaps that is the rewal problem. Why work for survival when you can get by.As the presdient of france said not long ago that it does pay to work in his coutnry now days for mnay.
Let me play Devil's Advocate and put it in this perspective. Nearly Every other generation of Americans has received nearly everything that they've worked for. It wasn't a matter of if, but when and how for most people. And the question of "how to make it" wasn't needed. If you do this, this, and that, and don't do this, you'll get what you want.
The following was how things used to be. Now, my generation (Gen Y) and younger generations aren't guaranteed anything that our previous generations were heavily assured. Things include but aren't limited to:
-A decent job. Older generations were guaranteed a stable job for life as long as they did decent in school. And the more education one received, the higher the salary was given. Now, we have recent college graduates (and I'm not talking about those who got their majors in Basket-Knitting) who can't even get jobs, or jobs that are way below or irrelevant of their majors. And now we're at the point where career-specific entry-level jobs are almost non-existent. And to not even get ahead, but to get in the "good, stable, and high-paying job club," you either have to do a lot of backstabbing, a$$kissing, or know someone in the loop already.
-Good relationships and a decent spouse. In the past, morals played more into the lives of individuals and dating ranged from either formal and courting (pre-60s) to wild-yet-everyone-still-had-fun (60s-90s). Now, it's all about "game" and "showing off" that dominates the dating scene. Back then, you conducted yourself decently, and you were guaranteed a good spouse. Now, you do the same thing and end up with a "has-been-wh*re" or a "retired playa" who is just looking to "settle" because their looks have faded off. Why do you think kids are having sex at younger ages.
-Well-raised children. Back in the day, parents were pretty good with disciplining their child, all without overbearing them or being ruthless ogres. Now, even if you raise your kids well, even their constant discipline and good behavior isn't guaranteed with all of the influences in this society that forces them to do everything opposite of what the parents instilled in them. Whether it's the school, the neighborhood, or the TV, something is always at the beckoning call for your son to be a thug, cholo, or preppy, and your daughter to be a mean-girl, american-MTV princess, or a teen s**t.
-Retirement and Social Security/Pensions. This has been discussed ad-nauseum. Even though social security will last long enough for my generation to have access to it, will the amount we receive be enough to sustain a livable standard of living? Will pensions received through out jobs be guaranteed, or will we be swindled out of those? Will we be able to spend our days golfing and going to the Grand Canyon, orwill we have to work at Wal-Mart as greeters until we drop dead?
Granted there are a lot of spoiled people in my generation, but guess what: Those are the people who get their way, almost all of the time! Greedy and spoiled people are almost never satisfied with having "just enough and then some" and always demand more. And I'll be the first one to admit that Gen-Y has more than our fair share of greedy and spoiled brats. But not everyone who is complaining about not having something is a pretentious brat. There are some people who are rightfully disgruntled over their quality of live compared to their parents and earlier generations, and only seek out the same standard of living.
So think about next time when some kid in their twenties is frustrated over not having something that you had (or at least were guaranteed to have) back when you were his age!
OMG! You obviously were not around during the late 70's/early 80's.
Consider this: your generation does not have to worry about getting DRAFTED to go fight in BS wars. Food for thought, hah?
"The biggest problem with "your generation" is that they expect to have things in their 20's that other generations didn't EARN until they were in their 30's, 40's or later."
Your post is the PERFECT example of the entitlement generation - the generation that thinks just by living & breathing things should be handed to you. A whiny bunch of brats that stomps around like 3 years olds pouting screaming "I want that!". Geesh.
More points in red.
Quote:
Originally Posted by The_Fairfaxian
Let me play Devil's Advocate and put it in this perspective. Nearly Every other generation of Americans has received nearly everything that they've worked for. It wasn't a matter of if, but when and how for most people. And the question of "how to make it" wasn't needed. If you do this, this, and that, and don't do this, you'll get what you want.
The following was how things used to be. Now, my generation (Gen Y) and younger generations aren't guaranteed anything that our previous generations were heavily assured. Things include but aren't limited to:
-A decent job. Older generations were guaranteed a stable job for life as long as they did decent in school. And the more education one received, the higher the salary was given. Now, we have recent college graduates (and I'm not talking about those who got their majors in Basket-Knitting) who can't even get jobs, or jobs that are way below or irrelevant of their majors. And now we're at the point where career-specific entry-level jobs are almost non-existent. And to not even get ahead, but to get in the "good, stable, and high-paying job club," you either have to do a lot of backstabbing, a$$kissing, or know someone in the loop already.
A lot of the jobs that provided a roof over your head & food in your belly were hard manual labor, blue collar jobs that were exhausting.
Your generation would break down in tears during the first 5 minutes and be calling the ACLU & OSHA within 10.
And FYI, "it's who you know" didn't begin with your generation.
