TheWorldJournal.com

Young Americans
By Jean-Francois Numainville, TheWorldJournal.com

Shortly after World War II, North American countries went through an intense period of demographic growth known as the Baby Boom. The millions of people born in that period were very fortunate: it was a prosperous time and on top of that, the 60s and 70s were a blast. They didn't just have fun; they took matters in hands by changing ideas and perceptions and ultimately transforming society to make it more open and free. In the wake of the Boomers was Generation X, now hitting their forties, they were driven by pessimisms and jealousy towards the Boomers. Xers didn't have as many opportunities as their predecessors did, simply because boomers took all the good jobs leaving Generation X with no real self-identity and particularly with NO FUTURE. Nowadays, it's the children of the baby boomers who are ready to take conquer the world, and the future is looking bright: a very high state of living combine with immense opportunities for the future is what young Americans are enjoying.

Young Americans are fortunate to be the children of the baby boomers. Most of them are living in abundance, and this privilege allows them all freedom to do what they want with their existence. Following higher education, having a lot of leisure time while taking benefits of progress in technology is the standard way of living for them. Plus, a performing economy and a healthy social climate offers diversified carrier options. Also, family and social services are there to help if ever something goes wrong. Those factors combine makes the North American youth gifted with unique opportunities that no generations before them could benefit from.

The new generation is also fortunate to live in a society where its citizens are protected by rights of equality of chances for all. Fights for woman rights and racial rights are no longer issues in today's society, since all of those are respected in the vast majority of cases. The actual world order is also exceptionally peaceful, yes even after September the 11th. Today, there are no equivalents to the Cold War, Vietnam and the 2 World Wars that past generation live through. Furthermore, no mandatory military service is an obstacle to young people's life. All of this combines to offer immense travel opportunities, which are priceless experiences to whoever has the chance to live it. Because just about every obstacle and boundaries that could have prevent the generation of young Americans from living a free existence are no longer there, a shinning future is guaranteed to almost all of them.

If you are part of the group of young Americans, just as I am, you should feel fortunate. But being gifted with so many chances makes jealous people, as the recent terrorists events brutally taught us. It should try to make less fortunate people taste what being free is like.

On the other hand, it is also our duty to use those chances to make our life just as fulfilling as we can. And surely this means to have challenging projects and so on, but it is also means to have serious fun! The best years of our life are upon us, and making this period a blast should be on your agenda as well. As a guideline for the coming years, I suggest you to consider what Ernest Hemingway once said: "Study what you like and have a damn good time doing it."

© January 30, 2002

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