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Problems With This Generation
Published: 2002-12-21 05:52:34 +0000 UTC; Views: 7867; Favourites: 73; Downloads: 659
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The Problem With This GenerationChris Serio
The problem with this generation,
Our generation that is, meaning anyone between 10 and 25
And lacking awareness enough to be thoughtful
To the level that society should expect but is unwilling to enforce,
Is that we’ve gone it doggy style with too many Ja’s,
Too many Britney’s and Christina’s (Strap on notwithstanding),
Too many corn fed popstar’s and media moguls
With Beamers and marital problems that we actually care about, unlike our own.
An abundance of too grouped with too many many’s,
Makes too many teenie boppers too preoccupied
With Winona Ryder’s fetish for grand theft clothing items
And not too many many’s going towards those occupied with self
Enough to notice the projection of it that they ignore.
Da problem wit dis generation
Iz dat we tlak in slang, and cn’t spell cuz were 2 damn lazy
To, like, lrn teh rulz of grammar, makeing mistakes so, like, horrendus…?
Tht Hemmingway shud damn well b doin barrel rolls in his grave
And like, um, if he ain’t, I iz gonna spin him round round like
A record baby, round round round round,
I jus like, prey, that like, OMG OMG OMG, that like
No gurl evr clad scantily in cheep ass, ass high skirts
And white see thru shurts with like, makeup and eyeliner and stuffz,
Never gets into her rendition (that’s how u spell it, right?) of Hamlet.
2 be or like, not 2 be or something…That’s like, the question! I mean, duh.
The problem with this generation, or one of many problems I should say,
Is that we’d rather see the brutality of a bloodbath
And the senseless slaughter of some poor kid picking his nose
In the middle of whatever street in Iraq,
Than at least, in some introverted and non public way,
Enjoy whatever magnificent splendor is left in the movement of the clouds
Or some fat guy dangling his legs on the bus
Cause he’s ingested too many Twinkie’s to get his stubs
Stuck to the damn floor.
But we’d notice a car accident out the window, that’s for sure.
The problem with this generation is that we prefer cocaine to ice cream,
Guns to pencils,
Breasts to brains and reproduction to innovation.
The problem with this generation is that we have fine print
And disclaimers, like we purposely develop ways to screw ourselves.
The problem is that we have warnings and cautions on gas cans
To tells us they’re flammable,
A little sign telling us not to touch the rabid wolverine or the hungry lion
And tiny admonitions to inform us that propane is indeed explosive.
I’m sorry, what? Explosive? Noo….
The problem with this generation is that we believe that Missy Elliot is not a prostitute and can still give us what we want,
And we believe that Iraq and the war in the middle east
Is actually in the pursuit of peace and happiness for all mankind
And not barrels full of crude that’ll find their way into the ozone sometime soon,
And, the saddest thing really, is that some of you,
Maybe a great deal of you, might actually believe me. Hmm.
The problem with this generation is that we know it’s easier to watch TV
And shed tears then it is to sweat and lose blood
Faster then water in the Savannah, and we know it’s easier
To be docile and typical. Hell, it’s socially acceptable.
And social acceptance is a good thing.
The problem with this generation, as I see it,
Is that ultimately, sooner or later,
It’s going to be us that run this world.
And as they say in Hollywood’s best,
God help us all.
I’m afraid of a world where all mom is concerned about is workin’ it
And daddy’s getting it worked and the only trace of brain cells
Is found in the decaying matter that was reused to make us
And our offspring, recycled material leaving memories of a time where things
Weren’t like the are.
God help us all.
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Comments: 86
The problem with this generation is that we accept incompetence...
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the problem with this generation is that we shit where we lay.
be that bed, or grave, or earth.
i am glad i found this. fuel for the fire.
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Holy shit. The horrid society and beliefs packed into one long, much too true piece of writing. What can I say, I love it.
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that is right on the money - it's hilarious and awesome -- i really like how when i'm reading it i can put the exact tone of voice behind some of the sentences like "explosive? nooo..." just the way that's written is really funny but also really witty - you really did a great job - fantastic work!
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People tries to get us down, just because we gets around. Do you know why everyone aged 10-25 seems unintelligent? Because we're all kids, for God's sake. We were CREATED this way, every generation since the boomers has idolized youth and thus: us. We're the latest newest model off the line. A generation of Peter Pans, so terrified to age, in dread of time the moment we're born. Better invest in Botox!
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Love it. Nothing like a lil social commentary to wake me up on an otherwise 'fall on your ass asleep' sort of day.
