Its become popular to give each generation a nickname, such as the "the lost generation", " the Baby boomers", "Generation X", "Generation Y", etc. Some people have been wondering what to call this generation. I have a suggestion:
Generation NOW.
Why the emphasis? This generation wants everything, well, now. Right now. This second. Everything has to be flashier, quicker, better, everything more and greater. And we want it now. We have no patience, and no attention span. We exist in the now, never giving thought to tomorrow, or the eventual consequences of our actions, as long as we get what we want right now. It's also all about ourselves. All about Me, Myself, and I. Me, me, me, me, me, me. Now, now, now, now, now. You can see it in everything. Attitudes about school and work. In the decline of morals and work ethic. We are the spoiled, fat children gluttonously wallowing in our predecessor's wealth (which is now about gone?). Squandering the national fortune.
We are characterized by impulsivity, greed, a lack of vision, foresight, and ambition, cheap morals and priciples, nonexistant honor, pop culture, etc
We are Generation Now.
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Monday, April 20, 2009
Wake Up, the Members of My Nation!
Some relevant lyrics from the theme song of a tween's tv show, that I believe are realted to the state of our nation (though these lyrics are rather positive and meant to be motivating/inspiring):
"I Know
its time
To raise the hand that draws the line
And be so wonderful
Golden sunshine
I know somehow it's gonna be mine
And feel so wonderful
Show me what you can become
There's a dream in everyone
And it's all real
I'm telling you just how I feel
So wake up the members of my nation
It's your time to be
There's no chance unless you take one
And it's time
to see the brighter side of every situation
Somethings are meant to be
So give it your best and leave the rest to me"
-"leave it all to me", Miranda Cosgrove (and Drake Bell)
Indeed, wake up! There are so many problems, how does one tackle them all? Often God is the one who is turned to in a time of need, who is known to say "leave the rest to me." Who else is regarded by the people of this nation as someone who will take care of your worries?
President Obama.
But people often forget the "give it your best" part that comes before "leave it the rest to me", and it has become "leave it ALL to me", and that is a mighty burden, which President Obama, being human, cannot uphold and make disappear with a snap of his fingers, which, frankly, is what a disturbingly large amount of people have expected. They expected nirvana to descend upon inauguration. I've seen, on tv, various men and women smiling happily as they described how they wont have to pay their bills ever again, how their debt will disappear, how they will be able to by all the nice things they want...when Barack Obama becomes President. Is this even a logical, sane mode of thought? Have they loss touch with reality? Or have they let eloquent speeches and emotions get the better of them?
So it is no wonder that not even a month into office, that President Obama's ratings took a dramatic plunge (normally the "honeymoon" period, as its called when a new president is taken in to the time the festive spirit wears off, is three months) because the economic crisis didnt disappear. This is ridiculous. No one could make it go away in any shorter than...a year, and I think I'm being incredibly generous with this (I admit) very amateur estimate. This is simply not being fair to the man. I think this reaction is a side-effect of what I call "Generation Now" (another post on this later). Everyone wants what they want NOW. They have no attention span, and no patience. Which is ultimately dangerous as it leads to a lack of crital thinking, and an increase in bad decisions from impulsivity and impatience.
It also means an increase in laziness, as people are less willing to work for the things they want, which can be seen in the multitude of giveaways, lotteries, sales, etc, etc, fad diets, pills, everyone wants something for nothing, or as little as possible. Or my peers at school for instance (they may change as they grow older, as we're all just 16 or so, but from looking at college kids and the workforce, its not likely), they want the best grade for the smallest amount of effort, they dont care as long as theyre passing(or if their grade is high enough for mommie and daddie to not ground them). They dont want to do these things to learn for its own sake, they just want to go on the internet (er, guilty, but I blog, they chat...yeah, I know its not that different), or text, or socialize in some other manner....I swaer that's all they live for! To talk endlessly about themselves. But the point is, they have no ambition, they are content with being mediocre, and so mediocre is what they'll get out of life.
