The Next "Greatest" Generation?

As a young adult in 2009, I may naturally relate more easily to ninety-five year-old men at the nursing home I volunteer in than my own parents. This understandably sounds outlandish at best--but it is also true. Over the next several weeks, I am going to explore a common theme in the study of generational politics: how the current "Millennial" generation (born between 1982 and 2003) actually resembles the GI (a.k.a. the "Greatest" or "World War II") generation more so than any other generation of the past eighty years.

It seems rather counterintuitive to consider today's young people on par with the generation that defeated Nazi Germany--the apparent differences are infinite. But many political scientists and sociologists view this as exactly the case. As it turns out, many crucial similarities exist between the two seemingly polar opposite generations--a sense of civic duty, trust of government, and the confrontation of massive domestic and global challenges. Personally, I am fascinated that we can use historical patterns to predict the future. If the current generation can be evaluated as a political force, the direction of the country and the world can be more fully understood. What will be the political impact of another truly "great" generation? Will the United States lean left, right, or towards the center? Will the future technological advancements of the highly educated Millennials come primarily from the public or private sector? Taking historical context into consideration, will a culturally renewed faith in government lead expansions of federal power mirroring those of the 1930s and 40s? Or will, given the current political structure, this generation manifest its greatness in a different political way? Essentially, if the Millennial Generation is the next "greatest" one, how will the nation reflect this greatness?

Adolescents and War

An excerpt from Brian K. Barber’s book entitled “Adolescents And War” vividly depicts the negative effects violence has on our youth and adolescents today, and how it can either facilitate, or more commonly impede, their transition from adolescence to adulthood. Barber illustrates how violence causes youth to “[have] a negative sense of the future” and “can thwart their ability to thrive in postconflict society” (p.178). He also notes instances where the youth, which covers the broad spectrum of individuals in their twenties to eight-year-olds, refer to themselves as children to avoid any possible correlation to adulthood. Barber basically addresses the problem of adolescents’ quaky transition into adulthood, and how the growing problem of violence in our society is partly to blame for this mishap. By drawing a direct correlation between the stress war and other violence-related events incur, Barber accounts for the youth who have been “significantly handicapped” as a result and ventures into what “the psychological and social mechanisms are that underlie this damage” (p.25). I like Barber’s approach to this issue because instead of solely blaming adolescents for their deplorable actions in a post-conflict society, he takes into consideration all the underlying factors that could’ve contributed to their downward slide into a deleterious lifestyle. In addition, he also ventures to explicate their inability to smoothly transition from adolescence to adulthood in terms that not only hold them accountable, but also blame the footprint society has left on them as well. This broad-spectrum way of thinking fully accounts for the transition problem from youth to adulthood many youths are facing today.

The Death of Conservatism?

Perhaps its time we start preparing for the burial of the big old elephant in the room. The elephant I'm referring to is the symbol of the GOP, a party that took a huge hit in the 2008 election and may continue to loosen its stronghold over American politics according to the author of this Op-Ed piece from the New York Times (May 13, 2008). Columnist Bob Herbert asserts that the rising millennial generation is poised to become the first generation to do less well economically than their parents, and that these so-called "millennials" are looking to government to help lessen the blow. According to a study composed by a progressive think tank, millennials have become disenchanted with the conservative viewpoint that government is the problem, and are instead looking for a more interventionist approach to tackle issues such as education, health care, jobs, and all-around economic growth.

What interested me most about this piece is how it corresponded with Jean M. Twenge's argument in her book, Generation Me, that the millennial generation has astronomically high expectations for themselves despite the harsh realities they face. It make sense that millennials, instilled with a strong sense of entitlement, are expecting the government to help them meet these expectations. While I support the fact that the millennials are starting to hold their government accountable for helping combat the myriad issues they face, I can't help but wonder if Gen Me is only setting itself up for disappointment by assuming that the government can provide a quick fix. The expectations on the current administration are so high that it seems Gen Me is only priming their elected leaders for failure.

The Evolution of the Quarter-Life Crisis

In August, the unemployment rate spiked to 9.7%--the highest it has been in 26 years. Horror stories abound of college graduates competing for paralegal jobs. A Michigan State University report eloquently summarizes, "In two short years, we have moved from a zenith of exuberant and aggressive college hiring, through a period of cautious optimism, to a place of quiet desperation."

In short, the time is ripe for quarter-life crises as college graduates find themselves without promising job offers, which leads to struggles with identity and future goals. In the coming weeks, I will be researching and blogging about the origin and evolution of the quarter-life crisis.

The idea of the quarter-life crisis began to interest me as it became more prevalent this past year. From popular movies like Post-Grad to my sister's endeavors at finding a job in New York after graduating from college, it seems like every twenty-something is struggling, particularly because of the current state of the economy. I think this is an issue of significance because while there are valid reasons behind the quarter-life crisis, it seems almost like an excuse for postponing adulthood. I'm wondering what effect the quarter-life crisis will have on generations to come as well and if there are ways to combat the quarter-life crisis. Will the family structure change because young adults will wait to settle down until their mid-thirties or forties? What is the effect of the quarter-life crisis on popular culture? Are there any solutions? These are some of the questions I will be exploring in the weeks to come.

