As a Generation X'er I remember the 1980's as a time when I would look out of my bedroom window looking for the flash and a mushroom cloud delivered by a missile from the USSR. During the 1990's I remember feeling that we had crossed a milestone and that maybe, just maybe, mankind would survive our poor decisions of filling up the countryside with missile silos, and that we might actually be able to achieve a kind of peace among man.
But here we are in 2006. Not only are we back to cowering in fear of a mysterious enemy who might unleash death and destruction on us, but we are now in fear of unleashing the death and destruction of our very democracy, brought about by the very people we elected to protect and preserve it.
This has created an enormous sense of hopelessness, that is being echoed and amplified in the Arts world, and expressed by our youth.
I teach music in a small private Catholic College in New England. On the whole it is a very progressive institution, with a dedicated faculty and administration. Students are free to be as religious, or atheistic as they choose. Our students are intelligent, and come from a variety of backgrounds.
I recently had an extended conversation with one of my freshman, and in the course of this conversation it struck me how devoid of hope and optimism this student is about the future. Far from a typical cynicism that most underclassmen may suffer from, he offered detailed and well thought-out concerns that shared a common theme: I don't have any great hope for out future.
And he is not alone.
Students are understandably confused about the honesty of our federal government, and the impact that their dishonesty is having on our future. Aftter all, what do they hear from the government/press (which are almost indistinquishable anymore)?
Iraq? Evil empire, have to invade. Oops, no WMD? My bad.
Iran? Evil Empire, will do what we need to do to protect the US. Evidence? Don't have any, don't care.
Global Warming? Doesn't exist. The Arctic ice sheet is no longer reforming and the oceans are now rising and creating an even worse scenario? Don't care.
Religion? Only Christianity will do, only evagelical fundamentalists who advocate legislating christian concerns will do. Anyone else is anti-American.
After 6 years of this we as as society have become worn-down, abd I believe we are starting to lose hope we can no longer keep the promise that is America. Freedom, democracy, and the right to live as you chose without government interference is about to disapear - especially f you are gay, a woman, or are non-white or non-christian.
I wonder if, as a result of such an oppresive regime running the US, we have experienced the Wal-Marting of the Arts, and of the press. Gone are works or art, and investigative journalism that challenge us, even if it is disgust. It has been sanitized and compartmentalized so that everyone is experiencing basically the same "toothpaste commercial"-like product. To sell anything else is anti-American. To create anything (art or journalism) that does not fall into a Wal-Mart Rubric of what is acceptable is anti-American. And very may may result in charges from the right of also being anti-christian, anti-family, pro-terrorists, etc.
The most soberng part of my conversation with my student was when I asked him what kind of hopeful things he would like to create, or what musician he listens to that has this sense of good news and promise that he felt was lacking. He didn't have an answer to either question.
That is perhaps a prelude of one of the horrible results of this administration and it's conspiritors in the the Congress: our young people, our hope for the future, are left feeling afraid, having no soultions offered, having common sense and scientific evidence dismissed as non-sense, not knowing wha to do believe, or what to do.
They have no hope. If they have no hope, what hope does America have?