The 1980's and Now: What's On the Minds of American Youth?
The easiest way to answer this question could be put simply as: A bajillion different things at once. Young American adults are constantly barraged with information, coming from television, the internet, advertisements, and interactions with others. We believe that while we recognize a need for conservatism - protecting the environment, reducing our global impact, we also crave more: being constantly connected through social networking, buying more and bigger things, exploring the next new trend. The American youth is in essence a "renaissance man", they are gifted with academia, sporting ability, and a love for the arts. They are patriotic, but are still brave enough to question decisions that they might not agree with, or know enough about. Young Americans set the trend for the rest of the world. Everywhere in the world, people are becoming more saturated with American music, food, clothing, and other things. We enjoy luxury that most people have only dreamed of. Yet we still are troubled by personal relationships, a growing fondness for partying, and increased problems with the law. Many outsiders view American culture as out of control and overly decadent, with no concern for growing social issues and world problems. The truth is, most of us will not grow up to be the president, or even a politician for that matter. Perhaps we have accepted that life is more than worrying about whether the government spends millions of dollars on a warehouse that only stores excess jet parts (sad but true). Maybe we have been taught by older people to hold our political convictions close to our chest, and to let people believe in what they want to believe. Maybe we're just a bunch of partying shitheads. Only time and growth will tell.