Hey all! :eusa_thin A high-school teacher and friend of mine sent me this article and asked for my thoughts on the points made. I read it and thought I'd share it here because it's such a thought-provoking article, and I'm curious what other opinions are out there. If you have the time, read and respond! 8 Reasons Young Americans Don't Fight Back: How the US Crushed Youth Resistance I'll just copy/paste my response.
This practically sums up all of my anxiety in a nutshell. :/ Can I please just move away from this police state that I live in??
My perspective, as l'm part of the targeted audience, is that I simply lost the ability to care. There is so much bad stuff with this system that why should it change? The government keeps haggling over minimum wage (with Republicans saying we don't deserve a higher wage and that financially-troubled families need to stop being poor), student loans are very much terrifying, and the chance of getting a degree, but not getting a good job from it is all too real. It really looks like the gov't doesn't care anymore; they want sheep and not wolves, if that analogy was remotely useful. So if they don't care about us l can give two shits less about the ogliarchy
This wasn't really that thought-provoking if only because I already thought about most of these reasons and are well aware of them. Considering I'm usually rather pessimistic and cynical, it's surprising that I'm one of the people that still maintain hope, especially about a topic such as this. Even so, I don't plan on staying here. I don't see this changing in my lifetime no matter what ends up happening.
Oddly enough, I've seen the opinion that rather than an Orwellian police state, our country is more similar to Huxley's in Brave New World. We aren't so much forced into obedience as we are coaxed into it by comfort. There's too much stuff to keep us immediately occupied. I know this firsthand because often times I have to make the choice of whether to write my social commentary-laden fiction piece, or surf the net/play one of a hundred games I have. Frequently I choose the latter despite that the former is much more productive. :/
Yeah, I think number 1 (student loan debt) is one of the biggest issues here. At as young as 18 years old, kids in the US are saddled with a bajillion dollars of debt if they want to even be able to make a living wage one day. It's hard to stand up for yourself when you're already buried alive.
Maybe we don't fight against the government, but we're more likely to fight back against corrupt organizations like school boards. Three years ago, I was a student in a school district that was run by a corrupt school superintendent. We picketed her office and I got to shout in a bullhorn a few times. It felt great At the same time, we could utilize this time and energy in fighting against the government.
I believe that "fighting" against "the system" is an abstract concept that really does nothing at all. I navigate all of these power relations by enjoying life as in the ways I want to, as much as I possibly can.
The following quote sums up, in my opinion, one of the largest hurdles to taking any kind of action: " Men are more easily governed through their vices than through their virtues. " - Napoleon Bonaparte. Just something to think about.
