Generation Why?

I'll start off this post by saying that I'm not quite sure how to use the blogger.com spell check on my Mac, so I apologize for any mis-spellings from here on out..............

Our 9 day break from our PTP travels and my current immobility due to back pain, have given me a lot of time to reflect. It was perhaps an in-depth conversation with a complete stranger in Albuquerque, NM where I was first able to articulate these ideas and I have used this handicapped situation to allow these ideas to perculate and grow. What I'm getting at is the question: Why have we had such a positive reaction to the whole idea of Pursue the Passion? And, furthermore, what generational differences have given Generation Y'ers such a sense of...I don't want to say entitlement...but more of a desire for personal fulfillment than the generations before us?

I think back to stories that my grandma used to tell me about her father, my great-grandfather, the blacksmith. She described how the two of them used to go out quail hunting. Once the game was killed, they would return home where my great-grandmother would pluck the feathers, boil and skin the birds, take what the family needed and send her daughter into town with the surplus to sell at market. Granted my great-grandparents had six children, but where was the idea of self-fulfillment there? It can be honestly assumed that they found their fulfillment in the health and happiness of their family. The same idea might be generalized about their entire generation. It is also safe to say, that in the case of my great-grandparents, that due to their Catholic beliefs and the strength of the Church at the time, that self-sacrifice was more popular than self-fulfillment, self-improvement or any of the other "self"-ish terms floating around out there nowadays. Mind you, the main outlets for communication at this point were radio, print media and the telephone.

My grandmother's generation held the same principle values as their parents, but were becoming increasingly more aware of the world around them with the popularization of film. No longer were people so limited to the messages displayed by print media, or in my family's case, the priests' interpretation of the world around them. They were still limited in the amount of messengers, but they had more outlets for information nonetheless. After World War II, soldiers came home eager to start families. In my humble opinion, this was partly out of celebration and partly out of the insecurity that tomorrow was not necessarily promised. So, they soon found themselves with families to support, and given the model set by their parents, they took the jobs necessary to provide the comfort, security and educational needs asked of them. I think back to stories that I used to hear about my Tata (endearing term for grandfather in Spanish), who worked two jobs, oftentimes with only a 15 minute nap inbetween them, to feed his six children. He, of course, was not alone in the matter. His wife, my Nana, worked 35 years at a local government base, all the while preparing meals, shuttling kids, sewing costumes and attending recitals, sporting events and the occasional parent-teacher conference to ensure the proper upbringing of her loving family. Again, where is this idea of self?

Then comes the baby-boomers. The popularization of television opened up a whole new world to the imagination of the American child. Popular radio shows had now transformed into television programs. The advent of this new technology not only provided imaginative sparks in these children, but also realistic possibilities for their futures. As with any new technology, it brought with it new industry. The same had been true of the film, but television broadened the scope and brought such ideas and images where they had not been able to be accessed before: the American living room. Again, it is my humble opinion that it was at this point that the idea of self-fulfillment began to enter the American psyche on a braoder scale. It has of course, always been an inherent ideology that Amceirca is the land of opportunity, but I think that the images portrayed on TV, however far-fetched they might have been, implanted something more concrete to these abstractions. And it wasn't just entertainment either. Baby-boomers were the first generation to grow up with television and as a result, they became increasingly more aware of what was going on in the world around them and the possibilities that it held for them and their futures. i.e. The moon landing and the notion that everyone knows exactly where they were and what they were doing and feeling when JFK was shot. Perhaps that is why PTP sometimes hears the sarcastic idea that "Not everyone can be an astronaut!" I think that TV has alot to do with the idea that being an astronaut was even a realistic possibility! My parents' generation was able to take the anti-conformist/hippie/flower-power/whatever-you-want-to-call-it stance, not solely because of, but in large part due to the diverse media outlets at their disposal. They protested what they considered an unjust war in Vietnam. They succeeded, in a way. The same can be said about the civil rights movements of the late 60's and early 70's. Media coverage yielded social change. The individual became increasingly more important as people began to see that their thoughts and concerns mattered and could help make a positive change in the world. (Once again, it is my opinion that) this individuality began to dwindle as this incredibly large number of educated people entered the American workforce. Because of the capitalistic machine that had preceded them, baby boomers knew that it was a matter of time before they traded their sandals in for loafers. They also knew that if it was going to happen, that it would have to be more on their terms then the companies that they worked for. Looking to avoid the short-comings of the the government's Social Security system, baby boomers sought out pension, health benefit and retirement plans from big business. Big business appeased and the relationship was as mutual beneficial as it was going to be.

It is perhaps either my ignorance or my belief that a few years difference should not divide generations, that I will group Generation X'ers and Generation Y'ers together. I also have a personal problem with being considered a different generation as my older brother Scott, when we are both products of the same two Baby Boomers. Anyways, whatever you want to call our/my generation we are one with infinite connections to the outside world. This works both to our advantage and disadvantage. We have constant access to any information we so desire attributed obviously to first the invention of cable television followed by the boom of the internet and globalization and our knowlege of how to use both to our advantage. We are always wired (or wireless, now I guess) in one way or another. Much like our parents, we have been encouraged to question everything and overcome the ideas that something, or anything for that matter, cannot be done. We can constantly be contacted whether via instant message, text message or plain old cellular phone call. On this same note, we are in contact more with our parents than generations of the past, a lot of times to our own detriment, as far the ideas of maturation and independence go. But it is because of these relationships, with both to our families and the outside world that we are able to explore the possibilities that the world has to offer us. We are a generation growing exceedingly comfortable with the ideas of multiculturalism as exemplified by study abroad programs and influenced by affirmative action practices implemented before our time (as negative as they are, were and can be at at times). According to a study done in 2005 (whose source escapes me at the moment), our life expectancy is 77.6 years of age, the longest for any American generation. This longer life expectancy in conjunction with the ever-so-competitive job market, pushes us to go to grad school, law school, medical school, etc. These, along with the failed marriages of our parents or friends' parents, have given us a sort of anxiety to start a family until we are happy with ourselves, our situations, our partners and of course, until we are able to do so financially. We are constantly pushing back starting families of our own, and as a result, this whole idea of self-fulfillment in a career or lifestyle chose has taken the forefront. We have a unique opportunity, even in a time of war, to explore the world and try to find ourselves and our happiness in the process. Yet why is it that at such a unique time where all of this information is at our fingertips, that social and political apathy is commonplace? Are we too self-involved? Does anything else but self-fulfillment matter? I think we could be TOO connected, if such a thing is possible. Perhaps our lack of involvement is some sort of a rebellion against the things that keep us connected. Or are we just so bombarded with messages that we simply can't find the time to formulate our own opinions? Or, if we are forming our own opinions and expressing them, do we now have too many media outlets that our personal thoughts and opinions become convoluted or lost in the pile that is the internet? Just some things to consider. Whatever the case may be, we are a generation reliant on technology. Again, sometimes to our own detriment.

As far as career choices go, I think that the global economy has allowed our generation moreso than any other in history, to find our true calling in life, make it a profession and make it lucrative enough to support ourselves and any family that we may start in the future.

Of course these ideas are just my own and I encourage anybody with any information or insight on these matters to post their opinions, thoughts, concerns, statistics, etc. I am becoming more and more intrigued by the social/political/historical implications surrounding this idea of pursuing a passion as a career, how the current conditions around us allow it to exist amd whether or not it is a feasible reality for Generation Y'ers, Generation X'ers or whatever you want to call us.

Thank you.