Millennials: A Generation of the Black Hole

To remain resorting to past thinkers, whom lived centuries ago, is a worrying sign of the present state of human kind. For, what of the intellectuals of today? What have they brought forth that is worth our attention? If the answer is "not much", then we are passing into default quicker than anticipated. The civilizing process of the 21st century has become a backward process of reasoning. Reasoning is not a matter highly dwelled upon, as we resort to dealing with our emotions for inspiration, energy and support. But what most of the current generation misinterpret about the uses of our emotions and feelings, which many of us have grown quite sensitive over the years with various views about minority groups, marginalized group's rights, child care and upbringing, centralization of power, the swift reaction of cancel culture over other people’s personal views, or even mere jokes that are mistaken for cultural appropriation, is that emotions are like a horse set out into the wild on the loose. The horse has no sense of direction but a lot of energy in it channel to no proper direction. What is one to make of such a horse? It is a majestic beauty roaming free and wild but with no discipline, until the rider comes along.

The Greek analogy of the rider and the horse is something Millennials must be aware of, in order to make better use with the short lifeline they have spared for them on this planet, which is also dying by the recklessness of the masses whom live in utter denial, particularly the older generations that continue to cling onto power. The analogy of the horse and the rider is basically a debacle between our reason and emotions. As a Simplist, following the ideals of balance of reason, it becomes imperative that we learn where to best draw the line between our reason and emotions. For, while our emotions is likened to the horse, reason is regarded as the rider. Both alone do not account for much. Whether it was the lack of direction by the horse or the inability of the rider to reach to their destination on time or even in full function. Both would make a crushing force if matched together. Together, the horse would be directed onto a certain path, while the rider would better be able to reach to their desired destination. We lack reason in the current age, as somehow many of us subconsciously assume that technology shall help us with filling in the gaps of our many problems, while our own emotions are highly unstable and manipulated on a minutely basis that we no longer know how to control our reactions or regulate our behaviours to generate more functional and productive lives. To gain a better grip over our lives, we must learn how to become focused on what's at hand, what's at stake and what is it we hope to achieve in the years to come. And to do so requires gaining an understanding of what we excel at and what we are still lacking. Or as the Greek poet Pindar once claimed, “To be who you wish to be you have to understand who you are". And to understand who we are, we must detach ourselves from the noise of the millions of others whom have become our critiques, judges and even executioners.

The main issues amongst Millennials, is individual craving for being a leader and their desire for their movements to be leaderless. Rather paradoxical it seems but we are a generation living in times of paradoxes. Individualism has fuelled this deep craving to feel in power over one's body and mind. None of us believe anyone has any direct force or application of power over us anymore. We believe in self-rule and self-regulation and we assume that the world is our oyster, as we technically have the world wrapped in the palm of our hands. Nothing seems difficult and everything seems attainable. When the world becomes everyone's oyster, it becomes increasingly difficult for anyone to influence or impact others to find their way and become better in any shape or form. It becomes difficult to find leaders, when everyone thinks they are leaders. It becomes hard to gain guidance, when everyone thinks they know everything or everyone expects you to know what it is you are looking for. It is true, with today's technology there are no more excuses for negligence. But ignorance continues to thrive, as we still make room and find it excusable to not be curious, to not question, to not explore uncharted depths or terrain, and to not try to develop something novel out of the ashes to form a stature worth admiration for generations of the future. When our lives are being lived inwardly, while trying to expose a certain false or misguided image outwardly, it becomes ever more challenging to stay true to what you are and where you wish to go. We live for ourselves, yet pretend to be engaged for the rest of the world, not realizing that to aid one's self, we need others around us to help shape the environment that would be made possible for one to focus and live for one's own. If the world is decaying and chaos is spreading, how can one still remain positive or live peacefully and enjoy life, while all around them the world is falling into decadence and despair? As the great Roman philosopher, Seneca, once said, “You act like mortals in all that you fear and immortals in all that you desire”.

