Cabarrus Cheap Seats

Point # 1 - “Today’s kids are wimps”

I know that the conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq give you plenty to write about and react to; and that it is easy to get lost in the back and forth in the online debate - but many men and women from this “wimp generation” are getting wounded and killed on the other side of the world from their hometowns fighting those wars. I doubt as a former service member that you would visit Walter Reed and tell some 18-year-old Infantryman that left a significant plurality of his body parts in Iraq that he was a wimp. I also doubt that you would tell a 20-year-old former Transportation Specialist and current PTSD sufferer that the mortar attack that she helped injured Iraqis to safety under heavy insurgent fire that she should stand up to her fears just like you stood up to a seventh-grade bully.

I know those are abstract examples. If you’re ever near Charlotte, give me a shout and I’ll take you to the local George Washington Bookstore and Tavern. At the back of the bar is a picture of my friend and former high school classmate Charlie. Charlie is a year younger than me; but has lead platoons in both Iraq and Afghanistan. He was in Iraq during the initial push and may the first unit to engage the Iraqis that ambushed the Lynch convoy - from the way he told it they were probably the last. During his stint in Afghanistan, he, a few of his comrades, and their humvee found themselves the target of an IED. While those in charge didn’t find it wise to armor-up all of the Humvees - he was lucky and got one that was properly equipped…otherwise, I’d be changing the tense of my Charlie story. He was granted a Purple Heart and was back in action that same week. Would you call his hospital stay an “emotional day”?

Yes, if you were here, I could tell you those stories; but if you’re coming anytime soon Charlie wouldn’t be able to join us. You see, he took an assignment in Forward Air Control and is back in Iraq for a second time (in addition to his two tours in Afghanistan); because in his Infantry post wasn’t getting enough action.

What a wimp. Hopefully, your withering criticism will help motivate him to greater acts of bravery in service to our country.

Point #2 - “This generation of kids are some of the most heartless we’ve ever seen”

If your Charlotte visit involves a weekend, I’d invite you to a church that I’m proud to be a charter member of - The Refuge. We’re a pretty new church - only two years old. However, we’ve got a strong local outreach ministry and a large Youth ministry (around 300-400 kids altogether). These young people actively participate in every aspect of ministry and are dependable resources when it comes to reaching out to their friends who may be hurting or making bad choices. They do this because they’ve dedicated their lives to something bigger than themselves. Is giving their hearts the same as being “heartless”?

Point #3 - “In a few short years from now, these kids are going to be running the show”

OK, is this a bad thing? You comment that we only know how to use the Internet; but it was others who made it work. Well, the most popular search engine (Google) was developed by two guys who are just a few years older than me. Some of the most popular software tools that you use at work and for your blog were probably developed by people younger than you. However, the world is going to Hell in an iPod and it’s our fault.

I think that we’re getting to the bottom of the matter here.

Recently, I had a recently-retired commenter to my blog mention that I should work hard because he’ll be signing up for Social Security soon. I get a notice every year telling me all of the wonderful things that same organization is going to do for me; and how it will be fresh out of funds the very year I plan to retire.

This is just one of the many new problems brought to us by our elders.

We have a nation that has a taxation regime that is based on an post-agrarian/heavy manufacturing economy, an immigration policy that his a mosaic of racism and protectionism, and a foreign policy which is based on intelligence that has been repeatedly fooled by AK-47 wielding jackanapes employing ruses as clever as “Look, your shoe is untied”. And it doesn’t stop at the national level. The elder elected official at my county level led a cabal of supporters on a borrow and spend binge that would make Midas look like Ebenezer Scrooge and called it “fiscal reponsibility”

In short, the bar ain’t set too high for achievement by the generation in power now. However, we’ll have a whole other set of challenges when we take the wheel. The overwhelming majority of our parents generation has more in debt than they do in retirement savings - it’ll be our job to keep that system solvent and keep our own kids AND our parents in diapers. As y’all retire the nation’s workforce will be put into an unbalanced situation where we’ll have a critical shortage of skilled workers and a bumper crop of unskilled workers - it’ll be our job to keep the lights on. Even though our defense and intelligence infrastructure is built to combat a large, lumbering Soviet empire, we’re facing asymmetric warfare throughout the globe in countries that will most likely collapse under their own weight (Southeast Asia and Africa are two regions of concern) and provide an endless supply of young terrorists with nothing to lose.

Motivating geezers is a great way to win an election or befriend a constituency to, I don’t know, grow a political fan base for a blog or radio show. Hillary tried it and didn’t follow through. You’ve done it and inspired some of your loyal fans. Good for you. No doubt it’s good for your bottom-line.

I’ve heard many a politician recently talk about what’s wrong with young people today. It’s getting to be a better conversation-starter than talking about the weather. You don’t understand why we’re not registering to vote en masse to vote for the next power-hungry partisan hack. You notice how our lack of involvement is only noted during election years; but there’s a lot of governing going on in the odd-numbered years. Our high-pitched ringtones aren’t getting activated by our civic leaders looking for our involvement…unless it’s the first Tuesday following the first Monday in November.

I’m sure you’re involved in your local political scene - when was the last time that you tried to match a promising young person with a community board to serve on? When was the last time you sat back and thought - “How much will the current budget deficit cost my kids?” Or do are you with the Vice-President when he states that “deficits don’t matter”. To those of us still buying green bananas - they do.

I know that you’re a busy man. I know it’s easy to write an article opining about how messed up kids are. I’m sure that those who’ve recently endured commencement speeches as long as the one that you gave recently have been burned out by the celebration of our young people at high schools, colleges, and university. While I admire your timeliness and efficiency at writing the article - I’m disappointed that you and your contemporaries are coming up short in the solutions department. Please understand, given the recent behavior of Congress and the level of political debate being carried out by people like yourself, Mrs. Clinton, Al Franken, and the renewed obnoxiousness of Ann Coulter, I’m far from shocked. I would find it much more useful if, in the future, you might start offering up more constructive criticism rather than just feeding your readers with weekly fodder for them to dump immediate praise to your comments section.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Justin Thibault
Concord, NC