The Millenials: From The Greatest Generation to The MTV Generation
by Kimberly CoxAll right! We blew it! My Generation, The Millennial Generation, totally fell for the oldest trick in the book and now we look like hopeless idiots in front of the whole world. What was our mistake? Youth. The veracity of naivete that only comes with inexperience, adolescence and a total lack of responsibility.
Characterized by our Pop Culture and Mass Media, we may participate in an election, try to be advocates for hope and change, but as long as “The Bachelor” and “Jersey Shore” succeed in the ratings, The Millennial Generation will be seen as having the same morals, values and ethics as the people who are on these reality shows.
We should know better. At least, with all the education we have had, you would think we might have picked up a thing or two in history class. But no, we are making the same mistake just as naturally and easily as the generation before us, the generation before them, and generations to come.
Despite all our potential and the efforts of our subculture, we allow propaganda to move us when it is there to seduce us; zeitgeist, to inspire us when it is there to distract us.
Welcome to the 21st Century and the Age of Information Technology, ushering in a new generation with all the hopes, dreams, ideals and utopianism of youth. We Millennials stand at the cusp of assuming our role in the future of our country, our world and our culture.
And we look stupid.
NOW WHAT?
First, let’s admit we are making a big mistake by allowing Pop Culture to define who we are and who we will become. At least we can learn to recognize failure. We need to move on and start to correct it.
Entertainment today has as much respect for the audience as the Ancient Romans had for their slaves and lower classes. Realize Ancient Rome is where the origins of Pop Culture began. Unlike the Ancient Greek Theatre where the purpose was to affirm the values, morals and ethics of the community, Roman Popular Entertainment was specifically created to distract people. Instead of heroes, the audience in Ancient Rome got free bread and spectacle. Watching two men fight to the death or be eaten alive by lions was considered Popular Entertainment or as we call it today, Pop Culture.
The world perceives us as juveniles. Our elders look on us with doubt. And we look at ourselves and know we are better than this. It’s not 1965 anymore and the kids who show up at political rallies acting like it’s another Woodstock are just indulging the AARP Members who are living vicariously through them.
If you really want to drag this out, then continue dithering over who’s wrong and who’s right and who’s to blame. The ugly truth is that we all share blame, we all are right and we all are wrong. Honestly, we could lose the redundant rhetoric altogether.
We are all better, much better than this and we know it. We are the Millennial Generation, stepping into the 21st Century, not with hesitation, but with purpose and with virtue. We owe it to one another to hold a higher standard than before. Let’s learn our lesson and not fall for the propaganda, the Mainstream Media or the lazy speeches that reassure us that we do live in an age of hope and change.
Most of all, it is time for Our Voice to be heard. Enough with allowing others to speak for us, to represent us and define who we are and who we will become. We know now the voracity of youth is our weakness.
No one thought we’d notice our exploitation but guess what? We do see it, plain as day. And quite honestly, I find it insulting.
We understand why we should not ask what our country can do for us.
Instead, we want to know what we must do for our country.
I will not go gently into that good night. I will no longer be silent in the face of the criticism intended to dis-empower or negate the promise of my generation. Demanding better content, higher standards and moral boundaries is our responsibility.
The time has come for The Millennial Generation to step up to the plate.
Email this to a friend | Print |
Share on Facebook
| Tweet this
| 
Follow Us on Twitter
Subscribe via RSS
Got a Tip?
98 Comments
G-T-L FOR LIFE!!!!!!
Sorry, I've never actually said that out loud before, so I wanted to at least type it and see if it makes me feel any cooler. Not so much.
Great Group Photo!
The Future 114th Congressional Photo.
We are doomed!
You know that song, "One day my generation is gonna rule the population…"? Makes me cringe every time.
I will say that the SANE ones need to adhere themselves to this creed "hold yourselve to a higher standard" the reality shows and the ones that make them popular are just a credit to the society that we live in…. we NEED it KNOW…. and the phrase ME MYSELF and I… thats all they are concerned with….
"I wanna hold your hand…"
"I want a new drug."
"I want my MTV."
"I want."
Well said! Give them hell!
FM
I want a case of 30-06, 180 grain boattails with berdan primers.
