Post by joeweston on Aug 9, 2011 23:31:46 GMT -5
David Brooks' essay "The Organization Kid" seems to perfectly capture the achievement-driven mentality of our generation, or at the very least of the "elite" and the "upper crust" youth. Certainly this class, with its ten Youth Salute recognizees can attest to the constant flow of activities and clubs for personal advancement and resume building. Brooks gets after Millenials for our inattention to conflict, in favor of advancement. This applies to broad themes, as noted in the anecdote about the lack of any campaigning spirit or political involvement apparent in our generation, despite the essay being rooted in the Princeton campus in an election period. However as the essay goes on, Brooks' real concerns about our squeamishness about internal conflict and morals. Brooks voices a fear that we have replaced morality with meritocracy. This will be a difficult trend to reverse, as the essay remarks "These young people are wonderful to be around. If they are indeed, running the country in a few decades, we'll be in fine shape. It will be a good country, though maybe not a great one." The pros of meritocracy are abundant, and more importantly are easily apparent. It is much harder to visualize the hard-won gains of character born of sacrifice and keen awareness of others than it is to idealize the knowledge and drive of a rigorous workload. This is in part due to the fact that our generation has almost no trials to speak of. It takes the Rough Riders to get a Theodore. It takes a lifelong battle with Polio to get a Franklin. Our greatest conflict seems to be on debt ceilings and balanced budgets, over whether or not we can extend benefits to everyone forever, about just how much luxury we can all have. Brooks case then becomes much more prescient. What then, will be the reflection of this pampered generation?