Generation Q

I read an op-ed column by Thomas Friedman in the New York Times quite a while ago and it was, to me, a perfect description of my, of our generation.

He coined the current College and University class of students Generation Q - The Quiet Generation. He says that we, as a student body, need to be louder. We need passion, we need to light a fire under our government's asses. He's right.

I do however disagree with his notion that our generation is somehow lacking in a passion for social causes, I have been invited to Facebook groups for things ranging from Save the Turtles to Kill the Turtles. We are undoubtedly angry about the state of the world, just as previous generations have been, however, we don't fight the way our parents did.

This is where I completely agree with Friedman. He says that when we fight for a cause, its virtual, resulting in virtual results. Rather than march in protest, we click in protest. We create Facebook groups, we send emails, we create on-line petitions.

It is, and always has been, the younger generations that change things, that bring on revolutions. We are beginning to lose that edge with every email we send rather than a latter, with every online petition as oppose to a clipboard and with every online group we join instead of standing on solid ground with others. There are so many half-baked ideas on how the save this planet floating around cyberspace that its no wonder the state of the world seems hopeless. We need to think outside of the box, or at the very least outside of the web.

And no, the irony of me posting this on a blog is not lost.

You can read the full article HERE.