Don't be too hard on the Millenials. It was we, the Baby Boom generation, who pissed away what our grandparents earned a dime at a time during the Depression and our parents fought to preserve. We gave it away with scarcely a fight. We came from families of three to seven children, read "The Population Bomb" and decided to have 1.7 kids ourselves. We elected William "BJ" Clinton, the worst example of self-absorption our self-absorbed generation could find.
When the third world, who copulated and populated while we cogitated and masturbated, take over the US as they have Europe and Canada, we will have the spoiled spawn of the Greatest Generation to thank.
The kids of Jersey Shore should be the last people to be ripped on. Would you rather they were working for greenpeace and telling Africans they should be growing organic food and demanding handouts?
I don't like them, but I wouldn't wish the depression era poverty or disease on them.
At least they're not walking around telling people what to think. Its definitely an improvement over those captain planet jerks.
No wonder I have a hard time relating to my generation…. Jersey Shore is a sign of the Apocalypse!
I have a nephew you need to talk to Kimberly….he's just a useful idiot at this point. Arrogant too. I would send this article to him but we are no longer on talking terms……and he doesn't get his info from anywhere but the Huffington Post. Need I say more.
'fraid we'll need more than a case, pardner. Lot's of freaks out there.
The generation the above folks represent did not elect our current ruler.
They couldn't spell vote let alone do it. Their 60s generation parents did.
The educational system we have now just assures us there will be more
of the same ahead of us particular with the clueless the above represent
only in greater numbers.
The folks that are currently studying at Yale, Harvard and similar "prestige " colleges
are the next bunch to soil our system of government. If you don't like the ruler of our
nation now wait until you see the next one in 10 or 20 years. While History
repeats itself future leaders will be a bit more sophisticated then our current one.
Changing to more rational Gov. leaders without effecting our educational system
is just a temporary fix.
Yes. Our infiltration is complete. Media, education, government; we've destroyed the traditional Western values and reduced the American population to a weak pack of defenseless serfs and sniveling useful idiots! One of our own even sits in their highest office! Fools! Soon they will even give us their guns gladly in exchange for food vouchers! Then they will serve us, and we will pack the FEMA camps with those who resist re-education.
Kimberly, this is the first post of yours that I have read. It is great. I look forward to following your posts.
Obama ran a brilliant campaign, taking advantage of the egos of the Millennial Generation, feeding into their over inflated sense of importance. These are the people who have been coddled and indulged by their Boomer parents, been fed a load of lies about equality and fairness and told over and over how special they are. It's no wonder they fell hook, line and sinker for Obama's promises of entitlements. Even now, I doubt that many of them are frustrated with him because of what he's doing, but rather because he hasn't fulfilled his promises fast enough.
"Today in Washington, Speaker of the House Snooki praised the passing of legislation which mandates spray tanning. In other news, Senate Majority Leader DJ Pauly got into a fist-pumping contest with those who opposed his new rule requiring each member of the Senate to use copius amounts of hair gel before debating any issue on the floor. "
Tune in (to Jersey Shore)
Turn on (w/ Red Bull n Twitter)
Drop out (of a tough econ class)
Yep. The times, they are a changin'.
I'm sorry, but conflating the Obama campaign with the vapidity of Jersey Shore is shallow analysis. Dismiss it if you must, but it's a separate phenomenon – the first time our generation actually stood for something. Likewise with the boomer analogies – as I stated on another board, they were a far more interesting generation than they are typically given credit for. As a millennial, I'd trade places with my parents in a heartbeat. Otherwise, however, I'm in strong sympathy with the sentiments expressed above.
The important issue brought up here is the embarrassing shallowness of pop culture. You may not like the 60s generation, but at least they had Dylan, the Stones, the Beatles, Hendrix, interesting works of fiction and film – comparatively, we are culturally impoverished. There are several reasons for this – one of them, and some conservatives might not like to hear this, is rampant consumerism, a cultural ethos in which only the profitable bottom line matters and money is the arbiter of value. But another source, undoubtedly, is the pernicious postmodernism which has taken over prestigious universities and cultural institutions like the media. This relativist, fragmented sensibility (fostered in part by the 60s boom, which ironically was built on a firm foundation in canons and traditions) has neutered art of its primal force and lowered standards to the point where anything goes. Don't get me wrong – I love the avant-garde when it's done well, but it has to have roots in something, otherwise it's just meaningless.