To live for yourself, one must also live for the world. There is no one way ticket to living a better life. We have to entertain every avenue, channel and individual of significance to us, in order to live more functionally. This is what is missing amongst the majority of Millennials and even younger generations, today. This sense of commitment and empathy to one's fellow humans or community, or the acknowledgement of how one's actions are because of countless of other's efforts to make such actions possible, or how one's actions may have a major impact on those that surround them or are linked to them. We have to think beyond ourselves, in order to protect ourselves and our own worlds which we have built deep within our own virtual bubbles, in order to witness what progress truly means. We have to understand, as well, that the equality we all are trying to constantly preach is noble but unrealistic. For, we should never treat anyone indifferent, while we all must respect and cherish our differences. But no matter what conditions are set for us that makes us feel equal, such as all are accounted for in the eyes of the law, it still does not prove that we are equal. For every one of us is different, possessing a culture of their own and residing over kingdoms buried deep in their minds. Every one of us, given the same circumstances as in the notion of behind the ‘veil of ignorance’ introduced by John Rawls, shall react differently and operate distinctly from the other, as we are after all beings that possess reason and emotions, which till this day and age are uncontrollable. And because we possess such uncontrollable features, which most existing species do not truly possess, in at least the capacity or extent of us homo sapiens, then we must not delude ourselves and politically weaken our visions and understandings in attempting to create systems or build ideas that revolve around mistaken or misunderstood notions, like that of communism for instance.

Another issue is, everybody knows much about everything. The question to propose then would be, how and why is that a bad thing? This I would compare to mastery. When we seek to gain mastery over something in particular, we focus and divert all our energies towards gaining a substantial and thorough understanding of the subject or matter, in order to.be fully equipped in using that knowledge to help spread or use it or on others, respectively. Either we possess a half-asset knowledge on multiple matters, or gain full mastery on one that makes us more equipped and specialized for managing it. Millennials tend to have their minds stretched out far on a range of matters. That may sound like a good thing, for even I have been part of the same bracket, but anything stretched becomes weak and loose, as its core diminishes. The core or centre of gravity, is the most quintessential notion we have least knowledge of, during our times, as we seem to constantly be juggling things in numerous zones without thinking of the physical, mental or social toll it can have on our health. It is because of such; we are deemed lost and confused. Even the notion of expertise, which was always held or bestowed by the most esteemed members of society, in intellect and mannerism, have been slowly diminishing and taken over by laymen opinions and knowledge that is derived mostly from false assumptions by the majority. This is a matter eloquently expressed by Soren Kierkegaard as, “Truth always rests with the minority … because the minority is generally formed by those who really have an opinion, while the strength of a majority is illusory, formed by the gangs who have no opinion.”

Today, everyone can be deemed an expert, as everyone has access to the resources and materials that was once locked up and confined for the usage of only the learned or literate in most of our species’ history, until right about the Gutenberg Press was invented and the technological boom of the 90s spread information everywhere. Our generation, Millennials, are regarded as the most educated generation to date, especially amongst developed countries. This is an achievement by far, but not truly a measure of greatness by any account. For education has become not only our card of acceptance to be a part of the current society and economy, but it has become a matter expected of us to have, as we are obliged to have a secondary education, minimum, and in many cases a tertiary degree in many modern job posts, if we are to make any sort of living. This turns education, as a means to an end and not an end in itself. Education is no longer something that Millennials engage in to pursue their own personal interests for the sake of their dreams, ambitions or desires. Rather, education has become a tool to get them one point to the next, in hopes that they may have the freedom at some stage to pursue their own endeavours. Aristotle believed that, "The main way the educated differs from the uneducated, is the same as between the living and the dead". But real education that is meant to free one from their shackles and turn one into a productive member of society, is a dying pursuit. The majority of our individualistic generation no longer embody lively souls but shadows of their real selves. Even when they dance in a group, they are lonelier than ever. We are wasting our lives without understanding what we are wasting it on. "Time wasted on things that make us happy, is not wasted time", said Bertrand Russell. Yet, we do not view or understand the world as such. For even our understanding is corrupted and left to ruin, by our pursuits for the mundane and not for passions and desires that magnify the senses and embolden the heart. To cure us from the incurable disease of a wasted life on matters that do not enable us to reach to any sort of potential worthy of our limited time on this planet, our priorities must change by the things that are advertised or promoted to us. When celebrity content is showcased as the next great thing, while philosophical notions are downgraded and looked badly upon, then we are producing a society that is eating itself up with pettiness and sadness. For, there are content, individuals, events or occupations that can strengthen our resolve to enrich our minds, and there are other kinds which help us getting dumber and less attentive of our surrounding and of ourselves.

