Are we the soft generation?

In the poem "The History Teacher" by Billy Collins, the teacher trivializes the details of major historical events so as to "protect his students' innocence". But as the poem goes to show, shielding the youth from the truths of reality does more harm than good. That only lends itself to ignorance. In fact, it is more often than not that younger generations are criticized for just that: being "too sensitive". 

As of late, the generational divide has become severe. Rather than blaming whole systems and institutions for not serving our society as we envision, we instead point fingers. For example, a politically correct Gen-Zer is most often stereotyped as a "snowflake"- a derogatory label to describe those who are overly sensitive and fragile.

It is true that humor has evolved over time- older generations are accustomed to certain jokes that do not align with the culture shift that younger generations grew up into. Something that was once funny being redefined as offensive is a case in point to show the growing hyper-consciousness of the world around us.

Perhaps a reason for this could be heightened exposure to technology, where one has a place in an entire opinion ecosystem, and feel the perpetual need to react and respond in a "perfect" way.  Clashing attitudes due to different life experiences make it almost inevitable for generations to be pitted against each other. 


It must be acknowledged, then, that this absence of relatability is somewhat justifiable. The hardships felt by past generations such as world war and unsteadiness in the economy and government can be felt and understood only to a limited extent by those who did not endure. Among the modern youth, comparatively, cancel culture runs rampant, and political correctness is of utmost importance, often considered as or more important than one's opinions of their own. 

But what is the cost of this cautiousness? I wonder, then, if the accountability demanded by modern society has been a cause for the loss of a sense of clarity in one's own thoughts- and consequently the confusion of the individual moral compass.

Comments

  1. kushySeptember 11, 2022 at 6:33 PM

    I definitely agree with you point about cancel culture. It's so easy to anonymously sit behind a screen in the comfort of your own home and "cancel" other random anonymous person online. In the past there was a lot less accountability for our actions. Now, you have to thriple check anything you send to make sure it doesn't offend anybody. I feel like if the world's online community came together to fight a real cause like climate change instead of canceling Andrew Tate, then the world would be a better place. But like, I said these days, nobody wants to leave the comfort of their own and make a change, most people just want to sit at home and comment.

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