Gen Y or Echo Boomers as they are also referred almost totally devoid of original thought, totally consumed by consumerism, tattooed beyond recognition for easy identification, unable to read or write coherently, and almost perpetually unhappy. Their children will be even worse. There won't be any stepping up to the plate unless Wii invents a game for it.
If conservatives can speak out against this phenomenon, loudly and clearly, and with a tradition of humanism (a disliked word on the right, though in fact it is one of the strongest bastions against postmodernism) to fall back upon, then I'll march alongside them, at least in this particular fight. To me, modernism – in which artists grappled with the new without abandoning the old, re-conceptualizing old traditions – was a high point and should not be impossible to return to. At any rate, shallow popular culture has always been with us but once there was a more viable alternative…
You know, when you folks on here insult us as a generation and lump us all together as muscle-headed idiots who could not find our ass with 2 hands and a road map, you do a disservice to the folks who do want to make a difference in the way politics is handled. Don't hold up a handful of morons as proof positive that this generation sucks. Proud American of 27 years and I wouldn't have it any other way.
So blame your parents. They're the generation that fought World War 2, but they're also the assholes who raised your generation to be spoiled and soft.
Anyone whose voice is heard on radio or television, by definition, is telling people what to think.
Television is the most efficient device for the distribution of propaganda ever created.
I've also been in this country for 27 years — my entire life — and while it would be inaccurate and overgeneralizing to say that my generation sucks, it would be significantly less so to say that most of my generation are a bunch of stupid, spoiled idiots with useless college degrees, tightly-buttoned-down PC Kumbayah liberal minds, and sex lives so varied and colorful as to be actually boring.
We're not all sheep, but if the vast majority of us weren't sheep then That Asshole wouldn't have been elected.
I see signs of hope, here in the hands of an Alaskan housewife (of all places! And not the one you're thinking of either.)
It's a rejection of uncontrolled consumerism and a return to self-reliance, a return to personal pride. People making their own furniture may not sound like much, but it bulds pride. It builds skills. It builds communities–people teach others useful skills, they share a resource that can't be taxed, taken away by force, or destroyed–knowledge.
Consumerism isn't going away anytime soon, but it will weaken.
funny, but even funnier is that you know thier names. lol . That is thier names right??
somebody just moved up on the terrorist watch list. Conservative website ? check. mentioned guns or ammo in a non-threatening manner? check. send the ATF to kick his door in and hurry it might be hunting season where he lives we can still save bambi
Let's not forget that the media portrayal of our generation…. isn't really accurate in the least. I mean, -I- exist. My friends exist. None of us sleep around, binge drink, or do drug parties in hollywood while wearing washcloths.
My opinion is that the answer is to turn off the damn TV. But until tons of people do that, it's not going to change.
Nothing like reduced or nonexistent wages to reduce over heated cosumerism.
Just what the boomers parents faced. Kind of ironic isn'y it.
Sadly, the names are correct. This reminds me of the movie Idiocracy, the film is a comedic dystopia that shows the US 500 years in the future. The President of the US in the movie is WWE wrestling superstar and a porn star. Perfect role model for present day.
Withered old gourds like myself have been lamenting the inadequacies of the younger generation since shortly after the dawn of time.
The main difference is that, today, we withered old gourds have a point.
Shudder at the thought. The fact that those idiots think he is a talented musician is proof enough that have no business "ruling" (notice the word "rule" as opposed to "govern") anything.
They grew up during the depression, came of age saving the world, then came home and wanted their children to have better. They didn't want their children to have to suffer through what they did. The unfortunate result was that their children never knew or appreciated what they had.
HuffPo, huh? I'll pray for him.
I ashamed to admit that yes, I did know their names – despite having never watched a single episode of that show (really, I swear!).
"The main difference is that, today, we withered old gourds have a point. " …and that's what seems to get buried in the confusion. The Boomers who have been on both ends of the sanity spectrum and who grew up are pretty well-qualified to know what went wrong and what needs to change. Some of us got the training–we just didn't know what to do with it until way down the trail.