What you put into life = What you get out of life
Besides the occasional lucky bastard who wins the lottery or such. But who wants to depend on fortune for their happiness? She's a fickle bitch! Better not.
That's another part of my pessimism "Show me what you could become", and Im always disappointed by what people show me, because it never matches up with their grand dreams. No one who lived a life of ease has a name worth remembering, and never accomplished anything...except perhaps being good parents, but even this accomplishment grows rarer.
So laziness....usually means the rest of us have to pick up the slack, such as taxdollars paying for welfare mothers. Some people actually need these programs. But there are so many who abuse it, my mother qualified for it, but instead she busted her ass to provide for me and my brother, and we managed to get by, but I know the three of us are scarred by the years of poverty and the type of people that were in our life because of our desperate situation. My mom told me once about a woman she knew who only had one kid and was on welfare, and this woman wore designer clothes and lived in a nice little apartment. My Mom has the most pathetic wardrobe of anyone I've ever known, still. Ninety percent of it was composed of scrubs she wore for work. It makes me angry that she works so hard to have so little, while this, this, woman feasts off the fat of society. Yes, Im jealous, and angry. It isnt fair. Nor to other famillies and those who work hard to have nothing. Survival shouldnt be so difficult. Its excess that people should have to strive for. Or what often occurs is that many sacrifice necessities for luxuries. Someone who drives a mercedes could live in a shitty one room apartment, but that's their choice. So the intent with these programs is noble. But they're abused, because they make things too easy. And make people lazy.
So lazy, spoiled children feel entitled to things. As do the people of America feel they are entitled to things from the federal government. Not so. A federal gov'ts only obligation is protection fro outside forces (through the military) and to protect your rights (as listed in the bill of rights and constitution). Your STATE government is the one that is supposed to do more. But....the people feel entitled. So the gov't gives. And just as the saying with god said "the lord giveth, the lord taketh away" so it becomes with the gov't.
The more the government gives to you, the more they can take away.
The more the government takes care of you, the more you depend on them, and the more they control you.
This is the "give it your best" part of the lyrics. Or, the philosophy of Rugged Individualism the founding fathers held. It means to provide for yourself, to pull your own weight, to earn your luxuries. You appreciate them more anyway.
So, a review:
What you put into life = What you get out of life
I also want to point out briefly the lyric "There's no chance unless you take one." I'll be talking about it in another post. So that's all on this. So Wake UP! Wake up your friends, inspire some ambition in your life. What do you want? Earn it! Nothing is free, and every gift comes with strings. Oh, and tell them to read this blog, warning: may inspire critical thinking....
Wanna hear the song? Here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZTEdyb69CIE the video itself is childish (its from a children/teen channel, so what do you expect?), but the song is upbeat and poppy.
"I Know
its time
To raise the hand that draws the line
And be so wonderful
Golden sunshine
I know somehow it's gonna be mine
And feel so wonderful
Show me what you can become
There's a dream in everyone
And it's all real
I'm telling you just how I feel
So wake up the members of my nation
It's your time to be
There's no chance unless you take one
And it's time
to see the brighter side of every situation
Somethings are meant to be
So give it your best and leave the rest to me"
-"leave it all to me", Miranda Cosgrove (and Drake Bell)
Indeed, wake up! There are so many problems, how does one tackle them all? Often God is the one who is turned to in a time of need, who is known to say "leave the rest to me." Who else is regarded by the people of this nation as someone who will take care of your worries?
President Obama.
But people often forget the "give it your best" part that comes before "leave it the rest to me", and it has become "leave it ALL to me", and that is a mighty burden, which President Obama, being human, cannot uphold and make disappear with a snap of his fingers, which, frankly, is what a disturbingly large amount of people have expected. They expected nirvana to descend upon inauguration. I've seen, on tv, various men and women smiling happily as they described how they wont have to pay their bills ever again, how their debt will disappear, how they will be able to by all the nice things they want...when Barack Obama becomes President. Is this even a logical, sane mode of thought? Have they loss touch with reality? Or have they let eloquent speeches and emotions get the better of them?
