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)

What do you think?

Photo Credit: daveduarte

By Ian Eshelman: “I grew up in an incredibly small town in southern Vermont. As a kid, I spent a great deal of my free time playing sports and making short movies. There wasn’t a whole lot to do in the rural farm land of So. VT, and eventually making films grew into my passion. In my free time, I was typically planning my next video project. While I was quite certain that I wanted to be a film director when I grew up, I have recently discovered that it is the creative side of filmmaking that drives me. I am now only weeks away from graduation at the University of Vermont with a political science major and business minor.”

A couple of months ago, I wrote an article right here on TNGG about Gen Y’s place in the corporate world.  In that article, I talked about how Gen Y are the leaders of tomorrow, and that companies that want to attract great talent need to adapt their corporate cultures to make room for what’s important to Gen Y.

I recently attended a recruitment cocktail representing my employer.  The event was hosted by a Montreal university, and was open to marketing and business students from all the universities in the city.  I was excited to meet promising new talent and talk to candidates about their accomplishments and aspirations.  I couldn’t wait to discuss the direction of our industry with people around my own age.  I was waiting for a refreshing point of view.

What I got was a lot of people who led with the question, “What do you have to offer me?”

Seriously, Gen Y?  In this economy, in an industry where the competition is ferocious, that’s how you open when talking to the person who could potentially hire you?  By asking what he can do for you?  I know we weren’t born yet, but I think we’d do well to remember and re-apply a certain famous speech by John F. Kennedy.

I kept hoping I was just running through a bad string of encounters, but as time ticked by, and I talked to more people, the same conversation kept happening:  Directionless students who apparently expect companies to beg them to work for them, teach them everything they need to know about the field, and compensate them incredibly well.

I read the articles posted on this site, and in other places on the web, and I’m filled with pride at being a member of this generation. Then I go to an event like that and I have to wonder if maybe the group of people I’m so proud to be a part of isn’t really all that representative of the bigger picture.

Just as I was about to give up all hope on my generation, a guy walked up to me and shook my hand, and asked who I worked for.  I answered.  I told him a little bit about the company and the kinds of opportunities we had for students (given that this was apparently the only thing anyone really wanted to hear) and then asked him what he was interested in.  Every other time I asked that question, I was answered with either vague platitudes, uncertainty, or a look of fright.

This guy took me by surprise as he talked to me intelligently about two or three specialties that he was particularly interested in.  He talked about his experience having started up his own part time gig while in school.  He held up conversation about the industry, and gave actual opinions about where it was going instead of parroting a text book.  He knew that my company would be at this recruitment cocktail, and he had taken the time to look into what we were doing, and what direction we were taking and talked to me about that.  At the end of it all, he handed me his resume. It was a business-card sized CD-rom with a portfolio of his previous work. In short, I was impressed.

I was not impressed by the novelty of a tiny CD-rom.  I was impressed because this guy had put a hell of a lot more effort into this than anyone else I had met that night.  He had gone above and beyond the classroom and had taught himself the skills that make someone a star in our industry.

I’ve met a few other young people like him.  Notably, the team I built and manage.  They’re a fantastic group of young individuals that are intelligent, motivated and are willing to work for the praise that they rightly deserve.  However, in building that team, I also met many more people who were like those at that recruitment cocktail:  Lazy and entitled.

To my team: Thank you for allowing me to believe that Gen Y is not a walking stereotype (even if my belief is misguided).

To that guy from the recruitment cocktail: Whether with us, or with someone else, you’ll find a job, and you’ll be a rockstar.

To the rest of Gen Y:  Please wake up.  No one is going to serve up your opportunities on a silver platter.  You are graduating in a terrible economy, and you already have to contend with negative stereotypes.  You may be doing incredible things, but so are a lot of your peers. Don’t expect that you can rest on your accomplishments and succeed so easily.

To older generations:  I still believe in Gen Y’s potential to change the world.  Give us some time.  We’re still young.  We can still whip the lazy and entitled ones into shape.

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While there will always be a part of the population that just doesn’t care about humanitarian, health, political and social issues…I feel that my generation is more plugged in to these things. We, as a collective, take more time to think about the world, our role in it, and how our actions can affect it. Maybe this has something to do with the Internet, which connects us across the globe—giving a human face and a human connection to go along with news stories of suffering, global warming, child labor, animal cruelty, starvation, and poverty.

But for all I care, and I do care, how do my actions represent my beliefs and values? How much am I willing to inconvenience myself to stay true to what I think is important. How much am I willing to give of my money, my time, my hard work for others? How far do my actions fall from the tree of value?

I’ll break down a few of my beliefs and actions to illustrate the question I’m asking, and to further this argument.

I care about my health and the cost of health care.

I know taking better care of myself today means that I will be healthier in the future, will cost me less money, and as a whole, will help society bring down the outrageous costs of health care. I know exercising and eating right will help me in this endeavor. Because of these two things, I only buy organic foods and I try to exercise often. But what about when I’m really hungry at work, and the only thing available is a Costco-sized vat of pretzels? What if the nearest place to buy organic food is a 15-minute walk away? What if I don’t have the money in my account to buy extra food for lunch? Is indulging in the seemingly harmless pretzels a breach of my values?

I care for animals.

I want them to be well treated, cared for, loved, and sheltered. I believe animals, of most if not all forms, have feelings, can experience pain, stress, boredom and frustration—and the fact that they can’t speak our language doesn’t make any of those things less important. So, I’ve chosen to be vegetarian. I’ve also chosen not to eat eggs. By not buying meat products or egg products, I am reducing demand for a practice I don’t believe in. But what about that delicious pastry I took a bite of when my friend ordered it last week? What about when I tell myself it is okay to eat fish?

