Twenty Five: Today's Youth

OK, so I'm officially "old" now that I'm complaining about young people. Specifically, my employees, who stroll in at 9 or later in the morning, take an hour for lunch, are late whenever they feel like it, and seem to expect that their paychecks and jobs will be around as long they want them. Pretty soon there is going to be a rude awakening.

When I got my first job in the private sector after my Peace Corps tour, I arrived at whatever time was necessary in order to make me the first one at work. I frequently came in on Saturdays, at least for the morning. That kind effort was not unobserved by my superiors. I acquired a reputation for diligence and dependability. I just don't see that kind of commitment today. Asking someone to come in on the weekends is like asking them to donate an organ. Same thing with asking for an early arrival. They look at me and say, "I can't." And of course in their own minds, they really believe that whatever is going on in their lives is so dreadfully important that they really can't get to work before 9 o'clock. This is pitiful.

There is definitely a sense of entitlement with the younger generation today. Even their parents never really had to do without. Most of them were unaffected by Viet Nam. There only sense of patriotism is watching some spoiled athlete parade around the Olympic games desecrating the American flag.

This is probably a natural progression as this country gets farther from its roots. Those roots developed and took hold from the days of the founding fathers through probably WWII. Since then, the U.S. has had pretty much the run of the globe. The terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 were a speed bump. We consume, we vacation, we procreate, we are entertained by a myriad of sensory advertisements all designed to get us to consume, vacation and procreate some more.

Where is the value in all of this?