So it is no wonder that not even a month into office, that President Obama's ratings took a dramatic plunge (normally the "honeymoon" period, as its called when a new president is taken in to the time the festive spirit wears off, is three months) because the economic crisis didnt disappear. This is ridiculous. No one could make it go away in any shorter than...a year, and I think I'm being incredibly generous with this (I admit) very amateur estimate. This is simply not being fair to the man. I think this reaction is a side-effect of what I call "Generation Now" (another post on this later). Everyone wants what they want NOW. They have no attention span, and no patience. Which is ultimately dangerous as it leads to a lack of crital thinking, and an increase in bad decisions from impulsivity and impatience.
It also means an increase in laziness, as people are less willing to work for the things they want, which can be seen in the multitude of giveaways, lotteries, sales, etc, etc, fad diets, pills, everyone wants something for nothing, or as little as possible. Or my peers at school for instance (they may change as they grow older, as we're all just 16 or so, but from looking at college kids and the workforce, its not likely), they want the best grade for the smallest amount of effort, they dont care as long as theyre passing(or if their grade is high enough for mommie and daddie to not ground them). They dont want to do these things to learn for its own sake, they just want to go on the internet (er, guilty, but I blog, they chat...yeah, I know its not that different), or text, or socialize in some other manner....I swaer that's all they live for! To talk endlessly about themselves. But the point is, they have no ambition, they are content with being mediocre, and so mediocre is what they'll get out of life.
What you put into life = What you get out of life
Besides the occasional lucky bastard who wins the lottery or such. But who wants to depend on fortune for their happiness? She's a fickle bitch! Better not.
That's another part of my pessimism "Show me what you could become", and Im always disappointed by what people show me, because it never matches up with their grand dreams. No one who lived a life of ease has a name worth remembering, and never accomplished anything...except perhaps being good parents, but even this accomplishment grows rarer.
So laziness....usually means the rest of us have to pick up the slack, such as taxdollars paying for welfare mothers. Some people actually need these programs. But there are so many who abuse it, my mother qualified for it, but instead she busted her ass to provide for me and my brother, and we managed to get by, but I know the three of us are scarred by the years of poverty and the type of people that were in our life because of our desperate situation. My mom told me once about a woman she knew who only had one kid and was on welfare, and this woman wore designer clothes and lived in a nice little apartment. My Mom has the most pathetic wardrobe of anyone I've ever known, still. Ninety percent of it was composed of scrubs she wore for work. It makes me angry that she works so hard to have so little, while this, this, woman feasts off the fat of society. Yes, Im jealous, and angry. It isnt fair. Nor to other famillies and those who work hard to have nothing. Survival shouldnt be so difficult. Its excess that people should have to strive for. Or what often occurs is that many sacrifice necessities for luxuries. Someone who drives a mercedes could live in a shitty one room apartment, but that's their choice. So the intent with these programs is noble. But they're abused, because they make things too easy. And make people lazy.
So lazy, spoiled children feel entitled to things. As do the people of America feel they are entitled to things from the federal government. Not so. A federal gov'ts only obligation is protection fro outside forces (through the military) and to protect your rights (as listed in the bill of rights and constitution). Your STATE government is the one that is supposed to do more. But....the people feel entitled. So the gov't gives. And just as the saying with god said "the lord giveth, the lord taketh away" so it becomes with the gov't.
The more the government gives to you, the more they can take away.
The more the government takes care of you, the more you depend on them, and the more they control you.
This is the "give it your best" part of the lyrics. Or, the philosophy of Rugged Individualism the founding fathers held. It means to provide for yourself, to pull your own weight, to earn your luxuries. You appreciate them more anyway.
So, a review:
What you put into life = What you get out of life
I also want to point out briefly the lyric "There's no chance unless you take one." I'll be talking about it in another post. So that's all on this. So Wake UP! Wake up your friends, inspire some ambition in your life. What do you want? Earn it! Nothing is free, and every gift comes with strings. Oh, and tell them to read this blog, warning: may inspire critical thinking....
