Hello again!
Have you ever thought about yourself as an activist, felt the
pressure or need to save the world?
Whether yes or no,
do you think this is somehow connected to your generation?
In her book Do It
Anyway, Courtney Martin (2010) makes this link when she talks about her
generation, which she defines as all 35-year olds and younger. She claims that typical
parents of this generation burdened their children with the responsibility to
save the world. She, as a part of this, felt kind of overburdened, and did not really
know how to realize this. Still, she felt the urge to do so. On the other hand,
she argues that the older generation and media never really saw her generation
as successful with being activists. She explains that her generation is seen “as
entitled, self-absorbed, and apathetic” (p. XIV). Not really capable of being
political or social activists. Anyon (2010) counters that it definitely is,
just in several ways, different from her parent’s generation’s activism. This
is why she wrote her book, in which she shadowed eight activists of her
generation, and wanted to show how these changed something in their specific way , even if in small steps.
According to Anyon’s definition, I would be in her
generation. However, I think that her definition includes a pretty wide span of
ages that is hard to compare. On one side, I never shared her experience of my
parents or anybody else pressuring me to save the world. I never felt this
burden or responsibility in this intensity, nor did I see myself as an
activist. Although, I can mostly agree with the claims of the older generation about
more and more people in my generation—however you want to define it—becoming politically
lethargic. I approve Anyon’s observations that there are exceptions that scarify
their life to save the world, and are effective with it, but more often I see a
youth that is not interested in anything happening around them. I have to admit
that politics was never something I put myself into too much. Still, I do not
want to lose all my faith. In my opinion, there are the people in between the “entitled,
self-absorbed, and apathetic” (Anyon, 2010, p. XIV) and the big activists
having the power to change big things. I hope that I can count myself into this
group of people. Also, I think that this is what Anyon wants to express.
Sometimes our everyday lives and professions with at least a little interest in
our surroundings can change more than we think. I agree that our generation
shows activism, just in a different way, although we have to admit that there
are too many adolescents not caring enough.
One way to change exactly this is education. This is why I
see my own activism in teaching children, and can relate a lot to the profile
of Dena Simmons, an eighth grade teacher in New York, Anyon (2010) describes in
her book. Teaching demands a lot of passion and commitment to your children. This
is what Simmons life points out. Not everybody is made to be a teacher, but if
you are it is possible to change so much with the right attitude. This is a
form of everyday activism that keeps in mind bigger social issues like
inequality.
Reconsidering that every generation is different, the
activism of every generation is, too. So maybe we can still consider our generation
a generation of activists if everybody contributes his or her own small part.
You just need to find out what your activism is! Think about
how you change the world at least a little bit.
Yours,
GermanGirl.115
References:
Martin, C. E. (2010). Do it anyway: The next generation
of activists. Boston, MA: Beacon Press.