The special Hannity had on last week, (and I think was written about here at BH) Generation Zero<i/>, had a take on that argument. Our parents knew what it was like in the '30's. They NEVER wanted that to happen again so they scrimped and saved and paid off their mortages, and provided an idyllic life for us Boomers. The show stated that our parents only wanted for us to prosper, grow, and continue down that road.
Out of that desire to make life nice and comfortable for all, allowing a freedom to pursue our own personal dreams, came some rose colored glasses. Ok, they didn't prepare us for troubled times, and when the youth in the 60's found troubled times, or made trouble, we were rightly or wrongly blaming them ourselves. So you're a little late to the game here.
Are we Boomers "spoiled and soft"? Yes. But let's put the blame where it really belongs and not point fingers at our parents who did their best with the understanding of their era, ok? It's us. We allowed ourselves to get that way. From being spoiled, we expected to receive whatever we desired. We didn't have to learn how to work for what we should earn.
I haven't read your collection of posts, but I know you've been here for a while. I don't think I've had any real negative responses to what you've written in the past, so I'm going to count you as being one of the bright lights of this generation. But, it's now up to you and yours, Jake. Do we continue down the path that we're on or do we try to reestablish the culture to support better life choices by everyone? There are a lot of us who want to do the latter. We'll help you, but don't be shifting blame.
Hey, now. I'm taking macro for fun. Got the highest grade in my class on the last test (missed one question bc I misread it!). And I know I'm not the only 20-something who's using her brain! It's just that someone decided we're not as entertaining as the Shore Rats.
I agree with you here, Jake. Good points.
Normally, I would agree with this critique of pop culture, but I have to defend my generation (the Millennials) a little bit in this case. For one thing, this state my generation finds itself in is not something we created ourselves, but is a result of the success of the Greatest Generation and even the Baby Boomers. Because of the security many of us enjoyed growing up, we tend to focus on silly, pop culture trivialities to make life interesting. You can call it living vicariously through celebrities. Another point of mine is that this is a sweeping generalization of a very large group of people. Yes, many people my age are self-obsessed, spoiled, pop-culture brats, but I am fortunate to work in an industry where that attitude is rare in the extreme, namely, the U.S. military. I also think that the current education system is to blame for a lot of this. It was rare that teachers in my junior high and high school challenged students to go beyond what was expected. The result is a generation of sheep, following the crowd right off the pop-culture cliff into historical oblivion. Again, you have the Baby Boomers, specifically the politically left, to blame for that. Neal Boortz, the radio talk show host, addresses this at least weekly; government schools aren't made to educate, they're made to indoctrinate, and create good little sheep that focus on media and pop culture trivialities instead of seeing the mess that the big government types have been creating for the last couple of decades. Do I agree that pop culture is ruining an entire generation? Yeah, I would have to agree with that, and I would also agree that it's probably too late for this group. We can only hope that the kids in the next generation don't fall for all the crap out there and learn to appreciate life with a deeper meaning, though the next generation is probably lost as well since their parents will be…the Millennials (scary thought, I know). It's going to take people like those of us on this board to take the reins and try to be the national leadership we wish we had right now to fix this mess.
Critics Concerned by Obama's Jersey Shore Briefings in "The Situation" Situation Room http://optoons.blogspot.com/2010/03/critics-conce...
Sorry, not sheep, but lemmings…mixing up my analogies there
To be completely honest, I think that the banality of pop culture is only a symptom of the true corruption eating away at the potential of today's youth.
The true culprit? Two words: institutionalized mediocrity.
There was an old-fart song that said: 'Don't worry, Be happy'. I, as a boomer, say to you millennials: 'Don't worry'. Why not just go out and get another tattoo? Pretty soon half of you (American, aged 18-29) will have one (it's 40% already). What a future the world has in store!
The current generation fought and died to protect Americans from the Islamofascist threat in Iraq and Afghanistan. Surely it counts for a little? Otherwise blame the parents for their work obsession which led to the younger generation's solitude. Today's kids have been raising themselves while the parents are out fostering their little professions, extramarital behaviors, mortgage speculating, etc. At least one parent needs to stay home. Conservatives and liberals are equally guilty for investing so little time in the younger generation, in particular when the younger generation is forced to spend an inordinate measure of time at public schools without adults. In other words young people need to be raised amongst adults, not merely alongside their peers.