Wanna hear the song? Here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZTEdyb69CIE the video itself is childish (its from a children/teen channel, so what do you expect?), but the song is upbeat and poppy.
Marriage: violation of separation of Church and State? (March 5th)
For the past few weeks we've been reading Pride and Prejudice in English, the theme for this time being, obviously, marriage. We were having our regular class discussion and one of my classmates brought up the legal aspects of marriage, and another digressed farther by bringing up the sort-of recent overturning of gay-marriage in California. The rest of the class heartily engaged in the following argument of whether this act was wrong, and whether gay-marriage itself was right. I didn't participate, for the argument was long-exhausted and ridiculous to me. No one brought up the idea of whether marriage itself was right, as a legal institution, as I might assume that's what the LGBT community is fighting for- the legal benefits that their romantic interests indirectly exclude them from. I say indirectly because they're allowed to marry...just someone of the opposite gender. Not even a straight person is allowed to marry within gender. I just thought to myself that marriage is technically a business agreement, a legally binding contract between two people, but then there is the religious foundation. You, from my understanding, are bound to this other person spiritually in the eyes of "God", until death do you part (well, uh, theoretically, anyway). And most, if not all of the resistance to gay marriage came from the religious (about that phrase in the bible saying marriage is between chicks and dudes...well, the bible says A LOT of things, just pick out what works for you and ignore the rest), and this religious animosity, if I may call it that, was great enough to interfere with state affairs; namely the passing/overturning/creating/granting of the legal benefits/rights to those who don't want to be restricted to only the opposite gender, and wished to be legally bound to their same-gender darling. This is Church interfering with State affairs. Indirectly of course. I wonder if it a small part of the resistance was trying to stop the same gender couples as being on par with the "normal" couples.To be a couple like heterosexuals are couples. But that's not really not what I'm getting at. Marriage is alright, and anyone who wants to do because they think it'll make them happier, then great! Personally its something I'm not and never will be interested in. But Marriage should not be a legal institution. It is deeply entrenched in religious tradition and sentiment, it is a part of the church, and so should not also be a part of the state. And besides, why is the government involved in this area of our personal lives? What reason could it have to need to set laws and restrictions and this traditional form of romantic fulfillment? Why would anyone want the government and ugly legalities bound up in their most personal of relationships? It should not be a legal institution not only because the church has no place in the state- but the state has no place in the church! Marriage is wonderful as a religious institution, when you think of it as being spiritually bound to the one you love in the faith you hold equally dear. Having the government control who can and cannot be joining in holy matrimony has only brought about unnecessary grief and fustration for everyone, no matter what side they were on. We have a laisse-faire economy, wouldn't it be equally useful to apply the principle of "let the people do as they will" for our romantic and personal lives? Say to the state: butt out!
Friday, April 17, 2009
A Book Everyone Should Read
The Demon-Haunted World: science as a candle in the dark, by Carl Sagan.
Here is a review from another reader:
"Demons, UFO's, the Loch Ness Monster, Big Foot, fairies and the like are all investigated in this incredible non-fiction book by the late Carl Sagan. Pseudoscience, and those who perpetuate it, find their place in today's society among those who want to believe in the impossible. In fact, Sagan too admits that he would love to find life on other planets, among other things (he was, after all, an advocate of SETI, the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence). However, science today has not been able to prove that such things exist. As the book states, "the siren song of unreason is not just a cultural wrong but a dangerous plunge into darkness that threatens our most basic freedoms."
This book challenges the reader to critically scrutinize information professed by supposed experts, and be more of a skeptic. Sagan states early on in the book that "some 95 percent of Americans are scientifically illiterate." By using the scientific method combined with a little bit of logic and common sense, one should find that it is much more difficult to be mentally taken advantage of by pseudoscience "experts." Intelligent inquiry and analysis of information presented, and those presenting it, proves to be an invaluable tool.
