A Proud Tradition

Looking for the Golden Age

    The proud National Consumer Tradition marches on, and, by the way, the country has never been fatter. Kids remain largely content to buy, to watch and listen, to live the made-up lives they’re offered, to feast on the latest corporate output from music television. If the wounds of history need healing, they figure, it can be done by those rich and beautiful heroes with lifestyles, designed to be mimicked, that perpetuate the colonial wrongs they allegedly want to end.

            Should anybody really feel surprised that the sub-cranial pleas of youth drown within a sea of television banality, downloaded iPod static, and inane celebrity chatter?

            To question the youth of any age, to accuse them of wasting it, or to call them apathetic, is ultimately to question everybody, to accuse our entire civilization of failing to meet its potential. Culture trickles down, after all. The young generation makes do with whatever it inherits from society’s elders, and for many generations now, we have all taken part in that proud tradition of unparalleled consumption.

            If there really is a Golden Age somewhere for this country, it will only be discovered with the help of everyone, regardless of when they were born. Young and old have to work together. So maybe, if you want to know what’s really on the minds of young people, all you need to do is listen closely to your own head. Turn off the radio and the TV set. Disconnect the Internet, stop the CDs, and throw those newspapers in the recycling bin. Stop being a customer for a moment and just listen.

Be your own Boss!

This is a terrific resource for anybody who is interested in trying to ditch the old nine-to-five and starting their own business.

Keep on Rockin'

Got a thousand points of Light ... this is a pretty good cover of a great Neil Young tune.