It was a casual comment, but I soon realized the young cashier had no idea what I was talking about. She was clueless to what was happening in the news. I had little cash in my wallet and had handed her my credit card to pay for a relatively small purchase. I made a remark about promising not to run up a credit card debt. "I don't want to end up a trillion dollars in debt like the government," I continued. She seemed puzzled. "That is part of the reason the government is shutdown. It's not only about Obama Care," I continued. It was then I realize, she really was out of touch with what was going in the world outside her little sphere. Our national debt and the affordable health care act were not even on her radar.
She is part of a generation that pretty much ignores the news. Most millennials don't read newspapers. They don't watch the news on TV either. Diane Sawyer? Scott Pelley? Wolf Blitzer could be an outside linebacker in the NFL for all they know (that would be a pretty cool name for a sack leader). Those under the age of thirty tend to be a rather self-absorb generation. Unless the events of the world knock on their door, they hardly notice. In the midst of a government shutdown and budget crisis, life goes on inside their personal bubble.
Before writing this article I visited mashable.com, one of the more popular websites frequented by teens and young adults. The website offers an overview of culture and the news from a millennial perspective. There was no mention of the governmental shutdown on the homepage. I found "nation and world" on the menu and clicked it. The lead news story was on the FBI bust of the Silk Road online drug marketplace. Then I found it, a secondary story on how "The Shutdown Won't Stop NASA's Curiosity Rover." That was it.
I grew up reading the newspaper and watching television news. Walter Cronkite was one of my heroes. While in high school I got up at 5:00 AM every morning to deliver the Detroit Free Press. I still read two newspapers each day. I have several other national dailies delivered to my i-phone. I usually glance at those to gain additional insights.
It does bother me that we have a younger generation that seems to be disinterested when it comes to matter outside their personal world. I have decided that the best way to counteract their lack of interest is to be a more responsible citizen myself. When the opportunity arise, I will engage others in a conversation of the topics of the day. My hope is that somewhere along the line some young folks will join in, or at least realize that what happens outside their little world does effect them and the rest of us.
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