Sifting Through the Darkness, In Search of a Familiar Sound

During the upcoming 2008 elections there will be a moment when each member of every age or social group in America will be able to sift through the barrage of rhetorical questions posed, and find the one that pertains to their way of life the most.  For Brenda, whose son Jesse is on his third tour as a soldier in Iraq, that question might be, “When will my son come home?”  For Mark, a 70 year-old former retiree forced to work two jobs after having his pension cut, it may be, “Will the economy ever turn around?”  Members of the gay community may find the question relates to a struggle for basic human rights; Young women may relate most to the questions dealing with abortion rights.  However, the unfortunate question that relates most to the youth of America will be asked of themselves: “Will I care?” 

The ambiguous feeling held by today’s youth, of simply ceasing to politically exist, is a much older sentiment than is currently perceived through today’s hyper-sensitive looking glass.  In the Vietnam era, a whole new counter-culture, driven by youth, and a new-found enthusiasm for bringing societal change to the forefront of American politics emerged.  However, the terrible quagmire of a war that finally died out in 1974 ended up bringing down with it the last major remnants of a now tired and dazed generation that opposed it.  The national and political climate that gave that culture a reason to evolve in the first place is strikingly similar to one that exists in America today; perhaps the difference now is in the apathy that pervades it.  

Does nothing weigh heavily enough on the conscience of today’s youth to have it become a large enough issue? Is it that they have no sense of political efficacy, nor any care to discover it?  It is alarming that the youth of today can be so disillusioned and disenfranchised, simply shrugging their shoulders in defeat, when so much depends on their will to act.  Many blanket statements are made about the Vietnam era and that generation’s questioning of authority, and it is possible that similar statements will be made about the current one in relation to their most common traits -- namely active disengagement and a passionate indifference.  They are only blanket statements, and cannot wrap all in their wooly embrace,  but there is a valid point in arguing that perhaps America’s youth has been lost along the wayside and it is sometimes hard to blame them.