We confuse the idea behind pragmatism, as a generation. For, rather than to think practically by being open minded, we go to extremes to exercise certain deplorable activities like drinking and partying and mistaken it for freedom to Millennials of the East. As for the West, their pragmatism is rooted in eating whilst walking rather than having a fruitful conversation at a dinner table with friends and family, hitting several birds with one stone. Freedom is not rooted in small time satisfactions or temporary pleasures. Freedom doesn't neither stem from our wishes or most intimate desires, as such qualities tend to perish and leave us going back to whence, we came from, having not truly progressed towards any destination but rather have been uplifted to the clouds for a while and then dropped down again to Earth. Freedom has always been a structured process that is initiated by the mind itself. How or to what extent we think, imagine and understand about life and its many contraptions, is the key towards our so-called freedoms. Therefore, training the mind on not accepting everything that comes in the way and learning how to focus it on the things that matters most to us, is integral for safeguarding our potential freedoms which is currently taken for granted by most of our generation; a staple practice introduced by Siddhartha Gautama the Buddha. And the question that may arise is, why do we take such a notion for granted, when we constantly speak of it? The problem lies just there. We just talk about it. We have become elaborate talkers that rarely act upon what we say. More so, people of different eras and epochs used to truly understand the meaning of being shackled and oppressed, as it was quite evident and obvious how miserable their lives were, unlike the glamour and illusions we are surrounded with today, having us forget where we are, what we are doing and what is the most important for us. As such, people back in the day used to fight furiously for their freedoms without questioning their motives or complaining about the hardships they may confront. Today, we are too enmeshed in the system of surplus, which is the hyped-up capitalist state of affairs and consumerist behaviours we currently exhibit. We have too much and we are constantly everywhere at once and not in one place focused one particular goal and dedicated to one specific cause. Thus, also is due to a lack of purpose. Purpose to do and be more than what you are, is a privilege that many of us today do not have access to.

The world needs a wakeup call. An event that can cause a shock to our norms and habits. COVID-19 has offered us that opportunity to pause and reflect. And it is in such times when uncertain is looming in the air up above us, does our most creative capacity flourish in the midst of the chaos. For long, we have been far too relaxed and caught up with the loud noises and high-speed chases of the age. As time as slowed down, because of this mind-boggling pandemic, people are beginning to wonder about life and what lies ahead. However, that is simply not enough. For, like a power vacuum that arises when a certain influential leader passes away and leaves behind a vacancy, which needs filling and therefore causes disruptions within the hierarchy, there is today something of an ideation vacuum. This concept, although is not unprecedented, no existing literature in the social sciences have ever truly written about it or even named it as such, until now. Within the current pandemic, which has brought forth numerous crises within the economy, politics, society and even environment, many of the systems, beliefs and understanding that human beings have heavily relied upon or invested in, has been exposed for what they really are today; expired and no longer applicable. Which means we are in need of new ideas, concepts, models and even philosophies and ideologies to help fi the current void and provide a new pair of lenses to help our species look in the right direction with the right attitude and sense of commitment. The problems exposed today range from how governments have failed to foresee or protect the people from the virus, even though vaccine mandates have been sent out and a great majority are already fully vaccinated with many undergoing booster shots in at least the developed world, to how the scientific community is lacking in proper coordination or incentive to deliver the best results against this virus, to the tech industry gaining unheard of power that is shaping our world in the most drastic of methods, to how the world economy has caused severe inequality and lack of opportunities leading to supply bottlenecks and labour shortage. More importantly, a disregard for important matters like the environment and health of societies, to how society itself has become decadent and lost with utter confusion because of fear and ignorance over matters that they lack the capacity to reason with intelligible because of their lack of tolerance and ability to appreciate the smallest of things. Such global issues raise the alarm bells on our survival and sanity as a species that assumes to be progressing, when in reality they are regressing not to their former selves but to a weaker version of their selves. And for that, the war of ideas is to be launched, for the sake of a new purpose for our species to arise and help guide us to a whole new other reality. And as is attributed to Plato, "Reality is shaped by the mind. Change your mind and you shall change your reality". And, that is exactly what we need; a new mindset.