The Peter Pan Syndrome

Envision a world where adulthood was an optional state of mind; where responsibility was a nagging notion of the past; where we could all dwell in the blissful realm of Neverlands we’ve mentally erected as refuge from the pressures of society. In actuality, a profuse amount of individuals have encapsulated themselves in this state of interminable adolescence—a medical condition known in pop culture as the Peter Pan Syndrome. Formally dubbed as Puer Aeternus, this condition is attributed to young adults and adults alike who haven’t fully matured--both mentally and emotionally--out of their adolescent state, and still possess a maternal attachment to their care givers. In what is hopefully the first of many posts to come, I will be discussing this Peter Pan Syndrome that is afflicting a substantial chunk of individuals in this day and age. Though society pressures and forces these individuals to be weaned off the nipples of life, the question that peaks my interest is what are the social, economic, and political factors that contribute to this condition? In other words, I want to know how are we, as a society, responsible for these individuals’ inability to cope with growing up, and, if possible, by pinpointing the source of this disorder, can we prevent future cases of this from occurring?

Generation We?

We are responsible. We are tolerant. We are well-educated. But are we? Eric Greenberg and Karl Weber, the authors of Generation We, think so. In their kid-friendly book (complete with charts, pictures, and easy-to-read font), they argue that it is the responsibility of people born between 1978-2000 to take up the call of duty and fix global problems. According to Greenberg, we are the best qualified because we are the people coming of age in a diverse and technologically savvy world. Greenberg's argument is flattering and especially refreshing after reading Twenge's "Generation Me." Some of Greenberg's points are exceptionally foretelling, especially when he comments that Generation We has effected national elections in profound ways. His book was published one month before Obama's victory in November. However, I think the one flaw in his reasoning is that he gives Generation Me too much credit. As some people pointed out in our last class, teenagers often do volunteer work because they're fulfilling a school requirement or hoping to round out their resume.

Is Steroid Addiction A Risk For Young Athletes?

Steroids can help an athlete feel indestructible, placing them upon a pedestal where they believe no one can take them down. Being an athlete, I believe guilty players make a mockery of what real athletes should be: honest, hardworking, responsible and intelligent. Young athletes are starting to use steroids out of fright and insecurity, as many coaches and parents are putting too much pressure on them. According to this article, steroid use could be life threatening. It can lead to depression causing athletes to become suicidal. In today's society, cheating has become almost acceptable when instead it should be firmly punished. Why can't Athletes realize that fame and fortune comes from hard work and discipline not an injection?

Our Personal Neverlands

The picture to the right is a mere snippet of the grandeur Michael Jackson's Neverland once possessed. Erected to mirror the realm Peter Pan and his buddies found refuge in from a world leading them on the dreadful path to adulthood, the late Michael Jackson in a way let himself succumb to the seductive allure of the miniature theme park and what it stood for. In reality, his erection of such a fantastical abode epitomized his inability to cope with growing up--both physically and mentally, spiritually and emotionally. I feel as if there is a little Michael Jackson in us all that wants to hold on to the grandeur those awkward, puss-filled pimple years of our adolescents, in retrospect, possess in our eyes as we stand on the border between teenage years and adulthood. In contemporary society, this unwillingness to take that leap into adulthood has been dubbed as nostalgia. The fact of the matter is that we need to plunge into adulthood in order to maintain a healthy lifestyle, image, and relationship with society; stutter stepping into adulthood could prove to be detrimental to our development as a society on a whole in the years to come.

The unanticipated control of Birth Control

Birth control, also known as the pill, revolutionized sex in the 60's; but who knew it would now revolutionize how women select their mates. Alexandra Alvergne, lead author covering the birth control study, suggests that "the use of the pill...might induce women to mate with otherwise less-preferred partners, which might have important consequences for mate choice and reproductive outcomes." Ovulating women naturally are attracted to "masculine" men (chiseled jaw lines, muscular body) and men are naturally attracted to ovulating women. However, because women on the pill no longer ovulate normally, it has altered the way in which they select their mates. The study conjectures that women are choosing partners with weaker qualities, which might result to genetically disadvantaged babies.

The scientific advancement of the pill has allowed couples to engage in a more safe and responsible intimate relationships. But now, 40+ years later, ongoing studies have shown that the pill has a quite unsettling long-term side effect on how women mate and reproduce. Will the next generation, offsprings of the pill users, look uglier? Will they be physically weaker? What can we expect from the following generation? Additionally the article mentions briefly about how people are meeting and interacting with each other in a completely new realm: online dating sites. This phenomenon also adds to the changing mating patterns the pill has presented. I wonder, to what extent is new science/technology changing human social patterns improving human life? If it is not improving, then why?

