Talkin 'Bout My Generation

Every once in a while I come across a child, usually a teenager, that I would describe as a "coin flip," meaning he or she has a 50/50 chance of meeting society's or, more importantly, my standards of a quality human being. Whether or not that child fulfills his or her potential is predicated on a multitude of factors that I cannot predict, influence of friends, family, media, etc. So, I call that kid a coin flip and tell him or her to get a job cuz I'm a bitter old bastard.

Right now, I see my generation as a coin flip as well, not in the sense that we may or may not be quality human beings, but in the sense that our generation may or may not reach greatness as a whole. The potential is there, but I'm not sure we can reach it before falling prey to the same traps that caught generations before us.

The Who. They wrote "My Generation," which is funny in hindsight since many of their generation became burned out filthy hippies.

Some generations, and I think ours is one of them, receive terrific opportunities to achieve greatness. The so called "Greatest Generation" had a chance to rebound from the Great Depression and win a world war. Without those opportunities they would be just another group of people passing time. Instead, they're "great."

Others wasted their opportunity. The "Flower Children," born to parents of the Greatest Generation, promised to ease American unrest with peace and love, but instead veered into a cesspool of corrupted ideology and naivety. Without structure and a true moralistic center, they folded under the pressure of their own selfish desires.

Like the Flower Children and the Greatest Generation, we have an opportunity. We enter adulthood at a time of unrest. Political corruption, war, and economic crises plaster the front pages of newspapers, telling the story of a country in turmoil. But these crises could also be the catalysts to our generation's success, the very situations that give us the tools we need to be great.

Nothing happens without cause. We entered our current situation due to a general attitude of entitlement, superiority, and arrogance. Not everyone rocks these qualities, but they've become a set of generalized characteristics that to often exist (For more on this buy a Toby Keith album). Those of the generation, or generations, before us operate in an area of American nationalism that reeks of these three terrible qualities. They won wars, got rich, and controlled everything that wasn't Western Europe. After World War II, and especially after the fall of the Soviet Union, America held all the cards, and that had people believing we couldn't lose.

Now we know better. We know we can lose. Families lost homes. People lost jobs. And many lost faith in their government. History will decide if we lost the Iraq War and the "War on Terror," but it certainly doesn't feel like we won much right now. These failures are my generation's greatest asset. IF we learned from these situations, IF we humbled ourselves in the face of struggle, IF we learned the oldest lessons of America, that hard work and sacrifice breed success, we have a chance to be great.

I'm not sure we did. As the U.S. economy begins to turn around, I'm uncertain that the sting was enough to teach us our lessons. Maybe it was; I'm only saying I don't know. I've seen both sides of that coin with my own eyes. I've seen the apathy and entitlement of someone who feels they're owed something by this world. I've seen people use honesty and a willingness to bust their asses to try to make their lives successful. It's too hard to tell at this point.

Right now, greatness is within our reach if we're willing to do what it takes to grab it. I hope we are. I hope we do.