The fate of our future
Sara Gregory
Issue date: 10/2/09 Section: Opinion
So we've all heard our parents and grandparents talk about how much harder they had to work when they were young 'uns. In my case, Grampy would tell elaborate tales of walking uphill to school both ways in a blizzard with nothing but a hot potato to warm his hands.
Hell, I've had professors at this university come to class and say, "Your generation is so damn apathetic!" Professors that flat-out loathe the core of our generation.
It seems like I've been yelled at my whole life to work harder before I had a chance to work on my own at all. Most of us have.
So when I see yet another reason for adults to not take us seriously, I really get pissed. For instance, those 542542 commercials. If you haven't seen them yet, you're missing out on the evolution of stupidity.
My favorite is the commercial with those two skinny broads tanning by the pool trying to remember how to make a strawberry daiquiri. Since they can't remember and won't get up, they text 542542 for the answer.
Really? We are not only condoning the laziness our generation is judged for, we are encouraging it at the price of a dollar. I think it's disgusting.
We've developed convenience to the point where we don't even need to think anymore. Don't get off your ass and check it for yourself, but pay via text and have someone else figure it out for you.
Parents and teachers see the world we're growing up in and freak right out. I get it, but I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that their action almost single-handedly has produced our apathy.
We hear how horrible things were 'back in the day' and thank God we didn't live then. We are told that we will never understand true work ethic before we have a chance to try, and this pigeon-holes us all into a very narrow frame.
Therefore, I can only be so mad. In a way, we are all just exemplifying the image our parents and teachers painted for us. But we should know that with this invention of 542542, one day we'll be scolding our children differently:
"When I was your age, I had to walk ALL the way upstairs to my computer to look up an answer. It was awful. I pray you never know that pain."
Hell, I've had professors at this university come to class and say, "Your generation is so damn apathetic!" Professors that flat-out loathe the core of our generation.
It seems like I've been yelled at my whole life to work harder before I had a chance to work on my own at all. Most of us have.
So when I see yet another reason for adults to not take us seriously, I really get pissed. For instance, those 542542 commercials. If you haven't seen them yet, you're missing out on the evolution of stupidity.
My favorite is the commercial with those two skinny broads tanning by the pool trying to remember how to make a strawberry daiquiri. Since they can't remember and won't get up, they text 542542 for the answer.
Really? We are not only condoning the laziness our generation is judged for, we are encouraging it at the price of a dollar. I think it's disgusting.
We've developed convenience to the point where we don't even need to think anymore. Don't get off your ass and check it for yourself, but pay via text and have someone else figure it out for you.
Parents and teachers see the world we're growing up in and freak right out. I get it, but I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that their action almost single-handedly has produced our apathy.
We hear how horrible things were 'back in the day' and thank God we didn't live then. We are told that we will never understand true work ethic before we have a chance to try, and this pigeon-holes us all into a very narrow frame.
Therefore, I can only be so mad. In a way, we are all just exemplifying the image our parents and teachers painted for us. But we should know that with this invention of 542542, one day we'll be scolding our children differently:
"When I was your age, I had to walk ALL the way upstairs to my computer to look up an answer. It was awful. I pray you never know that pain."
Be the first to comment on this story