Also our Lord had described the whole of humankind in unflattering terms for the most part. Too many folks seem to suggest only young people need redemption. To my own thoughts the greatest issue facing the nation would be Americans' dependence on usury. It eliminates the value of (and incentive for) work almost entirely; it simultaneously takes advantage of Americans' stony work-ethic to make them slaves to their jobs in exchange for an inflated, meaningless currency. Formerly you worked your derriere to powder for houses and cars, whereas instead at present you merely sign the dotted line. No wonder so many folks attach their sense of human worth to possessions! A truly capitalistic nation creates humility; a credit-based economy rather gives birth to a sort of baseless arrogance. Too many folks confuse capitalism with usury when if fact a usury-based system can only function when the government enforces these usurious contracts. Not to mention rents follow mortgages, and without usury the rents would stabilize to some extent. Instead people want everything NOW NOW NOW.
A couple generations are going to have rude awakening in a couple of years when they realize their future is gone.
When the mellenials realize their standard of living has been an illusion and their lifestyle has been thrown away by "The One," they will not be happy. They will be told to blame the older generation not the politicians. There will be generational conflict and warfare as the millennials will insist on redistributing the boomers 401Ks and life expectancies thru rationing in new government health care system.
.
Yeah…except how many viewers did Jersey Shore garner? 2-3 million on a good day? How does this speak for an entire generation numerically?
Additionally, you seem to be against an individual's right to choose his own entertainment. As you lambast those who watched Jersey Shore, is the mainstream media right to lambast those who read this blog?
I understand that you were probably required to reach a specific word count for this article, and therefore reached into your rear for a few of them.
Pop culture can NOT define "who we are". This nation is comprised of individuals. If you feel dependent upon generational labels to feel secure, then the problem lies within.
I have a question: what the heck type of name is Snooki? Sounds like something you'd name a small dog!
You are right. I notice that whenever there is an unexpected school holiday, people act like they don't know what they're going to do with those damn kids while they're at work and schools out. Hey guys, school is not a form of free babysitting!
I liked this post, but now I'm humming "Pomp and Circumstance." It just seems to fit.
G-T-L FOR LIFE!!!!!!
Sorry, I've never actually said that out loud before, so I wanted to at least type it and see if it makes me feel any cooler. Not so much.
[...] the original here: The Millenials: From The Greatest Generation to The MTV Generation This entry is filed under America – Blogs, Big Hollywood. You can follow any responses to this [...]
Very interesting, and great points. I'd also say that I'm less concerned with the purchasing of necessities (though, again, the sign of hope you lay out above has its own virtues) than the acquisition and hunger for non-necessities. A little diversion and amusement is a good thing, but when our entire economy – and even worse, our culture – becomes based on that it's going to have a detrimental impact on society. And of course, it goes without saying that it's not the government's place to solve this problem: people and social conditions are going to have to figure it out themselves. As moretosay points out, social conditions may already be doing their part, however grim…
Hah! Perfect!
This generation already have a nickname? Damn. That was quick.
Oh, God, please don't think of me as a bright light. Shit, I'm one of the parasites bankrupting the country — I'm living on disability because I'm not mentally stable enough to hold down a real job. I'm about as far from "hope for the future" as you can get.
That Jersey Shore thing is pretty disturbing. Fat, ugly, short guys that look to have a combined IQ of 5 and sleaze women. Hmm.. Doesn't that description fit congress somewhat?
We seem to name things quickly.
Jersey Shore is the apex of Western Civilization.
/sarc
I'm sure there's a wiki page on that. [how snooki got the name]
according to Phil DeFranco, the internet servers that "have" her naked pictures keep crashing.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zJlGBNfrm54
As my friend Eric says; never underestimate the power of stupid people in large numbers.
btw, I'm not sticking up for jersey shore.
I guess the politicians can easily mold the young while they're separated from adults entirely. Hence I can scarcely expect any sort of education reform anytime soon. You would think the parents could have more say in how the system works, in particular when the current system is taxpayer funded. What a world.
