A Generation Out of Touch
Using Our Freedom To Take Away Our Freedom
I begin this article by quoting the words of someone whom I don’t often quote—Adolph Hitler—who had the following words inscribed above one of the gas chambers in Auschwitz Germany, “I want to create a generation of young people devoid of a conscience; relentless, imperious and cruel.” May I suggest to you that these very words represent the mindset of an entire generation of young people today? I say this as a member of the same generation.
The various mediums that we look to for guidance, knowledge and wisdom are often not very healthy, they are reconstructions of the truth designed to suit the preferences of the individual rather than the objective world. As a culture, we are regularly brainwashed into believing we ought to look, smell, dress, speak, and act a certain way—and call into question the sanity of anyone who dares to suggest otherwise. However, I believe there is an important question that has gone unanswered, either because it has never been raised or it has gone unrecognized as a valid question: Who are the standard bearers of this generation and why?
Allow me to unpack the question with a few illustrations. Stephen Hawking is a leading scientist and a "standard" of our time in Quantum Gravity and the General Theory of Relativity, meaning that Mr. Hawking holds a significant influence over the scientific community. Martin Luther King Jr. was a Nobel Peace Prize winner, recognized in history as the most influential figure of the Civil Rights movement of the 1950’s and 1960’s. He was, in part, responsible for the liberation of a large portion of the culture; therefore, the life of Dr. King holds a significant influence over the humanitarian and political community. In my opinion, it’s these kinds of achievements that earn the title of standard bearer.
Returning now to my original question, seen in light of the illustrations of Hawking and King: Who is the person or persons that you and I have put on a pedestal as the standard bearers for our generation and why? The hip-hop scene, in particular, is filled with accepted cultural icons that use music, lyrics and rhythm as a way of grabbing the attention of the listener, while degrading the purity of young women and the minds of millions of young men. Indecency in women is portrayed as right, as is the lack of respect of men towards women. There is something very wrong with this picture.
It’s been said that our prejudices help to shape our perceptions, especially if those prejudices are interpreted as convictions. For most of us, there is a deep connection between our moral outlook and the way we live. This is especially true when it’s connected to the deeper emotional experiences of our life. We are likewise surrounded by politicians, entertainers, athletes, and media in general who are all too willing to exploit our prejudices in order to compel us to believe that our feelings should be the basis for our commitments. In so doing, we have given ourselves the permission to redefine what is right and what is wrong.
I recall a conversation I had with a friend during the presidential election, which started because she asked me who I was going to be voting for in the upcoming election. So, I answered her question, knowing that it possibly could end our friendship. I was fully prepared to defend my position, and based on her reaction to my answer, it became clear who she was going to vote for. I won’t tell you who I voted for, but, I will tell you the answer I gave my friend, I said to her “I want what’s best for my country; and I will vote for the person that I feel has the best interest of the nation at heart, and I oppose the candidate pushing a philosophy that caters to the individual preferences of the voter”. I then said; “If you don’t mind me asking, why you are voting for the candidate you've chosen”? These were her exact words “Because he sounds like he’s for me.” On that note, our conversation ended.
I begin this article by quoting the words of someone whom I don’t often quote—Adolph Hitler—who had the following words inscribed above one of the gas chambers in Auschwitz Germany, “I want to create a generation of young people devoid of a conscience; relentless, imperious and cruel.” May I suggest to you that these very words represent the mindset of an entire generation of young people today? I say this as a member of the same generation.
The various mediums that we look to for guidance, knowledge and wisdom are often not very healthy, they are reconstructions of the truth designed to suit the preferences of the individual rather than the objective world. As a culture, we are regularly brainwashed into believing we ought to look, smell, dress, speak, and act a certain way—and call into question the sanity of anyone who dares to suggest otherwise. However, I believe there is an important question that has gone unanswered, either because it has never been raised or it has gone unrecognized as a valid question: Who are the standard bearers of this generation and why?
Allow me to unpack the question with a few illustrations. Stephen Hawking is a leading scientist and a "standard" of our time in Quantum Gravity and the General Theory of Relativity, meaning that Mr. Hawking holds a significant influence over the scientific community. Martin Luther King Jr. was a Nobel Peace Prize winner, recognized in history as the most influential figure of the Civil Rights movement of the 1950’s and 1960’s. He was, in part, responsible for the liberation of a large portion of the culture; therefore, the life of Dr. King holds a significant influence over the humanitarian and political community. In my opinion, it’s these kinds of achievements that earn the title of standard bearer.
Returning now to my original question, seen in light of the illustrations of Hawking and King: Who is the person or persons that you and I have put on a pedestal as the standard bearers for our generation and why? The hip-hop scene, in particular, is filled with accepted cultural icons that use music, lyrics and rhythm as a way of grabbing the attention of the listener, while degrading the purity of young women and the minds of millions of young men. Indecency in women is portrayed as right, as is the lack of respect of men towards women. There is something very wrong with this picture.
It’s been said that our prejudices help to shape our perceptions, especially if those prejudices are interpreted as convictions. For most of us, there is a deep connection between our moral outlook and the way we live. This is especially true when it’s connected to the deeper emotional experiences of our life. We are likewise surrounded by politicians, entertainers, athletes, and media in general who are all too willing to exploit our prejudices in order to compel us to believe that our feelings should be the basis for our commitments. In so doing, we have given ourselves the permission to redefine what is right and what is wrong.
