Me, Myself, And I

Though clichéd it is not any less true that the nanny state — or as I call it, the mommy government — is operating in full force with the support of a large swath of the population.  Record numbers of young adults have moved back in with or have never left their parents’ homes.  New participants of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, or food stamps) are joining at a record pace.  People are relying on others (the government aka the American tax payer) to pick up the tab for life’s necessities.  In the not so distant future, society as we know it will undergo a significant change (for the worse) unless the grown-ups don’t take charge.

Those who were a product of the self-esteem movement are getting older and will be inheriting the reins, and soon to follow them will be the me generation who both will replace the last responsible generation.  The generation who, during tough economic times, buckled down and did whatever they had to do to survive.  They didn’t look for hand-outs, or long-term unemployment.  They were ashamed to get government assistance where people now are proud and boastful.

Enrollment into government programs will be exacerbated by the self-esteemers who value non-judgementalism over bringing someone back to reality through the hard truth of tough love.  The self-esteem movement valued effort over accomplishment.  Regardless of the actual achievement of the student, they were praised for trying.  Everyone getting a trophy at the end of the soccer season and not keeping score at t-ball games are just a couple of the ridiculous consequences of this movement.

This has unfortunately instilled into the me generation that trying hard is as worthy as actually producing something of value.  The me generation, whose mentality is best represented by the Occupy movement, believe they have a right to easy success.  Of course not every me-gener is as violence prone as the Occupiers, but the mentality is the same (See: Income inequality, Unequals Are Not Equal).  They want no responsibility for the results of decisions they’ve made, after all, they had good intentions and tried hard.  The idea is that they can experiment with different decisions and enjoy the benefits of the good, and dismiss or pass off the consequences of the bad.  Whether it is purchasing homes they know they cannot afford, then blame the bank for loaning them the money they asked for.  Or enrolling in universities whose yearly tuition rates exceed that of most yearly salaries then look to the wealthy or the government to pay them when they realize they are in over their head (See: Bailouts: Banks vs Students).  However their individual avoidance of personal responsibility manifests itself, the me generation equivocates equal opportunity with ease of success.  When their decisions have impeded the ease of success they believe they are entitled to, they look for someone to right the wrong — obviously someone has wronged them, they’ve done their part by trying hard.

My concern is this: what happens when there are no more responsible adults who will accept responsibility for their actions and life decisions and not blame someone else for their failures?  What will the me-geners bolstered by the self-esteemers do when they look to someone else to right the wrong, but there’s no someone else to look to?  When there isn’t anyone else to foist their responsibilities on, what will they do?