Ok folks, I'll bite. News comes slow out here in the hills. What is a Snooki, and who is DJ Pauly? The last Pauly I remember was Paulie Walnuts from the Soprano's.
Stereotypes are great aren't they?? We see them in every propaganda piece that exists in the world today, and judging from quite a few of these comments, it looks like the wool has truly been pulled over your eyes. Kimberly isn't trying to make excuses or point fingers at anyone. She's simply implying that we can do better. Ok, Boomers, can you hear me?? Didn't you guys go through the same thing, being judged just because you were experimenting with something new? (ideas and philosophies, and outlooks, NOT drugs!) Many of you are now making the same mistakes of your parents and they were a great generation do not get me wrong.
I do feel however that every generation should teach and encourage and show the wayto make it through and twart off teh mistakes insteae of giving up on each other. And tuning this into a liberal v conservative, man v woman, rich v poor v middle class, hard-nosed tough v soft-pansie issue is just continuing the sinking of the ship. A wise person told me once even if you don't like someone, you should STILL LOVE them, and he meant that at face value.
Our personalities are so different were simply just not going to always agree on points. that is what makes ua all unique though and we can learn from each other too! Love though is not enough, respect is just as important, and that my deal millenials is how we can earn the trust of our parents/grandparents, and also deliver a positive roadmap for the next generation coming up, not just our kids, but also younger siblings. and it should star, by NOT leaving hateful snarky mean-spirited comments on this or any other page.
Interesting article, Kimberly. Interestingly, I saw a video on youtube last night entitled, Stupidity, by Albert Nerenberg. He goes into great depth and detail about the things you touch upon in this article. According to the documentary, much of what we are inundated with is planned that way for marketing reasons, to create a "loyal" consumer base. I highly recommend the documentary.
The more I think back on my generation, the more this song seems to sum up our situation. You want to know what's on our minds — hate to disappoint you, but this is all. Sorry.
Hey
What's the point of this?
Oh hey what's your favorite song?
Maybe we could hum along
Well, I think you're smart, you sweet thing
Tell me your name, I'm dying here
Ooh
Got you where I want you
Ooh
Got you where I want you
Hey
Maybe just a smile
Oh hey did you know that I can dance?
Could we talk for a while?
Well, I think you're smart, you sweet thing
Tell me your sign, I'm dying here
Ooh
Got you where I want you
Ooh
Got you where I want you
Appropriately, the original video for the song featured the band playing on a cliff while a huge crowd of teenagers rushed toward them in slow-motion — and then right past them and off the cliff, like lemmings… somehow, I don't think I have to connect any more dots here.
Lets face it kids we should all be embarassed by our own generations youthful flirtations. Youth are always self absorbed and convivnced they are wiser then the last generation. My folks as youth were "experimenting "with bath tub gin (often alchol combined with codeine) Their early politics supported chamberlin and eugenetics.. My generation experimented with Marijuana and LSD and have you ever given a serious listen to our music sophmoric and embarassing "lay lady lay" Dylan, need i say more? we brought Jimmy Carter to the rose garden. Each generation has lived it illusion and delusions and toiled to correct their mistakes. No generation has the corner on stupidity
You nailed it. "we are the ones we've been waiting for!" That line still makes me cringe.
One needs no more proof than this that Darwin had it backwards.
"We understand why we should not ask what our country can do for us.
Instead, we want to know what we must do for our country."
As a 'boomer" , I must say I'm impressed with many "millenials" I have met-in the military, the police, even in business-and I pray that they, as 'survivors', might take up the noble cause of ending the horror of abortion in our nation. Even if you accomplish nothing else, you'll have done more for your country than any generation since the Civil War.
That post just made my day.
NSFW
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KIMRmAjcte0&fe...
jersey is at the end of the 5 minute piece.
Real World, an MTV -remember when they played music videos?- show in the early 90's and also gave birth to the reality television we know today and abhor today. In the show they picked 7 strangers and have them live in a house the cameras watching them all the time. The producers will pick some people just for the friction they will cause, i.e. picking a 20 year old to be in the cast who can't go into the bar with the rest of them.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jersey_Shore_%28TV_s...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicole_%22Snooki%22_...
