Generation X: Filling in Bubbles
with No. 2 Pencils Does Not Get Us a Job
August 28, 1996
Richard Brian McCarty
Commentators labor to describe Generation X. Some call my generation lazy. Some
have dubbed us confused. Others hail us as realistic. Perhaps all of them are wrong.
If there is anything wrong with Generation X it is because the educations we
recieved cause us to think too much and act too little. Spend time with any Generation Xer
and he will tell you how his life is not what he dreamed of. You will find the average
Generation Xer trying to determine who he or she really is.
Comfort has made us the philosopher generation at the expense of our parents
and grandparents. While the 26 year old daughter protests about the environment, mom and
dad go to work so they can have enough income for their daughter to move back into their
home. While the 25 year old son can not find a job, mom and dad scrimp by so they can
support him. At a time when there is tremendous global opportunities, many people in their
mid twenties are left at the pit stop of life--finding themselves with college degrees and
living at home with mom and dad.
It would be easy to dismiss this trend as laziness by my generation. I could
even point to myself. I had to ask my father for money, so I claim no holier than thou
status to my fellow Xers. But, there is something wrong, and it points back to the comfort
we have and the educations we were given.
We are the first generation to come from the new school of thought in American
education. That is, grades are bad, everyone is good, no matter their performance. We were
the first ones to have self-esteem thrust upon us by the NEA crowd. We came out cocky, and
more intelligent than anyone around us could ever hope to be, ( at least in our own eyes
). But, we were not taught one lesson that is so important: in the real world, you have to
work hard and deal with disappointments in order to succeed. If a teacher would have been
that honest in our educational process, he would have found himself labeled as hard or
cruel by the other members of his profession.
We were not taught that lesson, or others about real life. So, now, we are the
philospher generation. Filled with liberal gloobley gook from elementary to graduate
school, we sit and question the wisdom of those who have made something of their lives.
Looking upon it briefly as just an observer, I find we are the foolish generation as well.
My grandfather and his generation had no time to gripe or complain or to make
peace with their inner childs. There was a war and a depression to deal with. The values
he took out of his twenties were the values that saved the country and the free
world--those of faith in God, love of family, friends, and country. Talk of duty, honor,
and country to an Xer and you will get a stare and a comment of " Oh, God, you are
one of those military types!"
Even the baby boomers, despite the fact they gave us Bill Clinton, had real
things to deal with. There were racial issues and draft notices to Vietnam. And Vietnam
was a hell hole to worry about. It did hurt men and women for all the wrong reasons. Look
around, and you will see an uncle or aunt or parent or family friend who came out of that
era different. Yes, the counter-culture did develop. But, those boomers who held on to
traditional values had a hell of a lot to deal with.
And, now, there is us, Generation X, bolstered by teachers that life is fair.
We are told by professors that our A's in political science mean we know more about life
than Grandma or Dad. And, we, with no real wars, ( the Gulf War was quick and a good bit
of it was fought by boomers), sit and claim we can not find ourselves. Life is not what
the teachers said it would be. And, we, as a generation, are confused. Worse, we think we
have a right to sit around and think it out--the teachers said we could.
I think it is time we all grew up. We live in the greatest nation on earth.
There are problems, to be sure. But, there is a wealth of opportunities to go with those
problems. We must act. We as a generation can not continue to sit around and wait for the
answers to fall from the sky. We must move out of the parents' homes, take jobs that are
not perfect, and do the best we can. If all we do is gripe and stay smothered at home,
then the torch will bypass us and our generation will rightfully have contributed little
to the nation.
Further, there is a true freedom--one my poor powers of writing can not truly
describe. It is independence--from mom or dad and from Uncle Sam. It was never taught in
school. Instead, we were taught to depend, and to master the art of filling in bubbles
with Number Two pencils. We may know more about math, reading, and science, but we are
left without the gumption to act and to live real lives.
It reminds me of an old basketball coach I know. He said that one could know
basketball's rules , the strategy involved, and all the stats; but, one could never really
know the game until he played it. Well, that is the way we Generation Xers are. We know
the academic part of the game better than most, and now, as the old coach would say, it is
time to get off our butts and get in the game so we will know what it is really about.
Richard Brian McCarty has worked on several political campaigns of conservatives. He
holds a Juris Doctor from the University of South Carolina and a BS degree from Lander
University. An experienced writer, McCarty's columns are written from a distinctly
Southern point of view. He is sometimes Southern, sometimes conservative, sometimes
humorous, and sometimes all three.