*throws a 
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Most of the problems you list are, sadly, not confined to this generation.
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one of the few things that differientiates poetry from prose is line breaks (this is aside from the ever popular genre of "prose poetry").
The sentiments you express here make no difference if you express them in prose or "poetry" because all your main points are superficial, though perhaps true. And, you don't really use any exclusively poetic devices to get at your point.
you also trudge back and forth across the tired line of imitative fallacy, i.e. your dumb internet yammarring section ends up being dumb itself. The stanza becomes the very thing it criticizes without bringing anything new to the mix.
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i read this one a LONG time ago, and today i was browsing the poetry and i found it again, im amazed that i didnt comment before, but i should have, i know i meant to.....so i'll try to make up for it....
good job.
okay so that was weak, but honestly how much does "wow, thats great, and insightful and I love it" actually mean anymore?
so....good job.
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I see all the same problems too, but you point them out so well here. I'm utterly impressed by your writing, and I agree with you on every aspect except for the middle eastern war, though I like the line at the end of that fifth stanza.
Very well done!
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There is a lot of rage here, justified of course, and there is a lot of truth and nice observations. However, I do not think that you are giving our generation enough credit. There is something horrifying about the way we live, but its the way WE live. We are all a part of it. And the people who perpetuate this thinking are our peers, and those lives are just as valid, those thoughts are just as valid. Which isn't to say that I don't agree with the general thrust of your poem.
this rant provided by
bm
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were all to blame but some more than others...
where i live, in newcastle, england. i knew a bunch of people, the nicest youd have known.. i knew them about a year ago this month.. these people where my friends, but now... now all they care about is where there next splif is coming from..
i mean to say.. anyone could flip.. turn bad.
you have a grate mind, i wish there were more..
charlie..
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If I believed in god
I would pray for our souls
But it seems we have only ourselves to blame for our misfortunes
I just hope when the leaders of today die it will be the ones like us who take over
And not the cocky scum that cruse the streets taking advantage of the title teenagers to do what they want
To your poem I say amen
:fav+:
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thought i'd add my favorite to the masses.
i bow my head to you
in reverence and in a little bit of shame
for my generation
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You are awesome...I cant thing of any more wordz..Junk
My hat is off to you
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i appreciate what you're trying to do. there are definitely problems with "our generation," but i just don't think you did a particularly good job pointing them out. you noticed the superficial results of the 'problems,' but didn't try to go deeper and look at what the problems themsevles actually are.
also, i agre with the people who think you put this in the wrong category. you did. it isn't poetry. i'm fully aware that poetry does not have to rhyme. but for a piece of writing to be poetry, its words have to convey something greater or deeper or more complex than their plain meaning. and have some aesthetic value. what distinguishes this piece from prose? only the fact that it consists of run-ons and fragments and things. this definiteily belongs in the prose section.
and the plural does not use apostrophes. (one would say "Britney's fake breasts," but "there are too many Britneys."
but this definitely belongs in the prose section.
the stanza with the slang was too long. you could have made your point better and more clearly by simply using the slang in the sentence discussing the use of slang.
the part where you talk about propane being flammable. first, you repeat that idea twice. and you don't need to. second, you make no strong point with it. how is it "our generation's" problem that dangerous substances require warning lables?
and this part "lacking awareness enough to be thoughtful
To the level that society should expect but is unwilling to enforce," grammatically is very confusing. can one really be thoughtful to a level? and how do you "enforce" a level of thoughtfulness?
i suggest cutting this down, like halve it, take out repetive thoughts, eliminate some of the more trivial references to pop culture, and focus on the more significant problems with "our generation." selfishness, for instance, apathy, ignorance, purposelessness, self-indulgence, and self-pity. the problems that result in people like Britney being idolized, and violence pervading entertainment, and preferring breasts to brains ( a line i did like). Britney is the product of this same generation. she is a result of our problems, not the cause. try to go deeper.
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I do like this. It's well written and incisive. But...I don't think you can really generalize about every person on earth between the ages of 10 and 25. Yes, one day the members of our generation will run the world, and yes, there's a lot of really screwed up stuff that we deal with. But what generation isn't disillusioned and fucked up and stupid in some ways? The world has never been a nice or simple place, and every new generation has had unique problems to deal with. I guess what I'm trying to say is that my feelings about this poem are mixed. On one hand it's relevant and true, but on the other hand it's just a one-sided oversimplification of something that can't really be generalized about. Still, the writing is wonderful, and overall I really like it. Plus you used a photo by Gary Winogrand and that's just awesome.