Nonetheless, stories regarding crop circles, area 51, and other such nonsense still abound. Sagan runs through various examples and places them under the hypothetical microscope. Once examined more closely, most of these theories and fallacious postulations crumble quite easily. What some people don't realize, and what Sagan points out, is that things just as mysterious and awe-inspiring can be found all around us, and they are indeed factual and are being investigated by those in science fields. We need not look elsewhere to find mysticism and intrigue. People are still trying to completely understand viruses and the molecular building blocks in gas in space, and if people were equally as drawn to understand real phenomena as they are fallacious theories, then more people would be working to unravel the true mysteries that are much more worthy of our efforts.
I truly feel that this is a book everyone should read. Not only does Sagan do an excellent job of attempting to popularize science, but he also tries to teach people how to think for themselves rather than to be force-fed information from less-than-trustworthy sources. The demons in this demon haunted world are both those who perpetuate such celebrated fallacies, as well as those who believe them without question. Sagan attempts to teach, in this book, how to distinguish "real science from the cheap imitation." Indeed, he does just that. "
-CreppyT, creepy tendencies (from the amazon site)
The opinions of the reviewer above DO reflect mine. Which is why I picked it. Sometimes I feel that we risk sliding into a second dark ages, and it terrifies me to see logic neglected and abused such. At school some hope is re-alighted by my teachers, but is refuted by my peers by some show of ignorance or laziness. It's a cliched question but still I want to say "What is this world coming to?!"
Here is a review from another reader:
"Demons, UFO's, the Loch Ness Monster, Big Foot, fairies and the like are all investigated in this incredible non-fiction book by the late Carl Sagan. Pseudoscience, and those who perpetuate it, find their place in today's society among those who want to believe in the impossible. In fact, Sagan too admits that he would love to find life on other planets, among other things (he was, after all, an advocate of SETI, the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence). However, science today has not been able to prove that such things exist. As the book states, "the siren song of unreason is not just a cultural wrong but a dangerous plunge into darkness that threatens our most basic freedoms."
This book challenges the reader to critically scrutinize information professed by supposed experts, and be more of a skeptic. Sagan states early on in the book that "some 95 percent of Americans are scientifically illiterate." By using the scientific method combined with a little bit of logic and common sense, one should find that it is much more difficult to be mentally taken advantage of by pseudoscience "experts." Intelligent inquiry and analysis of information presented, and those presenting it, proves to be an invaluable tool.
Nonetheless, stories regarding crop circles, area 51, and other such nonsense still abound. Sagan runs through various examples and places them under the hypothetical microscope. Once examined more closely, most of these theories and fallacious postulations crumble quite easily. What some people don't realize, and what Sagan points out, is that things just as mysterious and awe-inspiring can be found all around us, and they are indeed factual and are being investigated by those in science fields. We need not look elsewhere to find mysticism and intrigue. People are still trying to completely understand viruses and the molecular building blocks in gas in space, and if people were equally as drawn to understand real phenomena as they are fallacious theories, then more people would be working to unravel the true mysteries that are much more worthy of our efforts.
I truly feel that this is a book everyone should read. Not only does Sagan do an excellent job of attempting to popularize science, but he also tries to teach people how to think for themselves rather than to be force-fed information from less-than-trustworthy sources. The demons in this demon haunted world are both those who perpetuate such celebrated fallacies, as well as those who believe them without question. Sagan attempts to teach, in this book, how to distinguish "real science from the cheap imitation." Indeed, he does just that. "
-CreppyT, creepy tendencies (from the amazon site)
The opinions of the reviewer above DO reflect mine. Which is why I picked it. Sometimes I feel that we risk sliding into a second dark ages, and it terrifies me to see logic neglected and abused such. At school some hope is re-alighted by my teachers, but is refuted by my peers by some show of ignorance or laziness. It's a cliched question but still I want to say "What is this world coming to?!"
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