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The “why worry what I can’t control” is the under-40 part, but to be honest I initially considered under-30.
But by 40 you’d more likely than not have or care about children, and then you’d be worrying more about the the world you leave for them. Since they’re always copying you, you’d be more aware that every action has consequences, and that includes cynicism (especially since, by 40, you’re more likely to accept the idea that you don’t know everything).
Maybe by then it’d be in your self-interest to make the world better even by little increments instead of wearing sarcasm like a cloak of invisibility.
Because many of us were thrust into an extremely fucked up world where caring all the time will give you anxiety and leave you feeling hopeless. It's much more productive to focus your efforts on things you can control instead of being upset about the things you can't. I'm very conscious of the world I leave behind. I respect nature, don't litter, don't own a car, limit my meat intake, and most importantly I'm not having children. All of these things will contribute to a better world, but they don't require me to care about anything outside of my control.
This has nothing to do with age, and everything to do with trying to be okay in an increasingly more depressing world. I just want to exist and not dread everything all the time.
Okay, so let’s blame boomers for it, shall we then?
Would it have been better for you in the 60s, with the Cold War? 50s during the Red Scare? Hope you’re not a writer..
How about the 40s, with WWII? 30s & 20s, with the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl? Maybe the teens - nah, WWI. How about the poverty, plague conditions (a la Sinclair Lewis) and the diseases of the early Industrial Revolution? No? Okay - how about the agrarian 1800s, but then there’s slavery and civil war.. and on, and on throughout history.
I hate to say it, but comparatively we’re in a Golden Age - and it is decaying. We celebrate billionaires like they’re rock stars and re-elect politicians who do nothing for the working man (and woman), but instead go on fake crusades that serve no-one but their self interests. Wokism, the rights of eggs, guns before people, and today no divorce if you’re pregnant - it’s like the Red Scare all over again, and anyone who doesn’t align with it is an “Enemy of the People” - except it’s the actual people that suffer.
It’s not a Generation - every generation gets dumped into the shit the previous one made - it’s the Politics. When some politicians take one half of us and then point at the other half and say “they’re why you suffer”, it’s a lie. We fight amongst ourselves so they can prosper.
Fight, by all means, but fight for better representation and make sure they stick to the promises they make. And not just representation in our politicians but also in work. Unions can and have been a force of good for the average worker - support them so your one voice can make a difference.
Fight the good fights. Don’t waste your time fighting each other for scraps, for lies, for someone’s else’s power.
I wasn't blaming it on anyone. I was just explaining why so many young people, myself included, choose to not give any thought to things they can't control. It's not worth the mental energy and will make you depressed and miserable. I'm all for fighting for things that can be changed, but there's only so much one person can do. Prioritizing what one can give effort to is a much better way to go about it than stressing out about everything wrong with the world.
Not to berate you, but your response is as if this is something new for your generation. We all go through this shit unless we're insulated from it by daddy's money or power.
Is it worth your mental energy to fight for change? I'd say it is - over time, it's the only thing that has worked. Letting it slip for someone else to fix is exactly what screws us over, generation to generation.
Hang in there - we're all in this together. As I said before, fight the good fight.