The youth of the Information Age are constantly over fed with information. The human brain, historically, has never managed such inflow of information as of the present times. Neurologically, the brain has the ability to grasp a lot of information. Yet, the issue with such is how much of that information is truly absorbed, understood, used and benefited by the young minds of today? With too much information comes an overload of responsibility, in which the vast majority of today's youth are unfamiliar and unable to cope with. Information is power, and in the hands of the few, such power was Godlike. For the power held by information has the ability to infiltrate minds and coerce the multitude in moving in the direction that is best suited by the beholder of such power. Corporations and governments have been using such power since the second industrial age. But it is the technocrats who have not only capitalized buy have also heightened their reach to use such information for the sake of their own benefit. Too much of anything has never been something to aspire to. Yet, we are a species that go for the extreme, whether it was in our excess or deprivation of things, we cannot seem to juggle between the two extremes to find a balance worth settling on. Information today is gradually losing its value, as it comes in excess. And such information is being bundled like a package of fruits or vegetables sold to the nearest consumer for half the price. So long as sales are based on volume and not on value, the information provided to us without our permission, is nothing but baseless words or data that benefits no one but the producers of such content themselves.

So, what are we to do with such mess? How are we to swim through the chaos of information, so we can better benefit ourselves moving onwards? What are we to rely upon, so that our visions, minds or hearts are not blurred or contaminated with the wrong incentives? This requires an intense understanding of ourselves away from the mainstream and loudness of our surroundings. This requires a detachment of everything we hold dear and we are not in need of but still acquire, in order to gain clarity. More so, what is required is for us to go through an intense phase of discovery that may upset our expectations and break us severely, till our ourselves begin to crack. But rest assured that such endurance is to your own benefit. For through the breakage our real selves can be revealed. All that is left for the process to be complete, is for our real selves to have an outlet that can come out and be unleashed onto the world without any meddling, like a child given a safe space and time to grow. But with the rise of "Cancel Culture" or cultural appropriation or political corrections, it becomes increasingly difficult for the youth of the age to reveal their true selves. In the past, religion played a role in consolidating an individual or even provide a means of redemption for one's soul. And somewhere along the lines people shifted from such practices to that of psychoanalysis or behavioural methods, or as Michael Foucault famously said, "Man has become a confessing animal". Today, religion does not hold that much weight in helping provide people with the comfort to be themselves. For religion plays a role in giving up such matters for rather sake of surrender to God. That might have brought ease and comfort to the people of another age or time, but not to a time heavily bombarded and showered with all sorts of distractions that do not really enable one to progress or even regress, but rather forces one to remain paralyzed in their place not capable of moving freely. And when such circumstances are all that we have, questions such as where do we go from here, or what is ought to be done, or what type of world do we wish to be a part of, or what are we meant to be cautious from, are all essential for our personal development as capable and functional human beings. Our environments are quite virtual and superficial as there are too many glamorous spectacles that are quite empty from the inside, like a big appealing box gift wrapped that contains no actual gift from within. Therefore, we need to take the stage and address the issues of concern and be prepared to be ridiculed or questioned critically and even criticized cruelly, as the changes that are needed are severe. It may seem that we live in an age that is far more superior and modern, due to the supposed openness and liberality that is provided nowadays. The truth is far from it. As before there was a clear understanding of what was right or wrong or what was normal and abnormal. Today, all these variations are looked at as one in the same. Lying is bad but yet people seem to love to do it anyway. Disrespecting your parents is wrong, yet we still go with it anyway. Following the crowd is a mistake, yet the path to success requires you to be superb at climbing up the social ladder. Today, we address many issues out in the open, which is a plus in modern society. Yet, the biggest problem is we do not take any executive actions to implement half of what we share and discuss in such arrangements, as actions are burdensome and difficult to execute. And with too much information, our lives become heavily reliant on theory rather than practice, as we have become increasingly afraid of taking actions that may enable real change from unfolding. And this reminds me of what Immanuel Kant once enlightened us on, "Experience without theory is blind. But theory without experience is mere intellectual play".

