Not deactivated yet

May 25, 2009 16:05

By Susan Smirk

The apathy of Generation Y (a.k.a. generation WTF) is an often rant-worthy subject among reporters, politicians and old people. They say we are selfish. Consumerist. Unmotivated. Desensitised. Lazy. The only thing the older generation is equally vocal about is how rapidly the world is going downhill. Taxation, recession, and inflation aside, there still seems to be a new war starting every day, the looming terror of a CO2-induced extinction looms ever closer, and 165 million children are still out there sewing sneakers for our purchasing pleasure. So, if student activism has declined, it’s not for lack of worthwhile issues to protest. But are we really completely cold-hearted about the starving children, the suffering puppies, and the afflicted trees of this world? Compared to the golden age of 1970s anti-Vietnam, anti-nuclear, and anti-anything-that-isn’t-covered-in-rainbows-and-singing-about-free-love campaigns, we probably aren’t quite as vocally proactive. But have we lost all fire for peace, love, and humanity?

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