Right. The self-indulgent, self-serving generation today did not create our current environment; but they surely indulge themselves in it. But we can't blame them, can we? We created this mess and they're just taking advantage of our mistakes. I have to ask what mother and father allows their young girls to go out in public in their street-walker outfits. What are you thinking?? What are you thinking when you indulge your children with every latest cell phone, computer, mind-dumbing video cames? What did we all expect this generation to become? We've dumbed them down so we could feel less guilty about raising our children in single family homes, leaving them to be raised by daycare center workers, or sitters or nannys while the women went off to prove to the world they can have and be all. We were selfish and short-sighted, and susrprise! Our kids our us magnified.
Wait, is this all about "Jersey Shore"?
You're too bother by appearances, my dear. A television show should never be the grounds for judging an entire generation or you'll just end up fall to the same shallowness/style over substance argument our parents and grandparents did. So what if kids get to have fun on television show, either watch it or don't. Either way it has absolutely no effect on my life and you would be a fool to let it have an effect on yours.
nobody under the age of 25 has anything of any merit to say on any subject… ever!
Madison Avenue's fixation on the importance of youth flies in the face of thousands of years of civilization. after all, there is a reason the Constitution sets age requirements for important elected offices. i've always thought that 18 was much too low as a voting age. it should be raised to 25. i'l go as step further and say that anyone who knows the names of these greaseballs from Jersey, but who cannot name their own Representative in the US House of Representatives, should not be allowed to vote at all!
That's pretty accurate. What I do find, however, is a major backlash of Millenials swinging the other direction, and not in the idiotic (fascist) faux-conservative way either. The youth are all preaching free markets, limited government, peaceful foreign relations, reasonable immigration policies, and so on. This is good news, hense the heavy handed totalitarian propaganda the government spews out in response. They're probably not happy that the youth aren't falling for it anymore. They aren't getting any younger.
Nobody blames the education system that indocrtinated their kids to be that way?
That is largely incorrect. Most of the backlash against our consumerist and fascist (both liberal and faux-conservative) comes from the generation that you are berating. It has been a small minority for a number of years, but I find that there is more of an overall rejection of the world that my generation inherited, and the shallow dehumanization of the strictly enforced status quo. The major media, while losing precious ratings and credibility at a rapid pace, desperately attempts to paint a different picture; that it still has any social authority. The education system, which tried to turn us into eco-fascist heiling zombie consumerbots has only worked to a degree, and as more of my generation see the resulting tradgedy that those idiotic textbook concepts attempted to implant into our psyche, the entire scope of reality becomes even more apparent. It's a multigenerational shift from traditional American libertarianism, see-sawing back and forth between communism and fascism: Neither of wich are traditionally American in nature.
As terrible as the last two administrations have been, I think Bush woke a lot of people up by his brazen disregard for American Constitutional traditions and the enlightenment thinking that it was based on, and Obama continued to wake more up by his continuation of the same, carrying it to it's logical conclusion (the sort of socio-political nightmare that the American Revolution was fought against in the first place).
Instead of complaining about younger generations, and judging them: Realize that your generation forced that mode of thinking onto them. Educate them of the principles of WHY American Conservatism is a good thing. People will naturally rebel against authoritarianism, but they respond naturally quite well to reasoned arguments that don't insult their intelligence.
I might not be under 25, but I'm not far off from that (26). How much merit does anything I say have? Care to discuss another subject? Care to rethink your prejudices?
Yes, exactly. What people need to realize is that it's impossible to put one label on an entire generation. The way the media-machine would love our generation to be, is not what I see happening. Changes never happen en masse: They never have. It's always been a minority of the free thinking elements of society that have shifted the public focus one way or another. Really though, Generation X was the MTV generation, and it shows. How many people in your mid-20s do you know who REALLY care about MTV or reality shows? Mostly, I see the audiences in the 30+ crowd, because they believe that "the youth" are into it. They want to be seen as young and hip, so they eat it all up and ask for seconds. Generation X was an attempted rebellion against Baby Boomers, but they're pretty much the same.