-Good relationships and a decent spouse. In the past, morals played more into the lives of individuals and dating ranged from either formal and courting (pre-60s) to wild-yet-everyone-still-had-fun (60s-90s). Now, it's all about "game" and "showing off" that dominates the dating scene. Back then, you conducted yourself decently, and you were guaranteed a good spouse. Now, you do the same thing and end up with a "has-been-wh*re" or a "retired playa" who is just looking to "settle" because their looks have faded off. Why do you think kids are having sex at younger ages.
If you're standing in the mud, you're most likely going to find a pig. Get the hell outta the mud.
-Well-raised children. Back in the day, parents were pretty good with disciplining their child, all without overbearing them or being ruthless ogres. Now, even if you raise your kids well, even their constant discipline and good behavior isn't guaranteed with all of the influences in this society that forces them to do everything opposite of what the parents instilled in them. Whether it's the school, the neighborhood, or the TV, something is always at the beckoning call for your son to be a thug, cholo, or preppy, and your daughter to be a mean-girl, american-MTV princess, or a teen s**t.
Spoken like someone who's not a parent.
It doesn't matter what the outside influences are, because the ones with the most influence are mom & dad.
Quit blaming everyone else. The "it's someone else's fault" gets old really quick.
-Retirement and Social Security/Pensions. This has been discussed ad-nauseum. Even though social security will last long enough for my generation to have access to it, will the amount we receive be enough to sustain a livable standard of living? Will pensions received through out jobs be guaranteed, or will we be swindled out of those? Will we be able to spend our days golfing and going to the Grand Canyon, orwill we have to work at Wal-Mart as greeters until we drop dead?
Granted there are a lot of spoiled people in my generation, but guess what: Those are the people who get their way, almost all of the time! Greedy and spoiled people are almost never satisfied with having "just enough and then some" and always demand more. And I'll be the first one to admit that Gen-Y has more than our fair share of greedy and spoiled brats. But not everyone who is complaining about not having something is a pretentious brat. There are some people who are rightfully disgruntled over their quality of live compared to their parents and earlier generations, and only seek out the same standard of living.
Nobody owes you anything. And my grandparents, who lived through the Depression, knew that better than anyone else. The only people they relied on taking care of them was family - they sure as hell didn't spend their retirement on the golf course & vacationing.
My grandfather cut hair on the side for extra money. He picked up cans for extra cash. My grandmother actually CANNED. They fixed things when they got broke or else they did without. They didn't by zip loc bags - they washed out bread bags. Nothing was disposable.
And they sure as hell didn't think their retirement was going to be a permanent vacation like you seem to think yours should be.
So think about next time when some kid in their twenties is frustrated over not having something that you had (or at least were guaranteed to have) back when you were his age!
Let me play Devil's Advocate and put it in this perspective. Nearly Every other generation of Americans has received nearly everything that they've worked for. It wasn't a matter of if, but when and how for most people. And the question of "how to make it" wasn't needed. If you do this, this, and that, and don't do this, you'll get what you want.
The following was how things used to be. Now, my generation (Gen Y) and younger generations aren't guaranteed anything that our previous generations were heavily assured. Things include but aren't limited to:
-A decent job. Older generations were guaranteed a stable job for life as long as they did decent in school. And the more education one received, the higher the salary was given. Now, we have recent college graduates (and I'm not talking about those who got their majors in Basket-Knitting) who can't even get jobs, or jobs that are way below or irrelevant of their majors. And now we're at the point where career-specific entry-level jobs are almost non-existent. And to not even get ahead, but to get in the "good, stable, and high-paying job club," you either have to do a lot of backstabbing, a$$kissing, or know someone in the loop already.
-Good relationships and a decent spouse. In the past, morals played more into the lives of individuals and dating ranged from either formal and courting (pre-60s) to wild-yet-everyone-still-had-fun (60s-90s). Now, it's all about "game" and "showing off" that dominates the dating scene. Back then, you conducted yourself decently, and you were guaranteed a good spouse. Now, you do the same thing and end up with a "has-been-wh*re" or a "retired playa" who is just looking to "settle" because their looks have faded off. Why do you think kids are having sex at younger ages.
-Well-raised children. Back in the day, parents were pretty good with disciplining their child, all without overbearing them or being ruthless ogres. Now, even if you raise your kids well, even their constant discipline and good behavior isn't guaranteed with all of the influences in this society that forces them to do everything opposite of what the parents instilled in them. Whether it's the school, the neighborhood, or the TV, something is always at the beckoning call for your son to be a thug, cholo, or preppy, and your daughter to be a mean-girl, american-MTV princess, or a teen s**t.
-Retirement and Social Security/Pensions. This has been discussed ad-nauseum. Even though social security will last long enough for my generation to have access to it, will the amount we receive be enough to sustain a livable standard of living? Will pensions received through out jobs be guaranteed, or will we be swindled out of those? Will we be able to spend our days golfing and going to the Grand Canyon, orwill we have to work at Wal-Mart as greeters until we drop dead?
