a carefree culture

Disgusted, I skated over to him after hearing him shout endless threats at his DS the whole skaterball tournament. He had played with us for about five minutes, and then gave in to his digital idol. Out of curiosity, I asked him in a casual manner, “Hey, what job do you see yourself as having when you’re twenty?” Still looking at the small console, he told me, amidst more shouts of victory and “I’ll get you yet"s, that he would work at GameStop. He did not respond when I informed him that he needed proficient grades for just about every job. “I like video games,” was his answer when questioned why they would hire him. Then the climax, accurately representing the majority of America’s youth, including young adults, “I’ll just live here and play games and watch TV while my parents pay the bills.” There was more, and it was just as hopeless. In this report, we will review the great gulf of differences between Mr. Bowditch and today’s youth in three areas: work, school, and recreation.

“I’m going to work at GameStop.” Why would they let him? “’Cause I like video games.” Again, the ideology of our youth: let’s see what the least work I can possibly do while keeping a roof over my head. That is not excellence! The modern conception of a good worker is someone who usually comes on time and barely meets the job description. In Nat’s time, a good worker was someone who excelled. As a teenager, Nat was a hard worker at the chandlery, working from sun up to sun down every day except Sunday, even though he would rather be studying for Harvard. As an indentured servant, labor was not a decision, but it was Nat’s choice to work hard. If most teenagers today found they were indentured for nine years, they would go into depression, drugs, alcohol, and maybe suicide. Cowards! Clearly, Nat was a much more diligent worker.

Unfortunately, my statement to him about having to get good grades was only sort of true. Many jobs these days don’t require good grades. The national average is a C. On the other hand, Nat, as a teenager, learned two languages and became a major mathematician. In America, school is not viewed as a privilege, but as a punishment. Unfortunately, todays parents are often still under many of the false assumptions created in the hippy movement, and do not teach their kids that education is what propels a person through life. Follow your heart! Even if that means ruining your life by failing education. In Nat’s day, education was a great privilege. Therefore, most students put valiant efforts into making their education successful. Early America had much better ideas on how education was to be treated.

The topic with the most contrast between our groups is recreation. It is a common misconception that Americans have been getting less and less free time. We’ve actually been getting more. The misconception comes from the fact that it seems shorter. Why? Television and video games. The average adult spends two and a half hours a day in front of the TV. It’s even more with teens. Today’s culture is so aggressively lazy, it’s scary. Nat, however, spent all his free time on learning, his entire education being developed in free time. His whole teenage life was spent on working and learning and he never had a shred of regret. As you can see, Nat Bowditch is a huge contrast to today’s youth.

I have shown in many ways the utter differences, but the major reason for these differences is a culture that is not motivated to contribute. Today’s youth are unmotivated to do well in school, get a good job, etc. because they fail to see how the benefits outweigh the work. But that isn’t the correct attitude at all. Instead of trying to see what he could get out of it, Nat did all that he did for others. He could’ve just been an angry wretch his whole indenture, but he made the choice not to. With today’s carefree culture, they just don’t care what happens to other people. If they do once in a while, it’s not enough to do anything, especially if it involves work. This is an evil culture.


"Aren't you a little young to being doing this?"
"Yes, yes I am"
-Phineas and Ferb