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Intense raw words weaved so damn well and invoke emotion~ excellent writing here
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this is too amazing to even be in front of me. you said so much ,and said things so right. damn this world and what we've become. if only it could all be right... but even then... someone would be unhappy.
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Severely dissapointed. For all the comments you got pointing out your brilliance and wisdom, or whatever some of these sorry fucks said, this is pretty weak. Anybody could rant about how ridiculous and shitty our world is. Nobody does though because we all already know how it is, and it we don't, we wouldn't understand this anyways. Thanks for nothing.
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This deserves so much more exposure; the world needs to see this . . .
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Fuck. Our generation.
You speak the truth and you speak it well.
+Favourite.
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I have a question. If what people of the last generation see of this generation and say "holy shit, what the hell happened?", what will this generation say when the next genaration rises from this one?
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Well said.
I think about similar things.
I have some similar ideas.
You sound like you could carry on a good discussion.
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I agree and disagree with everybody that has commented. This is extraordinarily funny in its sarcasm and voice. It is also extremely long, and in this style, that means overdone. To cut my comment short, it sounds like a Chris Rock/Dennis Miller/George Carlin standup piece that complains about everything that is popular in today's society. Nothing wrong with that at all, but this doesn't qualify as poetry under any definition that I can imagine.
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that was great...i have been saying much the same thing over the past two or three years..without the artistic flair, though. Very nice. I think we should have this read at the presidential innauguration next election. Wouldn't that be fun.
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that was well thought and written out in exellent words.... great sarcastic and yet responsible attitude of what we really are going through in this genereation. I cannot but this... a masterpiece
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You think this is only true of our generation? You don't blame the generation before us? From Australia... this is very much the view of the majority of the US, not just yours, mine or any other single generation. Fear mongering is what the US lives on now. It's a multi billion dollar industry run by the most powerful and the expense of the least powerful, and those not at fault.
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That's some of the most amusing, provocative, and poignant writing I've read in quite a while. The sad thing? I had to look up the spelling of "Poignant".
The thing that really struck me is that, through the entire poem, there isn't a single point where the flow was interrupted; where I could pick apart a particular rough current in the speaking. Someone said it has no real rhythm or verse to it; I say that's total bunk. There's too much damned poetry these days with orderly, defined structure, dainty and full of english-major-appeal. This poem has the rhythm of the mind, and it flows freely as it needs to. What I'm saying is, ya'll so damned up-tight, yo's gona spid diamonds out yo azz! Certainly you're apt to garner some controversy over something like this; I just find it a low blow to criticize your poeticism. If you don't like his poeticism you can go get your damned own. He made verse out of online moron dialect, for gosh sakes. Isn't that alone worthy of applause?
One thing I saw that struck about some of the comments:
"God help us all - yet you don't believe in god. to death and back and you still dont see the light."
What I have to ask is, how can the writer of that statement, as a Christian person, possibly believe that it could bring anything other than harm, anger, or alienation? Have you concidered your words at all, man? Don't you know that this world needs God's help, whether we believe in Him or not? I can't stand by and condone such blatant, asanine ignorance. How can you expect to change a brother's mind when you are condemning his heart? Didn't that strike you as at all odd?
And also, to those like Jklunde who have condemned the poem as a "rant", some "angstful poem" that is meerly "whining"--Did you even read it? Isn't it so obviously a fast, sarcastic social commentary? I just find it utterly absurd that many of you could take it so wrongly literally and make out as a ranter yourselves. I find that these outlashings must be happening because these individauls actually think that they are being assaulted! I think that's the most rediculous thing about it; it is people like these that the poem really warns about. Did you read the note Chris left for you in the beginning? "Don't get silly though, kiddies. There's plenty to go around." Why don't we ever listen? Damn! That's the problem with this generation!
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(rereading mah comment after prod from hhour) to clarify, i am of "the generation" - eighteen and all, i don't, however, identify with 10 yr olds or 25 yr olds (well...definitely not with 10 yr olds)
right - o
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This is beautiful. I love it!
Brilliantly written and with many valid and great points.
Good social comment.
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here is one for you:
God help us all
- yet you don't believe in god. to death and back and you still dont see the light.
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interesting social critique. some very good ideas, though i get the feeling that it could have been cleaned up some. some of it seems a bit chattery when i feel it needs more of a laconic feel. simply stated sometimes instead of stated with the number or words being a correlation to its authority. overall quite good, but i think the meter could use a bit.
nice job.