Granted there are a lot of spoiled people in my generation, but guess what: Those are the people who get their way, almost all of the time! Greedy and spoiled people are almost never satisfied with having "just enough and then some" and always demand more. And I'll be the first one to admit that Gen-Y has more than our fair share of greedy and spoiled brats. But not everyone who is complaining about not having something is a pretentious brat. There are some people who are rightfully disgruntled over their quality of live compared to their parents and earlier generations, and only seek out the same standard of living.
So think about next time when some kid in their twenties is frustrated over not having something that you had (or at least were guaranteed to have) back when you were his age!
Life is what you make it.
Get off the damned computer, and get a life. You'll never make a nickel while on City-Datga.
Apply the skills you have,..and if you have none, then learn some.
Get an attitude adjustment. Nobody gives a crap about your problems, or wants to listen to a lot of whining. The only person who can make your life better is YOU.
Negativity clouds progress. Quit whining and grousing about what other people have done, make a plan, and then follow through.
Let me play Devil's Advocate and put it in this perspective. Nearly Every other generation of Americans has received nearly everything that they've worked for. It wasn't a matter of if, but when and how for most people. And the question of "how to make it" wasn't needed. If you do this, this, and that, and don't do this, you'll get what you want.
The following was how things used to be. Now, my generation (Gen Y) and younger generations aren't guaranteed anything that our previous generations were heavily assured. Things include but aren't limited to:
-A decent job. Older generations were guaranteed a stable job for life as long as they did decent in school. And the more education one received, the higher the salary was given. Now, we have recent college graduates (and I'm not talking about those who got their majors in Basket-Knitting) who can't even get jobs, or jobs that are way below or irrelevant of their majors. And now we're at the point where career-specific entry-level jobs are almost non-existent. And to not even get ahead, but to get in the "good, stable, and high-paying job club," you either have to do a lot of backstabbing, a$$kissing, or know someone in the loop already.
-Good relationships and a decent spouse. In the past, morals played more into the lives of individuals and dating ranged from either formal and courting (pre-60s) to wild-yet-everyone-still-had-fun (60s-90s). Now, it's all about "game" and "showing off" that dominates the dating scene. Back then, you conducted yourself decently, and you were guaranteed a good spouse. Now, you do the same thing and end up with a "has-been-wh*re" or a "retired playa" who is just looking to "settle" because their looks have faded off. Why do you think kids are having sex at younger ages.
-Well-raised children. Back in the day, parents were pretty good with disciplining their child, all without overbearing them or being ruthless ogres. Now, even if you raise your kids well, even their constant discipline and good behavior isn't guaranteed with all of the influences in this society that forces them to do everything opposite of what the parents instilled in them. Whether it's the school, the neighborhood, or the TV, something is always at the beckoning call for your son to be a thug, cholo, or preppy, and your daughter to be a mean-girl, american-MTV princess, or a teen s**t.
-Retirement and Social Security/Pensions. This has been discussed ad-nauseum. Even though social security will last long enough for my generation to have access to it, will the amount we receive be enough to sustain a livable standard of living? Will pensions received through out jobs be guaranteed, or will we be swindled out of those? Will we be able to spend our days golfing and going to the Grand Canyon, orwill we have to work at Wal-Mart as greeters until we drop dead?
Granted there are a lot of spoiled people in my generation, but guess what: Those are the people who get their way, almost all of the time! Greedy and spoiled people are almost never satisfied with having "just enough and then some" and always demand more. And I'll be the first one to admit that Gen-Y has more than our fair share of greedy and spoiled brats. But not everyone who is complaining about not having something is a pretentious brat. There are some people who are rightfully disgruntled over their quality of live compared to their parents and earlier generations, and only seek out the same standard of living.
So think about next time when some kid in their twenties is frustrated over not having something that you had (or at least were guaranteed to have) back when you were his age!
Sing lound and sing proud. You are right on.
Our generation is screwed, thanks to our parents and grandparents generations who basically turned America into some greed, money hording pseudo-oligarchy in the name of capitalism.
Our generation will inherit more debt [from both parties] then perhaps any government since the fall of Rome.
We saw the ineptitude of governement and of the adult generations to handle crisises such as 9/11 and Katrina, and the current financial crisis.
They turned our society into a bunch of live by the minute-media whores, where we are suppose to focus more on celebrities and thei troubles more than our own.
They denied us the American dream they received due to greed, selfishness, and a wanton desire for more stuff. Bigger houses, bigger cars....and didn't give two ****s about the consequences.
In the end Gen Y will pick up the pieces, build a green economy, create a liberal, progressive, open and tolerant society. Our lives will not be dominated by the work a day attitude that has drown our parents into debt, boredom, and depression.
We might even cure cancer in the process.
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