Every generation will be defined by the minority of free thinkers, not by the masses of hapless sheep. The media will try to shape and mold the opinions, but that model isn't working as well as it has in the past. People are reaching levels of sophistication in which propaganda and social-engineering becomes so blantantly obvious that it's effectiveness is begining to wear off.
your above post is mostly gibberish. but the one point comes through, which supports my original point, is that you are enamored with what you perceive to be your own infallibility at knowing "truth". go out and live life productively for a decade or two. it's that life experience that gives one wisdom. without wisdom, you can't hope to know much about what's true and what's not. that's why those 25 and under have very little to contribute to any conversation about anything substantive… they don't have much life experience yet.
[...] via Big Hollywood » Blog Archive » The Millenials: From The Greatest Generation to The MTV Generation. [...]
What I saw at the Jersey Shore was a bunch of traditional valued kids on vacation. I thought it was out of the ordinary that they showed how close they were to their families. They also ate dinner together and prayed before their meal! They were very loyal and protective towards each other and held themselves responsible when they screwed up. Some were pretty wild but they were on vacation. I think they all will be life long friends and if any one of them were in trouble I think they would always be there for each and every one of them.. I don't see that on mtv very often do you? I think we feel down in the dumps by these idiots in Washington, snap out of it! Geez think of the troops, I think we can buck up and fight this war don't you. We owe it to the ones in that hell whole over there to kick butt and take names here. Start with your own lives, start standing up to these school districts, start a tax revolt, study true history because that is what will beat these people. They don't know history! We will reverse this and we have already started so all is not lost people, get on your knees and say a prayer and then get busy!
Hey!!! I represent short, fat, ugly guys. But, at least I have all my hair and an IQ of 135.
I've been told if you live in, or near, a major city you are more inclined to be up-to-date with the latest fashion trends and whatnot. So what the hell is the excuse for the cast of Jersey Shore!?!?! The guys look like they are out of a bad 80's movie!!! Hoop earrings, gold chains, spiked up bowl cuts? Give me an f'n break!!!
The IQ makes up for it!
Get your horse tack!…
Not sure if this is the right place (I’m not really good with computers), but left you a trackback for your readers, if they ever need some information about horse tack….
Potato And Leek Soup Major job, Your writer is an model of why I reserve rearwards to scan your grade statement…
Major job, Your writer is an model of why I reserve rearwards to scan your grade statement…
invest liberty reserve I think this is one of the most significant info for me. And i am glad reading your article. But want to remark on some general things, The site style is perfect, the articles is really excellent : D. Good job, cheers…
I think this is one of the most significant info for me. And i am glad reading your article. But want to remark on some general things, The site style is perfect, the articles is really excellent : D. Good job, cheers…
puppy breeders The example of these blogging engines and CMS platforms is the demand of limitations and simplicity of influence that allows developers to compel comfortable volume and ‘skin’ the parcel in such a way that with really soft labour one w…
The example of these blogging engines and CMS platforms is the demand of limitations and simplicity of influence that allows developers to compel comfortable volume and ‘skin’ the parcel in such a way that with really soft labour one would never mark w…
… [Trackback]…
[...] Read More here: bighollywood.breitbart.com/kcox/2010/03/12/the-millenials-from-the-greatest-generation-to-the-mtv-generation/ [...]…
… [Trackback]…
[...] Read More here: bighollywood.breitbart.com/kcox/2010/03/12/the-millenials-from-the-greatest-generation-to-the-mtv-generation/ [...]…
… [Trackback]…
How do you do? I simply love your excellent write-up and pls keep it up…
… [Trackback]…
[...] There you will find 60845 more Infos: bighollywood.breitbart.com/kcox/2010/03/12/the-millenials-from-the-greatest-generation-to-the-mtv-generation/ [...]…
Muscle body builder Bottle I achieve a suggestion? I deem youve bought one machine sunny at this point. However what in rationale you added a couple links to a web page that backs up what youre saying? Otherwise perhaps you possibly can offer us one …
Bottle I achieve a suggestion? I deem youve bought one machine sunny at this point. However what in rationale you added a couple links to a web page that backs up what youre saying? Otherwise perhaps you possibly can offer us one gadget to look on, som…
You must be logged in to post a comment.