“The most distinguishable feature separating our generation from prior generations is our constant thirst for instant information.”
Eric Stubben
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For thousands of years, humans have traversed, invented and innovated all around our great planet. Currently, only a third of a percent (.33 percent) of all people who have ever lived are living and working inside the United States. Yet, the present state of rapid innovation and advanced technology makes us — our current generation of Americans — one of the most important groups of people to ever live.
But are we really doing our best with the skills, technology and freedom we’re given? Or is technology and apathy driving our path away from what the past centuries have given us?
The most distinguishable feature separating our generation from prior generations is our constant thirst for instant information. There’s no more waking up early to enjoy a newspaper and coffee. Now, most college students find themselves staying up late, refreshing their Twitter and Facebook feeds, just in case something utterly important happened in the split second since the last refresh.
Social media drives our news intelligence and opinions. Biased pages, blogs, articles and authors constantly bombard us with their “credited” opinion without citing any knowledge or sound reasoning. Conspiracy theories and government “scandals” are repeatedly falsely created and passed around various websites, “poisoning” the minds of their users while riling an awful distrust in our government. Internet and social media also allow users to criticize others and deflect blame as they hide behind usernames to mask their identity.
“Likes,” “favorites” and “retweets” are taking the place of civil action, physically signed petitions, and interaction between legislators and their constituents. A recent article on Politico.com asked what would have happened if Martin Luther King, Jr. and segregation were alive in this technological era. Would King and the Civil Rights movement be the next “Kony 2012?” Would his words fall among apathetic brains and amass millions of likes with no action? It’s fair to wonder if a civil event to the scale of the March on Washington would ever happen in this day and age. We’re a technological society full of mouse clickers, with a diminishing group of physical leaders.
This “easy and apathetic” culture has already affected a wide array of industries. The music industry finds itself selling more “hot singles” than entire albums because it’s much less work to buy one song off of a list rather than purchasing an album and individually judging each song.
Our postal system is going through a major shift as well. Far too often, we opt for easy and impersonal emails to commemorate significant moments and events. Letters, cards and notes are much more personal and meaningful, but the effort of putting on a stamp, finding the address, and actually addressing an envelope just seems like too much work.
Just wait until consumers start demanding for the agriculture industry to produce their crops quicker!
Now how does all of this relate to politics?
Politicians pushing bills from desk to vote as fast as possible dominates our current political scene. Bill lengths are skyrocketing while their time to move from drawing board to final vote is dropping. Most politicians rarely read the entirety of any 600-page bills (or more) that arrive at their desk. But when the time comes to vote each bill, an apathetic vote along party lines easily suffices (hence our Congressional gridlock).
The same can be said for voters at home. Whether the ballot comes in the mail or it’s time to arrive at the nearest voting precinct, it takes time to research every candidate for every available position. Voters tend to align themselves as either a Democrat or Republican, and vote for either a “D” or “R” rather than voting for specific candidates based on experience, views and plans for action.
Politicians are stuck at a crossroad between swift action and thorough action. The instant media culture forces the needs and wants of citizens in politicians’ faces, but the reality is that politics doesn’t work that way.
For example, recall the post-Sandy Hook gun control push. As news outlets shoved opinions into the brains of those willing to listen, pressure mounted on Congress to improve gun control. In reality, few argued that gun measures needed reform, but a poorly crafted bill went up for vote in the House. Noticing the shortcomings in the bill, Republicans shot it down.
But that’s not the only time a poor bill was rushed through Congress. Foreseeing a Republican House takeover during the midterm elections, President Obama rushed to get his signature Affordable Care Act (ACA) bill through a Democratically-controlled Congress. A 1,200-page bill full of “to be determined” and “established later” clauses seeped its way through the cracks of Congress, sneaking its unread pages into public law. In hindsight, it wasn’t such a good idea. Since the law’s implementation last October, President Obama has amended fourteen different parts of the ACA.
Americans are in dire need of reconnection. We need inventions worth dreaming for, political policies worth working for and a government worth waiting for. As a whole, we are like fishermen sitting at the mouth of a river catching any small fish that will bite. We need to gain patience, giving our government time, waiting for the big law, or the big fish, that will truly make a difference. We are the one-third of a percent, let’s not derail everything the previous 99.7 percent of humans worked so hard to give us.