What Good Is It To Sing Helplessness Blues?
Ahh man, up against the same problem so many recent graduates are facing: where are the jerbs?
I’ve done pretty well with freelancing lately. But I want something more consistent, a job where I’m plugged into a larger group of individuals I can learn from and teach. Sounds corny, but I want to do be a part of something bigger than myself, contributing to a greater purpose and connecting to people in the process. Yep, even introverts like me need to feed off like-minded people’s energy.
Rereading that last paragraph again, it sounds like a want to join a cult. I can assure you that my aspirations don’t include taking part in some kind of freaky religious sect. And just to put the matter to bed, I’m decidedly against sacrificing people and/or things (unless it involves appeasing the surf gods, because lord knows San Diego isn’t getting enough waves this winter).
To be sure, much of my disconnectedness can be attributed to the current economic climate. Sometimes I think I grew up at the wrong time in history, and I don’t think I’m the only one. My age group is in danger or becoming another lost generation. With fewer opportunities available to us, we’re not sure of our place in society.
I believe economics have a greater impact on attitudes and institutions than most will acknowledge (see: Freakonomics) - so it’s no wonder many of our institutions (political or otherwise) are crumbling. Yet when I look back to other hard economic times like the 1930s, I don’t see the same kind of disjointedness and cynicism when it comes to others in society. Particularly, I’m amazed by how easily some today dismiss the downtrodden. I’m no historian, but I always got the sense that people’s attitudes back in the 1930s could be summarized thusly: “shit sucks, but we’re in this together, so let’s make the best of it and help each other out while we’re at it.”
Maybe I’m looking a recession that was worse than our current one with rose-colored glasses, but I don’t feel that way about society today. From my perspective, even compared to just 10 years ago, everything is more dog-eat-dog, bottom-line, a prevailing I-got-mine-I-don’t-care-about-yours attitude. This goes beyond writing about jobs, but being in it for the greater good of society has become a completely foreign concept to most people, and we’re worse off for it.
I don’t want to finger point about what caused this, partly because I’m not exactly sure where to finger point. It’s a sort of restlessness and confusion, a feeling made greater by approaching my mid-20s. Helplessness blues, indeed.
Maybe I’m being pessimistic. And I have to remember that I gave up a well-paying job to travel and pursue a career that I’m passionate about. Struggling is part of the game. All I can do is appreciate what I have and try harder to reach out to and connect with others - you know, abide by the classic saying “be the change you want to see in the world.”
It’s just an odd time to be alive, I guess.
