This week’s blog is in response to and expanding the article, http://www.alternet.org/vision/151850/8_reasons_young_americans_don%27t_fight_back_--_how_the_us_crushed_youth_resistance?page=entire. To summarize, however, the article looks at “8 reasons young Americans don’t fight back.” The reasons are: Student Loan Debt, Psychopathologizing and Medicating Noncompliance, Schools that Educate for Compliance and not for Democracy, “No Child Left Behind” and “Race to the Top,” Shaming Young People Who Take Education—But Not Their Schooling—Seriously, The Normalization of Surveillance, Television, and Fundamentalist Religion and Fundamentalist Consumerism.
I think it is difficult to argue with the author when it comes to these specific points. The author does a good job defending these topics and providing support as to how each play a role in suppressing youth resistance in America. I do agree that each of the issues presented could be a part of the lack of youth resistance, but I can most relate with the student loan debt idea. With the increasing cost of tuition, students are taking more and more loans to get through college. I don’t think that any of us think we can create a movement big enough to end or cover our debt, so we fear the day when we don’t have a job and still have the debt to pay. If we are faced with the decision to join a social movement that requires such time and effort that we cannot work, I think that the average young adult will opt not to join the cause.
Another factor I think that plays a role in this, even if it is much smaller than the previously mentioned eight is that this generation has an incredible amount of variation in the music that they listen to and that is popular. If you got back and watch Forrest Gump or other movies set in the earlier generation’s youth era, you’ll find a consistent soundtrack with Credence Clearwater Revival, Lynyrd Skynyrd, and Bob Dylan. These artists were always pushing the limits of what was acceptable to sing about, and people found themselves gathering with people who listened to that music and who also believed every word in their songs. Now, not only is the popular music much more diverse, it is also censored. We talked about it in class that there is censorship that goes on even at the recording studio. If a studio has a contract with a certain store or are promoting certain products, they may not sign a signer if their music doesn’t fit those other companies. Also, the parental restrictions and age limits to buy the “edgier” music plays a part in the situation. I think that large movements are organized and started by simple similarities in people, and music used to be a big connecting factor for the younger generation at the time. Now, granted a lot of young adults really enjoy music, it is harder to group up when our likes and dislikes within music vary so much.
So we have some causes, but what about the effects? The United State’s government is supposed to be set up in a way where everything has checks and balances; House and Senate, for example. But the biggest check and balance for the government should be the people it governs. However, we cannot always rely on ‘the vote.’ We have seen situations where the populous wants it one way, but the opposite happens (Electoral College). If the younger generation is truly being suppressed from organizing and resisting the government--even when they think a change needs made--the biggest check and balance isn’t being used properly. As American citizens, we have the right, and duty to question the government and make sure that they are doing what is in the best interest of all its citizens. The movie The American President has a scene that mentions our right and responsibility to question our leaders. (SEE ABOVE CLIP). Fast forward to the 1:15 mark. If the government isn’t being checked by its people, eventually it will continue toward the idea of “post-democracy” that Frances Fox-Piven discussed. The wealthy helping the wealthy so that the wealthy can run the country; a circle of leadership and ownership at the top of the classes in America.
Thirdly, American youth have enthralled themselves in the new social media boom. They have twitters, facebooks, Google pluses, and who knows what all else. They are friends or followers of celebrities and hundreds of ‘friends’ from all over. The celebrity factor, in particular, can be a fairly large one for younger people. They are constantly updating their pages with comments about the charities they support, or things they are doing to help others. This influence, I think, is working on people, but the movements are less organized and on a much more local level. They see an issue in the world posted by a celebrity, and, even if it is just for the autographed t-shirt, they are willing to help try and change that problem in a monetary way.
Personally, I think the youth are still active in working to form a socially just country. It may not be in the form of protests and sit-ins any more. Now, what I see is youth working to bring the lower class up in the world, trying to get the country to the point where we all are willing to throw our lives into a pile of notecards and pull any out to trade. A new and large part of the nation’s largest youth organization—The National FFA Organization—is the National Days of Service. There are scheduled days where FFA members (over half a million strong) across the nation work in their local communities improving the quality of living for everybody, and there are unscheduled days where members and chapters are still working and improving their communities. Each year the National FFA Organization sets a goal of a certain number of hours per year to be logged working to improve lives of people around the nation, and the goal has reached 1,000,000 (one million) hours. Separate, but similar, is a part of most of the leadership seminars and workshops, just as Washington Leadership Conference, is a day completely devoted to working in agriculture fields picking food left by the harvesters of crops and donating the time and food to multiple food banks around the Washington DC area. While this may only be a small part of what a socially just country includes, it is a step that young Americans are taking every day to improve the country as a whole. Maybe this will lead back to that idea of finding commonalities and grouping together to make bigger changes to the country. Or maybe the grassroots work that people are doing every day will continue and eventually bring people out of poverty and into a place where we can truly be one, united country.
