It’s Worst Of Times For Generation X

“Americans are united by optimism,” Luis told me confidently. I wasn’t so sure.

I was out surveying my twentysomething peers on the streets of San Francisco, asking them how they felt about politics and their future.

Luis’ declaration was interesting, considering his place as an expendable mercenary in the burgeoning temp industry. In my conversation with more than 50 young men and women, rainbows and sunshine were hard to find.

Rather, I was struck by a pessimism toward the future, a confusion about our ability to influence our well-being - and a pervasive sense of isolation.

Nowhere was this more evident than in people’s attitudes toward the almighty American Dream.

“Is there an American Dream?” asked Monica, a 23-year-old child-care worker. “I don’t see one … at least not for me.”

This was pretty typical.

More than half of the men and an overwhelming majority of the women concluded that the mythical dream is gone, now reserved for a privileged few. A healthy portion of the white-collar contingency with annual incomes over $25,000 echoed similar feelings. Many have downsized their dreams.

I can’t help but think that the loss of the American Dream has profound implications for a society raised on the once-unshakable belief in the opportunity for a better life. How do we understand this development?

Many young adults feel that the government is not concerned about us: its future. Most people I talked to felt that our leaders are abandoning us openly.

Unlike the angry white males who hate government so much, most of those I interviewed wished it would invest more in them.

Now, more than ever, a good education is imperative for making a living in the modern economy. But our nation’s willingness to support solid educational opportunities is seen as waning.

Head Start, an exemplary and proven program, struggles for funding, while the cost of higher education jumps 10 percent each year. At the same time, financial aid and wages remain stagnant.

Bummer.

“I think we’re more fatalistic because we were born into overwhelming social problems like the energy crisis, Vietnam, AIDS, the ozone hole,” said Fred. “We haven’t really lived in optimistic times.”

Admittedly, life has never been easy. But what about our ability to make things better?

No one saw positive changes coming through government. Not one. Only a handful saw much of it coming from themselves.

People’s roles as agents of change seemed limited to their duty as voters, or in shaping their work environments. Rarely did that sound like enough.

For many respondents, change sounded like something that came from some foreign land, from other people - from TV.

Jackie, a transplant from New York City, tried to explain.

“Our parents had a greater sense of activism than we do. They believed in a cause, but now a lot of them are sold-out yuppies. We don’t have that connection to a cause.”

In spite of her doubts, Jackie has helped at a center for homeless women the last two years. I admired her determination.

John, an office clerk, took a different angle.

“Things change only when they want them to change,” he concluded bitterly, motioning to skyscrapers.

Few actually came out and asserted that we have to take responsibility for the community we inherit. But there was a definite interest in helping prevent the coming apocalypse.

One directionless pizza slinger excitedly lauded the AmeriCorps program - until her friend pointed out that even this low-paying service project is hurting for funds and may be junked. Yet another opportunity lost to the Stealth bomber.

It is difficult to say how this grim undercurrent will affect our generation’s place in history, but it is obvious that our elders underestimate the depth of our frustration and demoralization.

It’s hard to say how much our funk can be blamed on a throwaway society, bad attitudes, the growth of technocracy or the ozone hole. To the extent that we are a product of forces already in motion, I wonder whether the X generation is the canary in this nation’s coal mine. Too many of us seem to feel that way.

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