We're all doomed.

(This entry is in response to Stephanie J.'s post:The Real Bratz. I felt like my response was far too long to just be a "comment". Probably doesn't help that I just keep adding to this on breaks during my looser W-2 job. Or that I get melodramatic and start saying stuff like, "The end is nigh! Run for your lives!" *shakes head* I'm not very optimistic, am I?)

Stephanie J., you've hit the nail on the head; the key word is "entitled". This generation (Generation Y, Millenial Generation) grew up without experiencing any sort of economic deprivation; in fact, they experienced a burgeoning global market where technology improved the quality of life day by day. This is a group whose parents completely blurred the line between reward and punishment; a group that saw (and thus correlated) an increase in wealth over time. This is a group that was told "you are special" over and over again, such that the mere absence of compliments means the same thing as an insult. (Did you know the phrase "that's nice" really means "I wasn't paying attention because I couldn't care less about the subject" or "I'm trying not to be rude but I can't come up with any adjectives that aren't insulting"?) This generation is idealistic yet cynical, egocentric yet altruistic... thinks that they're capable of doing anything and yet isn't capable of choosing anything to do.

Casey perpetuates the notion that this generation is lazy, self-serving, and just plain clueless. It's very much the reason why I started following his story; I would have liked nothing more than to have seen him "pay back every dirty penny" and, in doing so, showing to the world that this generation, MY generation, isn't a complete loss. (y'know... "win-win"?) Alas, Snowflake just dug a deeper hole... but not literally because actual digging would require work.

There was an excellent article in the WSJ (The Most-Praised Generation Goes To Work, April 20, 2007) that talked about twenty-somethings joining the workforce and how their bosses have to heap endless praise and preface any criticisms with a "you did great on the project, but..." in order to keep up morale. That article pissed me off... mostly because it was right. I mean, we're all having "quarterlife crises", which is ridiculous; why can't we just get over ourselves?? Basically, we're all screwed unless we start holding ourselves accountable for our actions, following-through on commitments, and taking responsibility in shaping the future; otherwise, I'd really rather not be around when everything goes to hell.

If that's not bad enough, from what I've seen so far, the upcoming generation is even WORSE than us. If we reek of "entitlement", then they practically ooze it from their pores. And WE are responsible for guiding them...

Yeah, we're all doomed.