The Why-Worry Generation article in the NY Times displays surprising truths and thought provoking ideas. I completely agree with Judith Warner, the journalist who wrote the article, that the generation born between 1982 and 2002 is not the hyped up "next great generation," but rather a generation hyped up on arrogance and ego. Many of the people born within this time period exhibit the qualities necessary to succeed in the economically down turned world and help fix the problem, yet these are also the same people creating the problem. They, through their inability to fore look an off-perfect job, have helped cause the economic problem: such as less hiring and jobs going overseas to people more willing to accept such a job. I'm not saying these people need to do something they hate; it might just be more beneficial to find a middle ground.
I also agree that the generation has been far too babied in terms of accomplishment. Nowadays it seems everyone, regardless of skill level, can acquire some sort of trophy or award for their accomplishments, however minor they may be. This just reduces the overall meaning of awards. The same is true of many of the grades and A's that people are getting in school. While it may be nice to make everyone happy, applauding mediocrity is an overall detrimental process. It raises confidence, yes, but does not adequately prepare future workers. When done in moderation though, it can be beneficial. An example of this is when a sports team may play a worse team in order to raise their confidence. If this was done over and over again, it would degrade the teams’ ability to succeed because the team would not be ready for higher level of play. Proactivity is the best solution, but that’s just my thought on the subject.
Another comment can be said for Margaret Atwood's "Happy Endings." Her 6 so called 'happy endings' allow for several things to happen. One person may die, they may live happily, both (or all three?) can die, and so on and so forth. Atwood seems to believe that unless one lives a happy life where both parents are committed, have kids, a nice home, and such ('A'), the ending will be sad and mournful. I don’t necessarily agree with this view, I believe that happy endings don’t always come in the form of a stereotypical 'perfect family.' I do agree with Atwood's final thought about death being the only authentic end, though. One cannot escape death nor outrun it; I believe that one can simply enjoy the in-between and be grateful for what comes, and perhaps change what needs to be changed in order to make things better (very optimistic I know). And to return to the point above, the best 'in-between' comes from the hard work put into it.
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