Cultural decline: not our fault!

Not too long ago I was treated to one of my father’s infamous rants about cultural decline: this one in particular regarding Lady Gaga’s drunken romp around the Yankees clubhouse. As he raved about her immodesty, her degenerate behavior, and her tarnishing of a team that has always been the classiest in baseball (guess he didn’t hear about Giambi, or Clemens, or Rodriguez…), he made one point that stood out among the rest: “You know, it just goes to show you how our country is in cultural decline.”

He’s right, our country is in cultural decline. And while many find it easy to point the finger of blame at contemporary youth, with the texting, and the facebooking, and the childhood obesity, don’t forget that the path downhill was paved by our forefathers (Sorry, Dad).

Many people today bemoan the lack of loyalty among contemporary youth when it comes to employment. Back in the day, your career was more than a means to an end, it meant you were part of an organization. You gave your labor, and they gave you a living wage. Why is it kids these days jump so quickly from job to job?

Maybe because “back in the day” was before Enron, and Madoff, and Goldman Sachs, and the culture of greed and robbery that contradicts everything we were taught about America growing up: that success comes to those that work hard. Or maybe it was because we saw our parents’ jobs shipped overseas. Maybe the culture thought, “If my company isn’t looking out for #1, someone has to.” Or maybe more and more people are starting to find out life wasn’t what they bargained for (raise your hand if you graduated from college and are still unemployed).

Critics bemoan youth’s obsession with the lifestyles of the rich and famous. The Paris Hiltons, Spencer Pratts, and Kardashians of the world are no longer the examples of ignorant, spoiled spawn of the privileged that were meant to be greeted with scorn, but rather idols that are worshiped at the temple of excess. Instead of holding onto time-tested family values, our generation hails materialism and shallow superficiality. See if your grandparents can stomach one episode of The Hills or The Jersey Shore.

But look closer and you’ll find that America’s obsession with wealth and glamour has always been there. Yeah, rappers have songs about fancy cars, but so did Janis Joplin. Contemporary culture may worship Brad Pitt, Miley Cyrus, and the other empty vessels of Planet Hollywood, but how is that any different from America’s obsession with Marilyn Monroe, Audrey Hepburn, or the Rat Pack? This country has always held up wealth and fame as the most important of values.  The only difference is that thanks to louder broadcast media, today it’s more obvious.

Another consistent complaint is the lack of interest the youth of America have in politics. People in the 18-29 demographic consistently come out in low numbers in elections while the older crowd consistently shows them up. It’s gotten to the point where we have Puff Daddy on TV telling America’s future leaders that it comes down to vote or die. The generation of our parents had the anti-war movement, the civil rights movement, heroes of activism that changed the world for the better. How come kids these days just don’t care?

Maybe because our generation grew up with the candidates who answered to lobbyists, the cable TV mudslingers, a media that seizes on sex scandals instead of tackling issues, and a litany of toxins that has bred cynicism among an entire mass of Americans when it comes to politics. It’s not just young people who say they hate politics and politicians these days, it’s everyone.

No matter what era it is, society will constantly bemoan the decline of youth. Whether it be Elvis, or the hippies, or video games, or MTV, or just general anxiety about the future, someone will always be asking, “What’s up with kids these days?” But youth is a reflection of society, and as our culture free-falls into a downward spiral, so do we.

Photo by peopleofwalmart.com (top) and Brian Auer (bottom)