We shall do much in the years to come,
But what have we done today?
We shall give out gold in a princely sum,
But what did we give today?
We shall lift the heart and dry the tear,
We shall plant a hope in the place of fear,
We shall speak the words of love and cheer,
But what did we speak today?
We shall be so kind in the after while,
But what have we done today?
We shall bring to each lonely life a smile,
But what have we brought today?
We shall give to truth a grander birth,
And to steadfast faith a deeper worth,
We shall feed the hungering souls of earth,But whom have we fed today?
We shall reap such joys in the by and by,
But what have we sown today?
We shall build us mansions in the sky,
But what have we built today?
`Tis sweet in the idle dreams to bask;
But here and now, do we our task?
Yet, this is the thing our souls must ask,
What have we done today?
-Nixon Waterman
My friend Andy (AndyEllwood.com) has made a point to me on several occasions now that Generation Y doesn't actually do anything when they see injustice, they don't take action when they see a need for change, they just blog about it, or put up a YouTube video. We communicate for communication's sake, hoping that somehow our words or our YouTube clips will change the world. Kipling warned against this, saying in his poem IF "If you can dream and not make dreams your master, if you can think and not make thoughts your aim." Yet this is what we do on a daily basis. We feel that because we have used the power of the pen, or at least the keyboard, we have effected some sort of change and nothing beyond the words is really necessary. This post is almost a performative contradiction, I know. It means that in order to not be a hypocrite I have to actually *do* something this week beyond merely blog.
I have heard some of my friends say that our generation needs a voice. The problem is not that we don't have voices; nay, the problem is that we have a cacophony of voices. Generation Y needs a purpose, a unified cause, not the multitude of causes celebre that seem to populate blogs and Facebook groups. The Generation Y people I know who are involved in politics are a bunch of sycophants and "yes men" who want nothing more than the taste of power. If you don't believe me, walk into any random campaign office and look for the people between the ages of 18 and 30. You'll be disgusted.
I am not writing this as if I have the solution. I really don't know what it is, but we as a generation need to be thinking about it and figuring things out. I'm not sure the country can survive many more Baby Boomer-controlled Congresses or White Houses. But it isn't just with respect to politics that I am writing this post. I think it applies to many facets of society. We need leaders to rise up from GenX&Y in business, the Church, and education as well, and we seem to be devoid of such leaders. The reason is that leadership comes at a price. Most people aren't willing to pay it. The few who are rarely do so for the right reasons, and so they don't make good leaders.
We don't have a lot of time. We need to start a dialog. Join the dialog. Comment on this blog. Write your own thoughts somewhere: your myspace blog, a facebook note. Start thinking. Start talking. And let's all start doing, so we have an affirmative answer to the question "What have we done today?"
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Speak for yourself. Or sign up. http://eqfed.org/eqtx/events/truth_wins_out_protest/details.tcl?member_key=inxek3sr1kdjet8&qp_source=dallas see you there? ;-) --Gabe
WHAT: A coalition of local and national organizations, mental health professionals, and clergy will hold a press conference and demonstration against the National Association for Research and Therapy of Homosexuality (NARTH). NARTH, the controversial fringe group that claims to “cure” gay people, is holding its annual meeting at the Dallas/Fort Worth Airport Marriott on October 27, 2007.
NARTH claims there “are no gay people, just heterosexuals with a homosexual problem.” Ex-gay therapy is a practice that is condemned by every major medical and mental health association in America.
In 1998, the board of trustees of the American Psychiatric Association (APA) unanimously voted that reparative therapy is dangerously misguided, observing that “the potential risks of ‘reparative therapy’ are great, including depression, anxiety and self-destructive behavior, since the therapist’s alignment with societal prejudices against homosexuality may reinforce self-hatred already experienced by the patient.”
The APA “opposes any psychiatric treatment, such as “reparative” or “conversion” therapy, that is based on the assumption that homosexuality per se is a mental disorder or is based on the a priori assumption that the patient should change his or her homosexual orientation.”
WHERE: Dallas/Fort Worth Airport Marriott, 8440 Freeport Parkway, Irving, TX 75063
WHEN: Saturday, October 27, 2007 at 11:00 a.m.
WHO:
* Wayne Besen, Director, Truth Wins Out, Brooklyn
* Elaine Schoka Traylor, Ph.D., Regional Clinical Services Director, Deer Oaks, Dallas
* Randy Martin, MA, LPC, Director, PRIDE Institute, Arlington
* Rev. Colleen Darraugh, Lead Pastor, Metropolitan Community Church of Greater Dallas
* Chuck Smith, Deputy Director, Equality Texas, Austin
* Fernie Sanchez, President, Valiente DFW LGBT Latino/a Alliance
* Patti Fink, President, Dallas Gay and Lesbian Alliance
* Kathy Collier, President, PFLAG Dallas
* YOU! Please join us.
Very well put. We are a generation with so many ideas and so much potential to reverse and redeem the "sins of our fathers." But apathy and distant dissatisfaction are the calling card of our generation. Keep it coming...
Skinner -
In case you didn’t read about it, The National Association for Research and Therapy of Homosexuality is a growing number of fundamentalist “doctors” and “scientists” who are parading a variety of biased “ex-gay” sham studies past the APA every chance they get, in a systematic effort to deceive the APA into changing its stance on sexuality. NARTH wants America to believe one’s sexuality can be changed through therapy and they are fighting hard to prove it. Putting aside the very obvious negative affects NARTH’s success would have on our fight for equal rights as gay/lesbian citizens of The United States, I’d like you to instead imagine for a moment how their success could specifically affect gay Christians. 3 of the 5 largest denominations in America are split almost 50/50 on the issue of homosexuality. Obviously something like this would be the perfect tool for our adversaries in the church. I don’t know about you, but I don’t want my Baptist parents to be suddenly equipped with that kind of phony knowledge.
Until recently, NARTH has had little to no opposition, and were free to conduct their homophobic conferences without vocalized opposition. Not anymore. Many of us have decided to actually do something, instead of just e-mailing and blogging about it. We’re going to the conference to rally in protest. If a bigoted faith based hate group like that comes into my city, you can be damn sure I’m going to voice my opposition. After all, “We need leaders to rise up from GenX&Y in business, the Church, and education as well, and we seem to be devoid of such leaders.” Will you step up and come with us tomorrow morning? Its only an hour, but you get your full 100 points of “doing something instead of just blogging” credit. Can’t beat that! See you at 11?
Gabe
http://www.star-telegram.com/national_news/story/283296.html
Skinner-
I agree almost entirely with your comments on the lack of leaders coming from generation Y.
One question comes to mind... were previous generations in the same state in which our generation is?
I feel there are youthful leaders among us, but due to the fact that we the youth, there are many barriers that exist from the rest of the world hearing our voice.
Unless your last name is Kennedy or Bush for that matter, those barriers can be difficult to overcome. The fact is that our generation has the same ratio of leaders/followers as generations past; they've yet to be acknowledged by the entire community thus far.
Many people, such as you, have discovered new ways of getting their voices heard. Via blogs, viral videos, and grassroots initiatives, our generation's views are being transmitted. But there seems to be a distinct disconnect between our generation's methods of communication and the collective past generation's methods.
I believe our methods are more efficient and have the capability to touch more people, but i'm afraid the majority of our generation has not yet committed themselves to caring about the many important issues/problems facing our great country.
So here's the question that nobody can really answer; When is our generation going to grow up and face the challenges that stand before us?
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