Generation Too Late

America used to be a decent place. The rich were taxed about half their income, and our government funneled the money into public works like highways, schools, universities, etc. After World War II, America took an unquestioning seat at the head of the table, and the rest of the world looked to us for innovation.

Then the Hippies failed. They drugged themselves numb until they died off or lost their spirit to do good. By the end of the 70’s, all that survived were the Yuppies: Generation Mine.

They elected Saint Ronald Reagan. They bought the garbage religion that the rich drive the economy with their wealth. They stopped taxing the rich so much, allowing an ever-widening pay gap to balloon out of control. Meanwhile, social institutions and safety nets began falling apart without money to fund them.

My generation gets nothing. We get awful education by underfunded schools using computers older than we are. We get crumbling roads and bridges. We get student loan debt that buries us in interest payments. We get part-time jobs with no benefits. We get rented apartments because no one in their right mind would loan money now. There are no jobs, because the Yuppies gambled away their future and have to work past retirement.

My generation showed up to a party at 3am, when the kegs were tapped and nearly everyone had gone home. They got their fill, and we've been left to clean up.

The problem is, the Yuppies don’t realize how my generation parties. When the keg is tapped, we don’t go home and sleep. No.

We take to the streets. We break things. We spray paint your store fronts, piss in the tanks of your luxury cars, and smash your fancy lawn ornaments. This is not the Woodstock ’69 generation, this is the Woodstock ’99 generation. We want something to burn.

This is a generation of frustrated, angry young people. Until we have jobs, all we have is free time to watch, wait, and plan. If we can’t earn what we need, we will take what we want. The question is: what will be left when we’re through?