Talkin’ ’bout my generation

Jaspenelle
by Jaspenelle
Wed
15
Jul
2009
2:58pm
Posted in sub-blogs:
Tagged as , ,
4 Comments

ruth kinzie

Facing a dying nation of moving paper fantasy
Listening for the new told lies
With supreme visions of lonely tunes[...]

Let the sunshine, let the sunshine in
The sunshine in

Maybe I have simply watched Hair and Across the Universe a few too many times but I often feel that I belong in the sixties and seventies. Not just because of the hair, the music and the clothes (though admittedly images do factor into the equation) but also because of the desire to be a part of such a widespread movement of peace, love and not accepting the status quo as truth.

My parents grew up in the “hippy” generation and I wonder if they would find my thoughts on it and romanticized. I wonder if they had as jaded an outlook on their peers as I do? My generation seems so selfish at times, so disconnected from the idea of compassion and too plugged into personal drama. It is hard to have a real conversation with someone anymore without them multitasking a million other things on some electronic device or them thinking that your opinions are a direct assault on them.

Not that I think we are doomed or should ditch our cellphones and laptops and run off to some off the grid commune to live in peace and love. I’m not a luddite (though some might call me one in jest!) nor do I believe in shutting out the world (how then can you fix the injustices?) I do think it is so important to unplug, step back, and consider if we are on the right track sometimes. The world is not going to end if we cannot check facebook, take a walk, or go to the store without our cell phones. I don’t think it would hurt any of us to slow down and appreciate a slow pace in life. I personally think it would make us healthier.

I am curious about what people think of my generation, including my peers. I know we are not all drama-queens and kings where the number of thiings we own and people we use dictate our place in some imaginary popularity contest; but I admit, it feels that way some days.

(Until my new camera arrives my Aunt Ruth has graciously allowed me to use her stunning photos in my posts. Check out her blog and flickr.)

4 Comments

  1. Dad
    Posted Wednesday, July 15, 2009 at 11:57 pm | Permalink

    First of all you can never go back, that is Luddite thinking. I was part of the hippie generation (never your mom), but that was such a completely different time.

    We had Vietnam, the “bomb”, the Cold War, etc.
    The concept of value of life and family was changing, as was work and other things.
    I would never want to go back to that time as we used it as a springboard to create what we have now.

    The concept of flexible work, independence, information sharing, choosing your path were conceived by us, but only enabled by the technology we created also.

    Today I can choose to sit on my mountain here and listen to the silence, and still be employed while sitting there.

    Our technology all has an OFF switch, it is just a matter of choosing how to use it. My friends and I were part of the large group that launched the Internet (not Al Gore), and the benefits are still to be discover. It is still a baby.

    However if we do not progress then we stagnate and eventually fall back into the abyss.

    Look what happened to the Arab world (a generalization) when they stopped advancing. What was the most advanced area of the world now trails in almost every area.

    Study history and the lessons are there.

    People will always pine for simpler times, that is our nature when we feel stressed and pressured.

    So embrace your life and what you have now. Someday your children may look back at you and wonder why things seemed so simple then.

    P. S. Being a “hippie” was also a great way to get laid. It was part of our “lifestyle” man, free love ;)

  2. Ruth
    Posted Thursday, July 16, 2009 at 4:28 am | Permalink

    Every generation is critical of its adolescents and young adults. I think your generation is affected by family and community fragmentation more than ever. They were also raised in a consumer society that has never been so materialistic and self centred. There have always been those who march to a different drummer though, and I think you are exceptional in your generation.(in a good way)

  3. Jaspenelle
    Posted Thursday, July 16, 2009 at 7:16 am | Permalink

    That is the second time in two weeks someone has used the term luddite around me. Just ‘cus I like paper dayplanners and wall calenders… :-)

    Progress is vital to our species, if we stagnated at this point in time for example, we would be dooming our world to ecological disaster. We need the free flowing sharing of ideas to birth that which will help our world in those areas. Technology enables that.

    As you said, you can never go back, but that does not mean we should not dream of or incorporate ideas from the past into your present time and ideologies. We carve our reality from our dreams.

  4. the_becka
    Posted Sunday, July 19, 2009 at 9:56 pm | Permalink

    Our generation? Hmmm…I think we are more of a self-centered generation for sure. And between stuff like video games, computers, internet, cell phones, the cassette and cd players/stereos, MP3 players, the digital camera, etc., technology has for sure taken a huge part of our lives (Terminator movies anyone? Maybe the Matrix?…). Also, information has become even more accessible than “back in the day”.

    Sometimes, I need to take a break from the laptop and such – which of course is not as easy as it sounds since we use them pretty much every day.

    Also I find that there’s been a “boom” in multiculturalism in certain parts of North America, which is awesome.

    It will be interesting to see what the future generations will be like, and what they’ll think of us…