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Generation X: Filling in Bubbles
with No. 2 Pencils Does Not Get Us a Job
August 28, 1996
Richard Brian McCarty
Commentators labor to describe Generation X. Some call my generation lazy. Some
have dubbed us confused. Others hail us as realistic. Perhaps all of them are wrong.
If there is anything wrong with Generation X it is because the educations we
recieved cause us to think too much and act too little. Spend time with any Generation Xer
and he will tell you how his life is not what he dreamed of. You will find the average
Generation Xer trying to determine who he or she really is.
Comfort has made us the philosopher generation at the expense of our parents
and grandparents. While the 26 year old daughter protests about the environment, mom and
dad go to work so they can have enough income for their daughter to move back into their
home. While the 25 year old son can not find a job, mom and dad scrimp by so they can
support him. At a time when there is tremendous global opportunities, many people in their
mid twenties are left at the pit stop of life--finding themselves with college degrees and
living at home with mom and dad.
It would be easy to dismiss this trend as laziness by my generation. I could
even point to myself. I had to ask my father for money, so I claim no holier than thou
status to my fellow Xers. But, there is something wrong, and it points back to the comfort
we have and the educations we were given.
We are the first generation to come from the new school of thought in American
education. That is, grades are bad, everyone is good, no matter their performance. We were
the first ones to have self-esteem thrust upon us by the NEA crowd. We came out cocky, and
more intelligent than anyone around us could ever hope to be, ( at least in our own eyes
). But, we were not taught one lesson that is so important: in the real world, you have to
work hard and deal with disappointments in order to succeed. If a teacher would have been
that honest in our educational process, he would have found himself labeled as hard or
cruel by the other members of his profession.
We were not taught that lesson, or others about real life. So, now, we are the
philospher generation. Filled with liberal gloobley gook from elementary to graduate
school, we sit and question the wisdom of those who have made something of their lives.
Looking upon it briefly as just an observer, I find we are the foolish generation as well.
My grandfather and his generation had no time to gripe or complain or to make
peace with their inner childs. There was a war and a depression to deal with. The values
he took out of his twenties were the values that saved the country and the free
world--those of faith in God, love of family, friends, and country. Talk of duty, honor,
and country to an Xer and you will get a stare and a comment of " Oh, God, you are
one of those military types!"
Even the baby boomers, despite the fact they gave us Bill Clinton, had real
things to deal with. There were racial issues and draft notices to Vietnam. And Vietnam
was a hell hole to worry about. It did hurt men and women for all the wrong reasons. Look
around, and you will see an uncle or aunt or parent or family friend who came out of that
era different. Yes, the counter-culture did develop. But, those boomers who held on to
traditional values had a hell of a lot to deal with.
And, now, there is us, Generation X, bolstered by teachers that life is fair.
We are told by professors that our A's in political science mean we know more about life
than Grandma or Dad. And, we, with no real wars, ( the Gulf War was quick and a good bit
of it was fought by boomers), sit and claim we can not find ourselves. Life is not what
the teachers said it would be. And, we, as a generation, are confused. Worse, we think we
have a right to sit around and think it out--the teachers said we could.
I think it is time we all grew up. We live in the greatest nation on earth.
There are problems, to be sure. But, there is a wealth of opportunities to go with those
problems. We must act. We as a generation can not continue to sit around and wait for the
answers to fall from the sky. We must move out of the parents' homes, take jobs that are
not perfect, and do the best we can. If all we do is gripe and stay smothered at home,
then the torch will bypass us and our generation will rightfully have contributed little
to the nation.
Further, there is a true freedom--one my poor powers of writing can not truly
describe. It is independence--from mom or dad and from Uncle Sam. It was never taught in
school. Instead, we were taught to depend, and to master the art of filling in bubbles
with Number Two pencils. We may know more about math, reading, and science, but we are
left without the gumption to act and to live real lives.
It reminds me of an old basketball coach I know. He said that one could know
basketball's rules , the strategy involved, and all the stats; but, one could never really
know the game until he played it. Well, that is the way we Generation Xers are. We know
the academic part of the game better than most, and now, as the old coach would say, it is
time to get off our butts and get in the game so we will know what it is really about.
Richard Brian McCarty has worked on several political campaigns of conservatives. He
holds a Juris Doctor from the University of South Carolina and a BS degree from Lander
University. An experienced writer, McCarty's columns are written from a distinctly
Southern point of view. He is sometimes Southern, sometimes conservative, sometimes
humorous, and sometimes all three.
Back to Guest Articles Page
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