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in responce to jklundes comment.
i dont think any one here is kowtowing and bowing before a new messiah, as these are things that are pretty much in front of our faces everyday. we see them, move on, see them some more, grow distracted or desensitized. just lose touch to what should be important.
t he problem with this generation...is that we are going to have to pick up the mess of the last generation, and the one before it...but, before we can even attempt to tackle that problem, we need to see what wrong with us.
before we dump it on the next generation to deal with.
and as for angst and self parody, i see alot of parody in this. and angst. who doesnt have that? everytime time you bitch, complain, whine and kvetch (and dont tell me you dont, you'd be a liar, we all do. I know I do) just think...thats angst!
a commment calling this piece is angst, otherwise ou wouldnt bother making a comment like that. hm, commenting on a comment.
and i whole heartedly agree. actions do speak louder than words. so get off your asses and do something other than just bitching.
this is a community of words, of images. they are all pretty much static, so you can really only bring of yourself, your words. this community is here to share ideas.
in the end, this is a community to expose your art and writing, and to comment and lend your support. a critique on work and skill. and thats just what most here did. left comments on the amount of skill thought and effort put into this piece. thats what impressed me, the form and structure of the thoughts expressed here. i enjoyed the read.
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hey, Missy's no prostitute!
but all the rest is true
like some others pointed out, this "poem" doesn't flow very well and feels hastily written. but i can't say i don't like it, because it's entertaining, kinda like a Jim Carrey movie. and somewhat deeper. good insights and btw, i'm totally with you on the whole internet lingo, wtf is up with that......
cheers
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i have some big problems with this poem.
problems that again i wish DD pickers would pick up on.
mainly, the problem with this poem is that is does not risk anything - i am going to stand by the tenet that poetry is a compassionate art, this poem makes no move to come to terms with the problems - the poet has risked nothing by slapping me with either generalizations (many of which do not apply to many individuals of "the generation") or things i already know
also, this poem tries to generalize a huge range of individuals into "our generation" - frankly, i am not of the 10 or 25 yr old "generation", and most of the people who i do consider to be of "my generation" do not give a shit about missy elliot, are majorly and deeply opposed to war in iraq, and have certainly learned to spell correctly, and that a person's ability to spell will never determine his or her worth as an individual
who has appointed the speaker as "the generation's" critic, anyhow?
you have anger, but this poem only represents the platitudes we're all familiar with - show us what we don't arready know
if you disagree, call me on it, boyo! defend your poem! DD pickers, defend your choice of this poem!
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People have been whining about how much worse it is today than it was yesterday since humanity developed the capacity for speech. I don't really see anything novel in this, unless the poem is making a parody of itself. I can see it now:
The problem with this generation
is the burning desire to write an angsty poem
brilliantly lighting the path to destruction
while blindly continuing to run down it.
It's so much easier to talk about this, or even try to convince others of the idea that something needs to be done. What? You mean to imply that I should actually do something with myself instead of simply advocating for causes? Shut the hell up and do something? What an archaic concept! It just doesn't happen that way these days. I'm most effective when I'm convincing large groups of the difference they can make, what they should do.
Sentiment is all well and good, but imagine how many people will feel they've accomplished something by clicking the favorite button on this and moving on? Leave a comment, move along. Nothing to see here.
Of course, I'll be the first to submit that this comment is itself a parody of its own devices. Advocating action rather than comments, something higher than public bitching. Line me up for the firing squad.
Regards,
JK
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i don't know about all this talk about "it's not a revelation," but it's probably that i read too carefully instead of just the mangled net-speech and missed the part where you said it was. a problem i've noticed but still don't give a damn about, because i'm just as bad as the next one, though i try and justify myself by saying that at least my entertainments are smarter than theirs. nice work, and everyone who said "ooh, this isn't a poem, it doesn't rhyme" can sod off because they more than proved your point with that narrow little definition. loverly piece man.
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hehe. right here is another bandwagon patriot, loving this deviation since .... today! even tho it was posted a couple months ago..heh. still very good tho, glad somebody noticed it. its so true. and things have gotten worse since then. its sad. the worlds sliding downhill, and a lotta people know..but nobody likes to admit it or talk about it out loud..anyways..godly work here. prettymuch everything i'd have to say has already been said..so yea. i'll be checking out your pag ewhen i have more t ime. and can spell properly. c'ya
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hehehe.. thats cute. not all of whutt yu sed wuz true, but at least u made it seem like it. are yu really a prophet? i kinda am... it sucks.. i have fuct up dreams. i saw the earthquake in mexico in mai dreams before i saw it in the news.. n thats only the most recent one.. world war three is cumming...
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