Achieving Manhood

Rudyard Kipling's poem "If" ultimately suggests that finding the perfect balance between fantasy and sensibility allows one to define himself as a man. This perfect balance, however, seems nonexistent. The criteria that the poet presents are very difficult –practically impossible – to achieve, suggesting that becoming a man will never happen. The poem is written in a very heavy and shrewd tone, making the reader feel infantile and discouraged from even attempting to achieve equal wisdom. The poet assumes that being a man means that “Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,” which any youngster knows is impossible.

If I were the son that this poem was addressed to, I would feel trapped in boyhood. However, there is something in the poet’s tone that brings about hope. The possibilities and promises that are offered seem much greater than the adversities that first must be overcome. This, I believe, is everyone’s battle in maturation: we are presented with such hardships in life, yet it is when we battle through them and succeed that we grow.

Toddlers and Tiaras

The documentary, "Toddlers and Tiaras" gives a behind-the-scene look at beauty pageants. These young girls have it all: good hair, gorgeous nails, perfect make-up. Is all of this too much? In my opinion, these parents are just living vicariously trying to make up for their unfulfilling childhood. Young girls should not be worrying about getting their legs shaved or wearing fake eyelashes! Also, dressing these children in small, revealing clothing only makes them grow up too fast. Don't these parents realize how damaging this will be to the girls when they grow up? Imagine how image absorbed and vain they will be in the future.

A Bad Case of Nostalgia

Sega Genesis. All That. The Backstreet Boys. These are all representations of nostalgic figures in our past. Whether it's your favorite video gaming system, a television show, or your adolescent years jam from back in the day, Generation Y--roughly ranging from ages six to twenty-nine--is definitely a sucker for the "pop culture of the late '90s and early 2000s that makes them wistful." Though it has been a proven trend for nostalgia to hit generations towards their older years, authors like David Browne--a New York Times writer--theorize that the September 11 attacks forced our generation to grow up faster, and in turn sparked a frenzy for us to desperately clutch onto any menial form of identity we can get our paws on. Although I do admit the September 11 attacks did trigger a shock wave whose reverberations can still be felt today, I don’t think that it would be equitable to pin our early case of nostalgia on those attacks alone. In contemporary society, we have done away with an exuberant amount of traditions that we once held dear for centuries such as the downslide from the extended family to the nuclear family to the divorced/separated family. Since our generation has made such radical shifts in the little time we’ve been here, it’s no wonder why nostalgia has crept up on us in our early years.

Gosselins Reach Truce for Twins' Birthdays

(8 Oct. 2009) Isn’t it just fascinating that someone’s name could be misspelled on a birthday cake? Oh. My. God. Jon Gosselin (who is he, again?) was, like, able to see his two daughters on their birthday. His soon-to-be ex-wife Kate, like, did not kick him out of the house.

Wow. I feel enlightened. Picking through bits and pieces of People magazine can be entertaining at times, I’ll admit. But one thing I’ll never fully comprehend is how articles such as this one make headlines.

Yet despite the brain cells I may have lost reading about the Gosselins, it did get me thinking about divorce and its effect on the youths of our nation. In a society where break-ups have become just as commonplace as marriage, how are people coping with everyone from step-parents to step-siblings to step-cousins? Sometimes divorce may be the best immediate answer to a failing marriage, but are there any ways to detect and avoid a hasty break-up?

Or are children becoming immune to divorce as it becomes an expected outcome of marriage?

Growing Old: A Journey of Self-Discovery

Four babushka dolls in checkered cloth caught my eye today. Just below them read the words, “Growing Old” in bold red font on the book cover. I couldn’t help but stop and take a look on my way out of Green Library. Flipping through the table of contents, I noted chapters including discussion on everything from "dying usefully" to "narcissus and the fear of becoming wrinkled." The author, Danielle Quinodoz, is a psychoanalyst in Geneva with an extensive amount of clinical experience working with the elderly. I believe her psychoanalyst twist and personal introspection would prove an interesting read.

Anyways, I thought about just heading to the dorm for dinner before the dining hall closed. I was planning on glancing at the book another time.

Signs of age and aging surround us every day, yet we hardly ever give ourselves the chance to stop to notice them. Before you know it, we’ll all have graduated from college, established careers, and hit retirement.

Are there certain ways to take in aging slowly, one day at a time, so that we may prepare ourselves for the appearance of a wrinkle? Thinking about it now, I’d be a little nervous to say the least when I notice my first gray strand of hair.

But we've all got time, right? Salt and pepper hair is a long way away...

" Ritualized Homosexuality in a Nacirema Subculture"

It's often considered good advice to "walk a mile in someone else's shoes," and this article certainly offers an interesting approach to doing so (sorry I couldn't find an html version, the link to the pdf is in the upper right corner). Michael Kimmel, under the clever guise of an anthropological observer, offers a witty, stinging, and highly amusing satire of fraternity initation practices, and coming of age rituals in general. While some of the images described are definitely not the prettiest, and are chosen more for shock value than practicality (I for one could've gone several lifetimes without knowing what an "elephant walk is" and been more than content to do so), it certainly forces a new level of reflection on some of the ridiculous things we've been conditioned to put up with for various levels of acceptance.