Generation Why

, Bob Parks, Leave a comment

We find
ourselves going into this fall’s general election as have with many in the
past. We’ve been told to respect the youth vote at our peril. We’ve been told
the youth’s opinion matters. We’ve been told they’ll turn the election if their
concerns aren’t addressed. And they’ve seldom turned out on Election Day in
numbers that mattered; in fact their turnout has been downright embarrassing.

This time
we’re told all will be different. Should we be concerned? Are they going to
cast informed votes, and if their candidate wins and our nation suffers, should we hold them solely responsible?

They DO
assume they know everything. As an experienced father, I can remember the many
times explaining something to my kids, while they consistently respond, “I
know….” Yet when asked why they did something wrong, their response is almost
always, “I dunno….”

Watching
today’s youth representations on venues like MTV, we see a generation that
truly believes it’s all about them, and I’m not
alone
in my observation.

Dr. Jean Twenge,
professor of psychology at the University of San Diego, goes on to conclude
that Ys are narcissistic: focused only on themselves
and incapable of acknowledging or appreciating others’ points of view or
circumstances.

That
sounds eerily familiar when discussing politics with a Y who is good at
reciting talking points, and shuts down in a huff when presented with
historical perspective they were unaware of.

Twenge’s conclusions are based on her
analysis of the data from a standardized narcissistic personality inventory, in
which respondents score themselves against statements such as “I think I am a
special person.” Analyzing data from published reports, Twenge
concluded that the average college student is 30 percent more narcissistic in
2006 than was the average student in 1982.

Where did
that narcissism come from? Maybe from the years of self-esteem pummeling they
received in schools without having to justify it? Maybe from the years of
soccer with no score, or the removal of tag and Dodgeball
because there would be (heaven forbid) a loser.
Maybe from all those graduation ceremonies where the class song was “The
Greatest Love of All” where the first lines are “I believe the children are our
future. Teach them well and let them lead the way.”

If you
hear that often enough, it wouldn’t take you long to become real full of
yourself.

This
generation believes they know more about this election than most of us because
of how the issues have been presented, thus impact them on the Internet. All
candidates believe they need a real web presence in order to be viable; to
reach the youth, and the youth agrees.

Thank God
most of us parents bought computers, had the Internet stalled and paid for
monthly, or this most informed generation would be screwed. In fact, these young people who believe this
next election centers around their issues, are for the most part, the least
responsible. While many of us couldn’t
wait to graduate school and leave the nest, Generation Y has every expectation
that they can stay at home (for free) until they’re good and ready to go it
alone.

Yet, they
know which candidate will make our nation fiscally and energy independent, as
well as safe from terrorists whose children are the total opposite and would
blow themselves up in a heartbeat for what they believe is a greater good. This is not a good scenario, given Generation
Y’s know-it-all tendencies, and seeing how it’s not what you know, but who gave
you the information in the first place.

As of
2002, according to a study by the American
Enterprise Institute
,

A new study of the party
affiliations of college professors proves a massive gulf between Right and
Left. Liberal professors often outnumber conservatives by ten to one and
sometimes by more than twenty to one on campus.

“Today’s colleges and universities
are not, to use the current buzzword, ‘diverse’ places. Quite the opposite:
They are virtual one-party states, ideological monopolies, badly unbalanced
ecosystems. They are utterly flightless birds with only one wing to flap. They
do not, when it comes to political and cultural ideas, look like
America,” concludes the study.”

If today’s
students are receiving a plateful of liberal mush, and have little relevant
life experience with regard to the everyday issues adults (who support them)
have to deal with, are they ready for the responsibility of swinging the
election their way? If good things happen later, are they mature enough to take
advantage of those good times? And if bad things happen, are they going to be
mature enough to accept the responsibility for their bad decision?

Is it too
much of a generalization to say the Generation Y has no conscience?

Between the
YouTube generation’s tendency to proudly post their
criminal activities online for all to see, while being too seemingly stupid to
realize their posts are “evidence,” should we be celebrating the fact that
during these challenging times, we are putting our country’s future in their
hands? Don’t get me wrong; not all young people are narcissistic punks, but way
too many are and the knowledge that they may determine the future direction of
this nation is a bit unsettling.

So, it’s a
given. Election 2008 is all about them.
If all goes well, pat yourselves on the back (as we know you will). But if all goes wrong, fingers will be
pointed at probably one of the most ignorant, yet full-of-themselves generations
to come along in some time.

Generation
Y: you’d better do your homework. If you
fail this test, you won’t be passed anyway as to not hurt your feelings. You
will be graded harshly and I doubt anyone will take you seriously again.