I recall a conversation I had with a friend during the presidential election, which started because she asked me who I was going to be voting for in the upcoming election. So, I answered her question, knowing that it possibly could end our friendship. I was fully prepared to defend my position, and based on her reaction to my answer, it became clear who she was going to vote for. I won’t tell you who I voted for, but, I will tell you the answer I gave my friend, I said to her “I want what’s best for my country; and I will vote for the person that I feel has the best interest of the nation at heart, and I oppose the candidate pushing a philosophy that caters to the individual preferences of the voter”. I then said; “If you don’t mind me asking, why you are voting for the candidate you've chosen”? These were her exact words “Because he sounds like he’s for me.” On that note, our conversation ended.
I share that story to shed light on a larger societal problem; which is, as I see it, that we have become so dull intellectually that we are no longer capable of understanding the difference between what we want and what we need. This person’s answer may sound reasonable on the surface, but, when you look at the heart of it, she’s basically saying “It sounds like he’s the candidate who’s going to make sure I get my stuff, let’s get him in office”! This would seem to ignore that while we may, as individuals, play a small role in the electoral process, in the greater scheme of things we could be using “our freedom” to take away our freedom.
As we’ve lost touch with what’s right and what’s wrong, we’ve lost touch with reality, and lastly, we’ve lost touch with reason. We have adjusted our moral outlook in an effort to justify our behavior and in doing so we have relieved ourselves of personal accountability—our failures can never be found within ourselves, it will always be attributed to something, or someone else. It is a case of our feelings becoming a substitute for reason.
The gospel of Luke tell the story of a thief who had lived his entire life justifying his actions in light of a corrupt thought process, now, hanging from a cross and dying the death he deserves, he is confronted with the purity of the Son of Man who is dying a death he did not deserve. For the first time in his life, the thief recognizes that his failures had come from within. However, the moment he utters the words, “Jesus remember me when you come into your Kingdom.” Jesus responds with, “Today you shall be with me in paradise.” In order for forgiveness to be more than just words “True” repentance is necessary.
My intent is not to pass judgement on a whole generation, but to suggest that too many of my peers have abandoned a reasonable way of life, replacing it with an illusion. Let me end with a song by King Crimson, written in a different generation, which, I believe, sums up this article and my sense of my own generation's dilemma.
Cat's foot iron claw
Neuro-surgeons scream for more
At paranoia's poison door.
Twenty first century schizoid man.
Blood rack barbed wire
Politicians' funeral pyre
Innocents raped with napalm fire
Twenty first century schizoid man.
Death seed blind man's greed
Poets' starving children bleed
Nothing he's got he really needs
Twenty first century schizoid man.
The wall on which the prophets wrote
Is cracking at the seams.
Upon the instruments of death
The sunlight brightly gleams.
When every man is torn apart
With nightmares and with dreams,
Will no one lay the laurel wreath
When silence drowns the screams.
Between the iron gates of fate,
The seeds of time were sown,
And watered by the deeds of those
Who know and who are known;
Knowledge is a deadly friend
When no one sets the rules.
The fate of all mankind I see
Is in the hands of fools.
Confusion will be my epitaph.
As I crawl a cracked and broken path
If we make it we can all sit back
And laugh.
But I fear tomorrow I'll be crying,
Yes I fear tomorrow I'll be crying.
Thank you for giving me your time and may God richly bless you,
-Brother J.T Hamilton
As we’ve lost touch with what’s right and what’s wrong, we’ve lost touch with reality, and lastly, we’ve lost touch with reason. We have adjusted our moral outlook in an effort to justify our behavior and in doing so we have relieved ourselves of personal accountability—our failures can never be found within ourselves, it will always be attributed to something, or someone else. It is a case of our feelings becoming a substitute for reason.
The gospel of Luke tell the story of a thief who had lived his entire life justifying his actions in light of a corrupt thought process, now, hanging from a cross and dying the death he deserves, he is confronted with the purity of the Son of Man who is dying a death he did not deserve. For the first time in his life, the thief recognizes that his failures had come from within. However, the moment he utters the words, “Jesus remember me when you come into your Kingdom.” Jesus responds with, “Today you shall be with me in paradise.” In order for forgiveness to be more than just words “True” repentance is necessary.
My intent is not to pass judgement on a whole generation, but to suggest that too many of my peers have abandoned a reasonable way of life, replacing it with an illusion. Let me end with a song by King Crimson, written in a different generation, which, I believe, sums up this article and my sense of my own generation's dilemma.
Cat's foot iron claw
Neuro-surgeons scream for more
At paranoia's poison door.
Twenty first century schizoid man.
Blood rack barbed wire
Politicians' funeral pyre
Innocents raped with napalm fire
Twenty first century schizoid man.
Death seed blind man's greed
Poets' starving children bleed
Nothing he's got he really needs
Twenty first century schizoid man.
The wall on which the prophets wrote
Is cracking at the seams.
Upon the instruments of death
The sunlight brightly gleams.
When every man is torn apart
With nightmares and with dreams,
Will no one lay the laurel wreath
When silence drowns the screams.
Between the iron gates of fate,
The seeds of time were sown,
And watered by the deeds of those
Who know and who are known;
Knowledge is a deadly friend
When no one sets the rules.
The fate of all mankind I see
Is in the hands of fools.
Confusion will be my epitaph.
As I crawl a cracked and broken path
If we make it we can all sit back
And laugh.
But I fear tomorrow I'll be crying,
Yes I fear tomorrow I'll be crying.
Thank you for giving me your time and may God richly bless you,
-Brother J.T Hamilton
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