Wednesday, May 17, 2006

Hillary Apologizes for Maligning Gen Debt

I would be remiss if I didn't comment on this story: Hillary Clinton, on her mad rush to out-scold the GOP, said that my generation "thinks work is a four-letter word," only to apologize after being called out by her 26-year-old daughter Chelsea.

I have to say, I don't recall a similar case where a politician reversed herself after being publicly rebuked by his or her own child. That on its own says something about family relationships and authority between Boomers and Gen-Debt. Which goes right to the funny dynamic wherein the Boomers, who have been maligned all their lives as self-indulgent & entitled, who *created* this "instant gratification culture," point the finger at their kids for absorbing their very own values.

And what of the criticism itself? Facts, please. More young people than ever before are enrolling in college, and they're working an average of 31.6 hours a week while they're students. Young people make up a plurality of the retail, grocery, and department store workforce, and a majority of those toiling for minimum wage. Entitlement exists, materialism exists, throughout our culture. Scapegoating young people with it is--I daresay--kinda lazy.

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