I care about the environment.

I recycle my cans and paper. I try to walk or use public transportation as much as I can. I try to create less waste, to wash clothes less often and to pick up trash on the street. But what about when I throw away a magazine, because I don’t want to walk down to the recycling bin? What about when I buy a product whose manufacturer doesn’t care for the environment? What about when I decide to drive because it’s too cold out?

These may seem like silly instances—inconsequential points in life where obvious answers can be found. Eat the pretzels! Don’t worry about the fish! But really—where do we draw the line. Can we really stand up and say we believe in something when we don’t follow the principles? Should we be discredited for trying to survive while also trying to be good citizens of Earth?

What happens when these questions begin to get bigger? When it’s not about pretzels, but about all the under-paid workers who slave away in a factory for my mid-afternoon snack? What if it’s not just about me getting my protein, but about the depletion of our ocean’s supply of fish? What if it’s not just about my drive to work, but the beginning of a world catastrophe?

I find myself wondering if I can even say I am a vegetarian who worries for her health and tries to protect the environment. If all my actions don’t back these beliefs up, should I be able to claim the causes as my own? I don’t know the answers, and I imagine that the rest of my generation doesn’t really know either.

I wonder about companies who outrage the public by not doing more to protect their world, and I question whether we have the right to ask that question if we aren’t doing enough ourselves. I think about how much easier it is to point fingers and blame others, instead of changing our own lives. I think about how I’ve stood up and condemned someone else for their actions, when I’m not so sparklingly perfect myself.

I’ve made the promise to myself that I will be true to what I believe. That I will do my best to live a life that I, and others, can respect. And yet I keep falling short. I could do more to live my beliefs. I am acutely aware of this. It causes me stress that money and convenience often become larger priorities in my every day life.

Most of all, I worry about how my small indiscretions will add up and affect future generations. We talk about all the troubles our parent’s generation created for us to fix. But are we doing things differently? Are we doing enough?

Image: HeathB

The Wrong Way

My generation – the next great generation – was raised to believe that whatever we set out mind to accomplish, we could achieve.  We were raised to believe that we could fly to Mars, or that we could cure cancer.  Furthermore, we were encouraged to find our own path while walking towards our dreams. We were always encouraged to blaze our own trails.

If anything, we were subconsciously raised to bristle at the statement “You’re doing it wrong”, or even worse “it can’t be done”.

To someone from Gen Y, the phrase “You’re doing it wrong” may be viewed as both criticism and an opportunity.  To someone from this great generation, that statement takes on a life of its own.

We don’t so much see the world in black and white.  To us, the world exists as varying shades of gray. The gray of possibility, the gray of hope, and the gray of a possibly arduous road ahead.

To us, “you’re doing it wrong” is a subtle challenge, instead a statement of defeat. Ultimately, we want to turn “wrong” into “another way”, or even “right” in some cases.

It’s a challenge to use our minds, to examine the situation, and to think critically.

When someone tells us “You’re doing it wrong”, we listen.  We listen, we measure, and we sometimes decide that they’re right. We’ll contemplate and we’ll give genuine thought to what they say, even if it isn’t the path we end up choosing.

If you really want to get inside the mind of someone from this great generation – ask us to explain our decisions. More importantly, listen to our answers.

This generation is like water. We find cracks where cracks don’t appear to exist, and we create our own paths through life. For older generations, the question becomes one of willingness – are you willing to work with us and learn from us just as we learn from you? Do you even recognize that we want to learn from you?

We’re optimistic, we’re unique, we’re connected, we’re always on the go, and sometimes, we seem kind of impossible. But we are the future and we want to make sure we “do it right”.

Will you help us?

Pumpkin

Last night, my mother remarked, “you guys really take Halloween seriously.”

Yes, yes we do.

I come from Madison, WI where Halloween is basically a state holiday.  It’s the second largest party behind Mardi Gras in the US.  So dressing up and getting into it is hardly difficult.

This year, my friends and I decided we’d buck the trend of “wearing as little as possible.” We dressed as trees, and slaved over our costumes to look utterly ridiculous.  We didn’t show an inch of bare skin, and I thought we’d be the only ones. Yeah, right.

At the parties I attended, I didn’t see a single midriff.  Not one. Don’t get me wrong, wandering the streets I did notice a handful of girls in the bare-all mode, but something has changed.  It wasn’t more than two years ago that I was prancing around in a swimsuit in 40-degree weather.  This year’s attire was still short and tight, but the midriff showing outfits that our generation learned from Britney Spears was nowhere to be found. So why were all the girls considerably more buttoned up than previous years?

It could be that our generation’s collective conscious is shifting.  Your generation thinks we grew up too fast, and we probably did. But, we still have values. I shake my head at the 13 and 14-year-old girls that wear micro-skirts on a daily basis.  We value our bodies more than we’ve been given credit.  Yes, Britney influenced us to some degree, but maybe not at our core.  Maybe, just maybe, we turned out to be a lot more traditional than you think.  Now I look at girls that are scantily clad, and I wish they would put some clothes on because of the message they send about us.  The lack of clothing is a symbol of desperation and lack of self-respect. I try to remind myself that I was like that, but the voice in my head responds with, “yeah, but those weren’t your reasons.”

Regardless, there is a transformation taking place, which in part, is a result of just growing up. However, I think something else is going on, some thing bigger.  Whatever it is, I don’t have a clear answer, at least not yet.  But, you can be sure I’ll come back with one.

Photo Credit: minipixel