Posted on 09/03/2009 4:58:16 AM PDT by Kaslin
It is easy for me, now 25, to imagine what a twenty-something forty years ago must have been feeling. Concern over a war raging abroad, dire economic conditions at home, and the role of government in a young person’s life always lingering.
The U.S. was undergoing a societal, political, and cultural transformation during which the baby boomers, the young generation of the day, were at ground zero. Unhappy with the "establishment" and "the man" to whom they held responsible for their woes, they started a movement.
With so many parallels to choose from in the problems facing our generation, we too should hold to account the powers that be. The disaffected youth of today need to open their eyes to see the "establishment" and "the man" that looms over them.
An immense government and vast bureaucracy with unprecedented power, the likes of which this country has never seen. A powerful elite in a distant capital making decisions that infringe on our liberties and freedoms with a "we know best" attitude. Encroachment into our lives by "the man" lies around every corner. And, roughly 40 appointed "czars" in this administration, with their tentacles in the cars we drive, the banks we trust, the energy we consume, and most recently that very private aspect of our lives, our health. Yes, I think we can appropriately call this administration "the man."
To our nation's benefit, this assault on the American way of life has not gone unchallenged. In the past six months we have seen a segment of the American people rise up. From tea parties to town hall-ers, a peaceful and effective movement has taken shape to challenge President Obama and the establishment. Indeed, this mobilization of protesters and grassroots political activists is the conservative's long-awaited response to an indifferent government on the march towards socialism.
Unfortunately, we are still lacking an essential component to achieving a full-fledged movement in America. That missing component is our youth. Whether or not we approve or lament of our parents' struggle decades ago against the powers that be, we would not argue over their significance and effectiveness.
The main stream media has characterized the "anti-establishment" movement of today not by its message or agenda like its predecessors, but by the supposed "backward" segment of America who are the driving force behind it. Town hall-ers and those showing up at tea parties are defamed as a rural, loony, and a most likely racist segment of American society.
In a situation teeming with irony, the liberal media exercises its own political profiling on those that outwardly oppose the policies of this President and his administration.
Our youth, however, have the ability to be loud, unhinged, and ardent in their beliefs without being easily discredited, slandered, or profiled. The relative "innocence" of youth lends a movement credibility against its critics. Consider that it would be hard for even the mainstream media to challenge a modern youth movement opposing the "establishment" that we have defined, as they might be reverberating the same slogans and concepts accepted by the media of their parents' generation.
What greater moment does our nation's youth need to challenge the "establishment" than right now? Unlike any other generation, we are one whose basic liberties, freedoms, and future are poised to be infringed upon by a few in Washington who think they know best. As one of our nation's founding fathers, Patrick Henry, aptly put it, "When the American spirit was in its youth, the language of America was different: Liberty, sir, was the primary object."
Today, liberals ARE the establishment, yet continue to hide behind the curtain of “Fight the establishment”, as though it was some cabal of angry, greedy 80 year old Republicans that want to take away our freedom and everything we own.
“It is easy for me, now 25, to imagine what a twenty-something forty years ago must have been feeling. Concern over a war raging abroad, dire economic conditions at home, and the role of government in a young person’s life always lingering.”
Sorry, Scooter. 40 years ago 25-year olds were worried about being DRAFTED to go fight in that “war raging abroad”. The economy at the time wasn’t bad and the only concern about the “government in a young person’s life” was that it was going to draft them to go fight in that “war raging abroad”. You really have no clue as to what a twenty-something year old was feeling back then.
With history this misunderstood by our young people, I fear for their (and our) future.
You first must assume the young people of today care about anything other than themselves.
We as a society have raised a generation of poorly educated, self centered, spoiled children. They’ve come to believe it is their ‘right’ to a new car, a degree from a private school, and a ‘fun’ career. That’s all they care about.
I used to hire and train seasonal workers in national parks. I stopped hiring young people whenever possible ten years ago. They don’t show up for work on time. Simple math is a strange language. They have the attention span of a puppy and can’t comprehend simple instructions. Even mild critisism results in either tears or temper tantrums.
All they were really concerned about was the latest drama in the dorms.
You ask where are the young people in this country ? They never showed up for life in the real world. You can’t call them drop outs; because they never dropped in.
I could go on; but it hurts to remember what life was like before MTV.
Tea Party songs/slogans when when confronted by ACORN thugs......
1) Lock arms and sing “WE Shall Overcome”
2) “Everyday People “ Sly and the Family Stone
3) “A change is gonna Come” by Sam Cooke
4) “Think” by Aretha Franklin
5) Inner City Blue(Make Me Wanna Holler) —Marvin Gaye
6) Say it Loud(I’m conservative and I’m Proud)
7) You Ain’t Done Nothin’-Stevie Wonder
8) Get Up, Stand Up—Bob Marley
9) Take Your Stimulus and Shove It
10) Don’t Believe the Hype-Public Enemy
Lenon parody;
ALL WE ARE SAYING—IS PAY YOUR OWN BILLS.
the economy was GREAT !!!
That's what the Founders left for them, and that's what generations of brave forefathers and mothers sacrificed all to preserve.
Now is the time for today's youth to use the new technology to read the documents of their liberty, to examine the Founders' ideas which have been so carefully censored from the textbooks, but which are readily available in their writings on the internet, and to reclaim liberty. As an article on TownHall today notes, there is nothing "progressive" about what's happening in America today. It is as old as civilization, based on a counterfeit idea, and leads away from the ideas of liberty which brought millions of oppressed people to America for opportunity and liberty.
Thankfully, no longer are the writings and speeches of the Framers of America's Constitution hidden away in the stacks of remote libraries. They are available for all on many web sites, and their ideas are so powerful that today's youth will recognize the ignorance of those who call themselves "progressive," but who pursue tired old ideas that take away individual initiative and freedom, replacing them with coercive government control.
“Sorry, Scooter. 40 years ago 25-year olds were worried about being DRAFTED to go fight in that “war raging abroad”.”
I was sure worried about the draft. But I was different from most — why? I understood the domino theory of communism and thought we should resist communists. But the US was so afraid of antagonizing the Russians and Chinese that the Vietnam war became a stalemate. I didn’t want to fight and die in an ill-defined war where we weren’t 100% committed to kicking ass. Nuke ‘em or stay home, that’s my opinion.
Likewise on the understanding the domino theory. But to avoid being drafted, I enlisted in the Navy and spent 3+ years on a fleet ballistic missile (FBM) sub. We were VERY ready to “nuke ‘em”.
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