by joannameng
Last year I read “Generation Overwhelmed” by Courtney E. Martin after a friend posted it on Facebook. I could relate to a lot of it: I, too, had been feeling “my generation’s absolute paralysis in the face of so many choices, so many causes, and so much awareness.” But of course, as Peter Suderman pointed out, Martin isn’t really talking about her entire generation, but her circle of friends.
One part of Martin’s article that surprised me was that she said our generation is “overeducated” and “knows so much about so much.” Declaring yourself overeducated sound pompous. But beyond that, does she really believe that getting a nice college education, reading a lot of news and blogs, having political discussions with your friends, and maybe studying abroad or working for an NGO means that you know too much? Maybe it means that you have a lot of information of one sort, but are out of touch with the rest of the world.
I went to a pretty prestigious college, but I often feel like I don’t know nearly enough. I also feel slow—too little, too late. I almost never catch current events right after they happen. I actually didn’t know what the World Trade Center was until after the morning of September 11. I didn’t really know who Karl Rove was until I looked him up on Wikipedia last week. I rarely recognize the names of celebrities or politicians during lunch discussions at work. And look: it took me almost a year to post this response to a brief October 2007 article.
But I do agree with Martin that what we need is not necessarily more information; we need better ways of turning what we know into satisfying actions. There are plenty of volunteer opportunities, campaigns to support, and nonprofits to work for. But what I don’t feel is a sense of belonging to any cause that’s out there. When I join up with some activist group or take on a cause, I usually either feel like an outsider or otherwise unworthy, or simply uncertain about my goals and reasons for being involved.
In other words, there’s a lot out there in the world to deal with. But what, besides my own personal relationships and first-hand experiences, should I be messing with? But then, isn’t the point of life to be able to reach out beyond myself?
I don’t know how to conclude this post right now. I’m feeling distracted and confused and totally unsatisfied. (And, trust me, I’m not just saying that to be ironic or something.)
2 responses so far ↓
Vanessa // September 17, 2008 at 6:05 am |
I feel the same tension. I am really passionate about public health, but there are other issues that I am interested in and feel strongly about. I think it might be a characteristic of our generation that we don’t feel strongly about that one thing. Possibly it is a product of having so many viable choices. When you have few choices, it’s easy for the goals and reasons to come after starting involvement.
Having that one cause or one passion is not necessary for you to be able to commit to following through and succeeding. In this respect, indecisiveness is somewhat of a strength. You may not have thorough knowledge of a cause but your skill set can transcend what in the past has been more compartmentalized. Having the ability to glean the important facts from tons of information is valuable then.
Marx Marvelous // September 18, 2008 at 3:01 pm |
It’s like the Quarter Life Crisis! I think, if anything, I’ve always felt over-educated in too many areas. I know a lot about LGBT issues, the environment, politics, technology, urban planning, law, beer and so forth. But what I don’t know is how any of that is useful. That’s why I’m going to hunker away somewhere and chant over and over to myself **Higher Education** **Higher Education** **Higher Education**