this is a procrastination blog post.
i've been thinking the past couple days about how the next generation(s) will rebel against mine. i couldn't really think of any way my generation is extreme in a bad way. how blind i am to the acceptable weaknesses of my cultural generation! but tonight i came up with my prediction. i think the next generation will reject our high importance placed on emotional health. i think they will "go back to the land" and embrace hard work and determination. i think they will mirror the great depression generation.
this flies in the face of ideas that the next generation will be more technically advanced, more leisurely, and more connected electronically. i think that their motto will be: "suck it up, life is pain"
i think chap clark's book hurt has a good point. i've been noticing more lately how much pain the high schoolers are in. it debilitates them. what will they learn to do with their pain that they are so well-equipped to describe?
pain is as old as humanity. there are more ways to "deal with pain" than there ever have been. socialized health care (mental and physical), government programs, psychologist, psychiatrists, churches, etc... when will we figure out how to fill the hole inside of us? each generation gets to deal with the same things the previous did. technology cripples us in many ways, as well as making convenience an expected part of life. people freak out when the power goes out for a day. or when they lose the internet (ahem) good luck to them. we are partially responsible for making sure they are so well-equipped for the future they are inheriting... we are leaving them the world in the shape it is in. lets try to distill the wisdom we've gained and avoid the pain that isn't necessarily necessary.
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