We all are Time Magazines people of the year! Yes, I realize this is a little dated news now but allow me my observations, I’ve been busy. I am all for united we stand divided we fall. In fact I know nothing would be accomplished without it. In fact, I am certain the reason that the positive change that is happening in the world isn’t happening as fast as it should is because we are not as united as we should be. That there are actual forces holding us back and trying their best to keep us apart.
Still, “our” movement doesn’t have a face… I’m not saying we need a martyr here, but lacking someone to hold ourselves up to aspire to seems detrimental as well. There are those dark nights where we question our beliefs, where we think that we are truly alone in the world, or at the very least that we are the last sane person, and it is moments like that a figure head would be handy. We could say, no, THIS person feels the same way, and if they do others must as well.
The reason this popped into my head was a conversation I was having in regards to generational theory. The current generation (I want to shoot anyone who calls it generation “next” or generation Y), it seems now called the millennial generation seems to be a double edged sword. In theory it is the generation that is supposed to change everything, the one with all of the ideas and all of the potential, and on the other side it’s a generation that has had every minute of every day scheduled to the point where they will go out of their way to purposefully fail just to see what it feels like.
I understand this feeling, I’ve been their before. It often reminds me of a line from the Goo Goo Dolls Song Iris “you bleed just to know you’re alive”. The idea of failure seems comforting because it’s a decision you’ve made for yourself. It’s one you can own, and at the same time it creates a sensation that actually feels real. In our current age of over stimulation a real feeling seems a rare commodity.
This is what makes me wonder about the need for a leader. I know the idea that as long as we fight within the system we will never truly be free, but some things seem more basic than that. Where I’d like to believe that one day 5 million people will show up on the steps of parliament and demand a change, it just doesn’t seem plausible that it will happen. Like communism, on paper it seems wonderful; in practice the human spirit proves something quite different.
The problem is the leader needs to come from within the generation. S/he needs to understand the technology in front of us, AND why teenagers like emo rock. They need to speak from their heart but across blackberries, ipods, myspace, and in person. It needs to be someone who has downloaded music via torrents. They also need to be literate, read actual books, play sports, and understand art. They need to be worldly but grounded in their community, and not be afraid to knock on their neighbour’s door and ask them to come out and play a pickup game of street hockey. Most importantly they have to be willing to stand up on their own against all of the adversity and temptations of the world. They will be alone for a good while, and their ideas will fall on deaf ears.
This person almost seems a mythical as the unicorn, and yet sits inside each and everyone of us. We can feel it in our hearts. What is wrong with the world needs to be fixed; there is no doubt in our mind. The hard part is just taking that first step in trying to do something about it. Saying your name and what you think knowing there will be a disagreement. Are you willing to be that person? The world is waiting…
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