My generation gets a bad rap from preceding generations. We are lazy, fat, stupid, and selfish, or so they say. Some of these may be exaggerations, while others are simply projections of insecurities upon us by our parents' generation, but there is one area in which I am sure we are guilty. We, my peers, are a proud generation. We know best. We will not listen to anyone. We are all experts. We are all linguists, chemists, biologists, historians, political scientists, and doctors. We have no need to be taught and don't know how to shut up. Our opinion is valid as valid as anyone else's.
I've struggled to find an answer to why this is the case. Is it the moral relativity that has been taught in public schools? Is it the entitlement mentality that has be ingrained into our social consciousness? Is it all that positive reinforcement we were given as children? Is it the carefree, entertainment driven culture in which we were raised? Is it simply the unbridling of base human nature that has accelerated over the last two generations? Whatever the cause, it is unbecoming and it is dangerous. Pride is certainly an ancient and universal defect, but here are two things that I believe contribute to the unique brand of pride found in my generation.
Firstly, everyone has a voice. This is both good and bad. People who were never heard before have numerous platforms whereby they may contribute to the good of society. The problem is that having a voice is not enough. You must actually have something to contribute. As it has always been, the people who have the least to say do most of the talking, and vice versa. No, having a Facebook does not make you a journalist, medical doctor, lawyer, or even a social commentator. There was a day when literary journals, publishing houses, newspapers, and magazines tightly controlled the type of voices that could be heard. You had to have some sort of resume to warrant being heard. You had to be an expert. Now everyone thinks he/she is an expert. People talk just to talk. They weigh in on social issues because they can, when they really have no reason or right to. This constant ability to share your "two cents" has led to horrible inflation in the world of thought. "Two cents" just ain't worth what it used to be. In case you're wondering, yes, I do realize the irony of writing this on a blog.
Secondly, information is easy to obtain. Once again, this is a wonderful thing. It has made our lives better in countless ways. However, it has also cheapened information and devalued those who have dedicated their lives to mastering it. Who needs a doctor when you have WebMd? Who needs the library when you have Wikipedia (unless, of course, you need to go to the library to access the internet to visit Wikipedia)? Who needs a lawyer when you can Google every law on the face of the planet? There is a frightening dearth of young people who desire to obtain intensive training in a field of study. I think this is a side-effect of the ease with which we can obtain information. We no longer need to study a topic for four years to understand it fully. We can read 100 articles on it in an hour. Who needs to apprentice with a tradesman in order to understand a trade? We can watch 15 YouTube videos in order to learn how to fix our cars or replace our furnace. It is great to be able to save money on changing our oil and fixing our washing machines, but when it comes to building airplanes or synthesizing compounds, you can't just learn that kind of stuff from Google. The internet was not designed to replace higher education and experience. My generation can't seem to understand that. We confuse a cursory knowledge of a topic with being qualified to debate it.
Ultimately, the same thing underlines both of these issues. The root of our pride is ignorance--of ourselves and what we don't know. For Pete's sake, we get our information from memes! We see political cartoons and condensed graphs and we think that we are qualified to debate issues that are far beyond us. We aren't even aware of the world that exists beyond our field of vision. As Walter from The Big Lebowski would say, "Donny, you're out of your element!" Now, the internet is a powerful tool. It makes us far more aware as a culture than we ever could have been without it. It does this by connecting us with experts, however, and not by making experts of us all. We need to use that tool for what it's worth and nothing more.
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