The Other Guy

By Travs Epes

Welcome true believers,

I’m glad to see the first cries from our flaming viking ship roused some interesting comments. So far, Eric has directed this voyage through some enlightening ports. Of course, clever readers might wonder if only a single captain could command a ship so grandly titled as, “The Last Generation.” That’s were I come in. My posts might not appear as often as Eric’s, but I will try and offer the occasional variety to his intellectual pillaging.

This being my first post, I thought I’d keep everything simple and continue our thought train from last time. Eric revealed some painful truths explaining how we earned this name: Generation “Why.” All of our loud and incessant questioning seems to have given us a familiar infamy. As Eric mentioned, we are blessed with the knowledge of countless causes for outrage, yet are kept complacent enough ignore any meaningful participation.

One problem is we ask too much. One answer is never enough. We’re not satisfied to only question where our waste goes, so we keep asking where all the waste goes. Eventually we explore deep enough, and we soon discover the root of why these problems are so intimidating. I could recycle every tuna can and plastic bottle I consume, but none of that will stop my neighbors from dumping used batteries and computer equipment out with their ordinary trash.

Even if I could craft some legendary and inspiring propaganda to convince those close to me, I’d be hard pressed to persuade the Chinese to do their part in preserving the environment. Sure, I could start a vegan diet, buy a bike, sew my own clothes, and get so doped up on self righteousness I can’t feel my TOMS – but I’d still be missing the support of those unenlightened regular folk. And honestly, why would anyone separate different metals, run to Staples to recycle ink cartridges, or avoid over-consuming delicious red meat while everyone else enjoys thirty minute showers and cheap Wal-Mart groceries.

In addition to the music, movies, and television Eric will be mentioning soon, we have our upbringings to blame for this arrogant apathy. Anyone who endured the public school system will remember those delightful motivational posters and platitudes they drilled into our still forming noggins. Posters with words like ACHIEVEMENT and PERSEVERANCE guaranteed we could accomplish anything to which we applied our nose picking minds. Looking back, I now see why I automatically assume anyone who writes in all capitals must be eating glue.

Those signs were not made with evil intentions. Whoever wrote them might have been a few letters short of an alphabet, but their purpose wasn’t to doom a generation. I do believe, however, that their message of self importance was blown way out of proportion. I am not special. I am not the future — we are. If we can shuffle off this spoon fed baloney about personal ingenuity, we can put our collected specialness to its proper use and actually assess the meat of our problems. I’m tired of watching us all ease a collected self-conscience by spending more with Product(Red) cards and drinking coffee from 40% post-consumer cups.

Stay tuned for my next post, which will explain how truly remarkable an invention the internet is, and how we can better tap this unexplored toolbox.

G’day,
TE