Still thinking about Millenials. And Revolution.
So....the UK votes to leave the EU, and the event is described (by media anchors, at least) as being old vs young....youngsters prefering to stay in the EU, oldsters opting out....and winning....thus inflicting their world view (they say) on those who will have to live with it far longer than they do. I'm a little sensitive about this, being an old person; I know there's some shaming going on here.
The oldsters are viewed as looking backwards with nostalgia, while the youngsters are looking into the future with hope and expectation....or, perhaps, are just looking at their phones.
Olders say let's get smaller, youngsters say let's get bigger. Oldsters say we must take care of our own house, youngsters say the world is our house.
When the UK Labour Party elected Jeremy Corbin, though, I don't remember that election being described as old vs young, but as anti-establishment v establishment....
I think the media notion of old v young is much too simplistic....it's not exactly an age thing.... and "OUT" was more "anti-establishment" than "IN" was...don't you think?
In the US, there's Trump v Clinton.....but neither the young vote or the old vote seem to want either of them. If the election was today, it's anybody's guess which would end up with the most millenials. And, I think the over 65's will split on the urban/rural line. So who decides who will be president? Party affectionados and politicos...and the folks with the money.....and the new president will have the actual support of about 10% of the total population.
This is not going to work.
Being a US resident, I "get" the feelings around each of our candidates in an immediate way. I'm not as clear about UK citizens' motivations....it's all second hand for me.
But I do feel the rejection of "the establishment" is the strong, underlying theme that's been expressed in both countries....and have noticed that the "anti-establishment" side has started to win.
Which is fine by me...except that the only "anti-establishment" candidate right now appears to be Trump...and for various reasons, I can't vote for him. But I really am "anti-establishment", so I can't vote for Clinton, either.
I'd really like there to be another choice; I really would.
I expect to write somebody in, or sit it all out. My only hope is those millenials. What are THEY going to do? They're in the same boat as me, but they're young, tech savy, energetic...maybe they won't put up with it. Maybe they'll come up with something to save us. We are dying for an idea here. We have got to get over this hump and figure out where the heck it is we are going.
And we'd better do it fast. THAT is the province of the young.
So....the UK votes to leave the EU, and the event is described (by media anchors, at least) as being old vs young....youngsters prefering to stay in the EU, oldsters opting out....and winning....thus inflicting their world view (they say) on those who will have to live with it far longer than they do. I'm a little sensitive about this, being an old person; I know there's some shaming going on here.
The oldsters are viewed as looking backwards with nostalgia, while the youngsters are looking into the future with hope and expectation....or, perhaps, are just looking at their phones.
Olders say let's get smaller, youngsters say let's get bigger. Oldsters say we must take care of our own house, youngsters say the world is our house.
When the UK Labour Party elected Jeremy Corbin, though, I don't remember that election being described as old vs young, but as anti-establishment v establishment....
I think the media notion of old v young is much too simplistic....it's not exactly an age thing.... and "OUT" was more "anti-establishment" than "IN" was...don't you think?
In the US, there's Trump v Clinton.....but neither the young vote or the old vote seem to want either of them. If the election was today, it's anybody's guess which would end up with the most millenials. And, I think the over 65's will split on the urban/rural line. So who decides who will be president? Party affectionados and politicos...and the folks with the money.....and the new president will have the actual support of about 10% of the total population.
This is not going to work.
Being a US resident, I "get" the feelings around each of our candidates in an immediate way. I'm not as clear about UK citizens' motivations....it's all second hand for me.
But I do feel the rejection of "the establishment" is the strong, underlying theme that's been expressed in both countries....and have noticed that the "anti-establishment" side has started to win.
Which is fine by me...except that the only "anti-establishment" candidate right now appears to be Trump...and for various reasons, I can't vote for him. But I really am "anti-establishment", so I can't vote for Clinton, either.
I'd really like there to be another choice; I really would.
I expect to write somebody in, or sit it all out. My only hope is those millenials. What are THEY going to do? They're in the same boat as me, but they're young, tech savy, energetic...maybe they won't put up with it. Maybe they'll come up with something to save us. We are dying for an idea here. We have got to get over this hump and figure out where the heck it is we are going.
And we'd better do it fast. THAT is the province of the young.
No comments:
Post a Comment