The world feels like it’s in a tailspin, with younger generations grasping onto whatever hope they can, ultimately knowing that it is fruitless and there is no hope if the country doesn’t get its shit together and start caring about the people.
People need to also realize the so-called “American Dream” never truly applied to them and that we cannot attempt to fix a system that was rotten to begin with. For now, the dream is to merely survive.
This system is ruthlessly and relentlessly killing people through means of capitalism and it seems like it knows its exact targets, never mind the fact that climate change has put a time stamp on the number of years we have left.
The resulting deep sadness and powerlessness manifest itself in tragic ways: violence, depression, and diseases of despair. Millennials have been dubbed the “anxious generation.”
Seeing rising rates of reported mental illness, suicide, drug overdoses, etc., it is obvious that the system isn’t meant to protect the people, rather it is meant to uphold powers in place that play major in the world going to shit and flames.
America is both at a standstill and in a backslide. Politics, as usual, have failed for a decade, at least, thus aiding in growing global fascism.
Following President Donald Trump’s 2016 election alone, right-wing nationalists and populism have been on the rise, creating sometimes “violent” civil unrest– as recently seen in Venezuela, Guatemala, Paris, Egypt, etc.
Industries have continued to- knowingly- murder the planet with unnecessary and abundance use of non-renewable resources, and wages have stalled while the cost of living rises.
Usually, the unsympathetic responses to that consist of variations of “stop being lazy and get a job,” “work harder, hustle until you drop,” or “just drive for Uber on the side!”
We see younger generations having to overwhelm themselves with multiple jobs and other responsibilities just to remain afloat.
When do we get to rest? When do we get to enjoy life and the people in it without feeling the crushing weight of our overall cost of living?
In a video released earlier this month, people in the United Kingdom were quizzed on their knowledge of the cost of U.S. healthcare. Most of them were appalled to learn the ridiculous price it costs just to keep someone alive.
Need insulin, an EpiPen, inhaler or an emergency ambulance? Better hope there are hundreds or thousands of dollars laying around in order to live.
Millennials and Generation Z folks have had no choice but to resort to social media and support each other by way of crowdsourcing, funding each other for the most basic necessities and keeping each other alive.
We live in a rather boring dystopia. Our internet devices of distraction and production draw us deep into an online culture that is simultaneously mind-numbing and anger-fueling.
We’re overwhelmed by day-to-day life and feel powerless to change the world around us. It’s easy to fall into despair and apathy.
The powerful certainly like the populace feeling defeated. Bosses don’t profit off people trying to “rock the boat.” They don’t care about the people at all, just what they are capable of producing.
In the face of global despair, how can one live? We’d be lying if we said we had the answer. But there might be a way to ring in the new year with a change in perspective: solidarity.
Solidarity is standing with and supporting those you have common interests with. What struggles do you or your loved one’s face in this world? Eviction? Low pay? Police violence? Ecocide?
Find those with the same struggle and band together. Forge bonds of solidarity and develop plans of action.
In this world, no person can afford to be an island. Islands can be swallowed by rising seas, but continents can survive the tide.
There is power in the people and the powers in place know this and are scared. Let’s keep giving them something to be scared about.
