End of the Road

We've spent the last two months talking about issues in the United States, and exposed each other to different ideas, perspectives, and belief structures. Also had a few disagreements along the way. At the end, we were asked "what did we learn?"

That's a question we're all asked at some point in our lives. Or, at least, we should be. For myself, I've learned that the issues I care about aren't the issues others care about, and the reverse also holds true. Our units about the "worth" of college degrees, marriage equality, feminism in and out of the work place, "covering," and crime and punishment simply haven't resonated with me. It's not that I don't "care" exactly; they're just issues that I can't understand as being "issues" in the first place. That said, one concern that we all seem to share is the future. It looms large, uncertain, and inexorable on the horizon.

For some of us, we see gloom and doom. Others see hope. And at least one of us sees dollar signs (here's looking at you, Arnold). I can't tell you what's coming, one way or the other. Could be great things, could be terrible things. Chances are we'll see both. Ultimately, though, it's going to come down on you, and all the others in the collegiate system. Whatever your stance on degrees, you're the ones that wind up in charge.

You're the people that go on to grad school. You're the people that go on to run businesses, become policy wonks, engineers, economists cited in political messaging, and political elites. The future, good, bad, or neither, rests in your hands, and the hands of your peers.

When you understand that, you understand that you have a choice. You have the choice to become informed. You have the choice to resist manipulation. You have the choice to influence, persuade, and inspire others. You have the choice to be worthy of  what others have given for you, worthy of leadership, worthy of rewards you believe should be conferred upon you for your hard work....or not. It's up to you.

Keep in mind, though, that there will always be others that prefer you don't have a choice in determining your future. They may or may not be evil, they may or may not be stupid, they may or may not have some of the same beliefs as you. But those people do exist, and always will.

So forget about this "Generation Screwed" crap. Forget about being held back or being held down. Be tenacious, ambitious, resilient, adaptable, and intelligent. Make yourselves unassailable, so that no one can take from you that which you haven't given, and that which they haven't earned. Don't accept the way things are if you find them unacceptable.

At the same time, keep in mind the responsibilities you've all inherited by virtue of the gifts you've already received. You're all adults now, who have had the great privilege of coming to adulthood in (in my not-so-humble opinion) the greatest country in the world. You will vote, determine outcomes of elections and policies, and therefore be responsible for the decisions that our elected bodies make. With that comes the duty to understand that our governance doesn't exist to serve you individually, but to serve the nation as a whole. That means be willing to compromise, see others' points of view, and keep in your hearts and minds the ideals we're all supposed to cherish and protect.

The future is yours. Take it.