"Me and all my friends
We're all misunderstood
They say we stand for nothing
There's no way we ever could...

...so we're waiting for the world to change."

John Mayer, "Waiting for the World to Change."

Hmmm. I wonder how the newer generations are labeled as "complacent!" All stabs aside, the twenty-somethings and below, (heck, maybe even the "thirty-somethings" as well), have enough problems. In America, our economy is facing major changes, we are stuck in the quagmire of a war to which there appears no victor, our civil liberties are slowly eroding away, and if, God forbid, anyone dares questions the government they MUST be "unAmerican!" World wide we are facing global weather changes, which like it or not, are real and are going to affect mankind for a long, long time. Although there are many people, of all ages, who wander about in a fog, sure that if they just pretend it all doesn't exist then perhaps it won't affect them, there is more likely a fear among many of America's young people of not being able to do enough to change it. This fear is exacerbated by our media, who are quick to sensationalize any negative and pounce on exaggerations.

But there are many young people who are keeping the good fight going. I know this firsthand, as I see such people every day on college campuses in both my northern Michigan community, at the local community college, and the Flint area, at U of M's Flint campus. They are bright, energetic, engaging and doing their own part to let their voice be heard and try to insure that the world they are left is not tattered and torn beyond repair. My own daughter, who is only 13, has launched her own campaign on vegetarianism. A recent convert, having only despised meat for about 7 months, she carefully yet passionately informs her peers and other contacts on-line about the virtues of being a herbivore, although her "I Love TOFU" shirt has other interpretations from some of the boys, (adolescent boys and their "sex on the brain!") Still, my daughter, along with many young people, do not think the world will change without some help. They may feel overwhelmed by all the issues, but many have found at least one cause to embrace, one fight to engage in, to participate in the democracy they were born in.

To end where this began, even John Mayer has recently performed his above hit with different lyrics after his participation in the world-wide concert to bring awareness to the issue of global warming. He realized that although his song was true to his own personal feelings at the time of its conception, it may be too complacent, too ready to allow others his age to just rely upon time to fix the world. Gee, if John can see it, shouldn't we?

Learn more about this author, Genine Hopkins.
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