Will Generation “Y” Save America?

     In 1992 an entrepreneurial millionaire named Ross Perot ran for president of the United States. In his run, he purchased 30 minutes of airtime on a major television network to warn us that if we ceased to be a nation that innovated, created, and produced goods and services, that we would end up in dire straights economically, and that we would lose our influence on the world stage. As we all know, he lost the election. However, hindsight being 20/20, it looks like he was right. Private sector industries have been severely weakened, Americans are buying more imported goods than ever and our nation is hemorrhaging jobs as we teeter on the precipice of another recession. Many believe that what we need now is a technology-based industrial revolution to re-ignite our economy. Enter, Generation “Y”.
     If you were born from 1982 to 1995, you are considered a “Generation Y’er”. It is arguable that you guys may be the smartest segment of the population, and may end up being the ones to stem this tide. Don’t get a big head! (pun intended) What I really mean is that yours age group is in the position to be the smartest. Why? Think about it. By the time you hit kindergarten, computers were at least common in the average U.S. household. In addition, the public and private education systems had begun to incorporate computer labs and incorporate newly developed educational software into their curriculums. How many of you “Y”ers remember having to open a musty, dog eared, written on encyclopedia to do your research paper? Probably not many, right? How many remember having to do a Powerpoint presentation in front of your class? I assume a lot of you probably do. Computer and communications technology and the internet opened up the world for your consumption.
     This is not to diminish your accomplishments. It’s a good thing that yours was the first generation that did not have to struggle to adapt to. and apply these new technologies like other generations did. It was always some part of how you learned, worked, and played. What I am getting to is that this is a net positive for society as a whole. In fact, I can see a time when the rest of us will soon owe a huge debt of gratitude to all you “Y’ers” out there. Because technology is almost a part of your DNA at this point, and because you have spent a lifetime integrating it into the way you live, you will likely innovate and mainstream more technology more quickly than any generation before you. From this lowly bloggers point of view, I anticipate that your contributions, to everything from agriculture to aerospace, may be of a magnitude and scope that rivals the impact of the first industrial revolution that exemplified America’s exceptionalsism. To all the grads out there, you truly are the hope of our great nation. No doubt you will do us proud.