When it comes to the virtual, our generation is extremely far ahead than the previous generations. But when it relates to matters of reality, our generation is still far behind on a great many things. Survival for us has a very different connotation than what survival means for our predecessors or even our ancestors. It does not mean that we ought to live like how those of the past lived. But to be able to truly progress, evolve and be capable of developing further than where we currently stand, our minds need to function at a level where our reason touches ground with the reality of our circumstances and not be stuck somewhere far up on the clouds. We have the tools at our disposal and we have the privilege of time in our hands, but we do not possess the drive or motive to make use of these resources in a manner that would be befitting for our dreams and aspirations. And the way we can get the drive to fuel such ambitions is through avoiding the distractions we face and to be encouraged to take risks to follow and not just share our plans by existing in an environment that promotes such behaviours. In fact, when it comes to behaviours, we are being run on default. No movement really accounts for anything. People are like lifeless bodies, in which their souls are synchronized within the world wide web. Control is illusive, as we control whatever options or functions, we use, but those options are holding us captive to a much larger system of modernized slavery. We are doing the bidding of a few without knowing so and we are providing everything to the world, in terms of our thoughts, beliefs and secrets while assuming that our privacy setting are in full capacity. We are not as independent as we like to believe, for we are so addicted to the very phones we carry around and sleep with at a minutely basis. And while we carry such devices around, we do not realize that we are dragging the whole world into our affairs exposing ourselves more than we conceal. And when we think of how independent we truly are, we realize as the fog from our front view vanishes that we are not at all independent but rather more alone than we would have liked to imagine. It is then and there that many of us from these times break heavily and fall endlessly without any hope in pulling ourselves back into the world. We helped give life to a hungry system that takes more than gives. While it may be providing us with more lavish material to pounder around with, it is taking from us our minds, hearts and soul as compensation.

Technocrats have become the new slave owners of our virtual societies, as the masses are willingly sucked into the distractions and allure offered by tech platforms that provide an escape from reality. And that is why, although you have a privileged generation that has access to almost everything nowadays, you are also getting a generation that is too pampered that any sign of conflict, error, or challenges may burst them into tears like a baby. And that is how fragile we have become. That is how far we have fallen as a species. But there is hope left, amongst the few within these younger generations that are highly talented and geniuses in their own right that have what it takes to change things around. But they are meant to be discovered, spotted and then provided with the space to roam free with their creativity to help nourish entire societies and generations down the line. That must be the role of those who have means and who have ambitions to help spot, support and fund such folk to achieve wonders that our civilization lacks.

Politics is a discipline built on methods of patience. This counters the very constitution of the youth's psyche in the Information Age; a need for immediate results. Thereof, it becomes hard for people of the current age to grasp the various intermingling matters generated by politics. And that is why many are easily subdued by political ambitions and swayed by political figures, whose intentions are not always the best. Regardless if most have access to data on the worldwide web, most are lured by content that is designed to please physically or sensually rather than intellectually and morally. And if controls were to be imposed to help limit certain content or address certain matters that may seek overboard, our platforms of critique are quick to turn matters into an infringement over our inalienable rights and matters pertaining to the sanctity of humanity as a right to live. Even the movements that are thing root in various facets of society, such as cancel culture or political appropriation or green movements that are forcing individuals, corporations and even institutions to rethink their internal and external activities.

Our sensitivity has made us intolerable and incapable of handling truth and facing reality that has grown grimmer and more ruthless. And that is due to our unfamiliarity with our inner selves and our innate characters. We are either told who to become or are presented with whom we can be. But none of our wishes or preferences are usually taken under consideration. And to avoid the backlash or hassle that may be incurred by society, we decide to suppress our passions, visions and wishes thinking it to be for the better, when often the case is for the worse. Thus strive for letting our independence reign in on our decisions and for our unique personas to be given a chance to see the light of day, is nothing but purely political. We have to politicize with the world, so that we can gradually reveal ourselves and make the unusual or unexpected normal. That requires not only effort but the courage to do more than what is expected of you and to be capable of living comfortably in your own solitude for a while, while a new social environment is borne out of your new circumstances with your own political conditions. But that is not yet truly practiced, regardless of the many advocates for change out there that come through the form of bloggers, influencers or public personas and at platforms that encourage embracing your individuality. Patience is required to build something of worth. But with no tolerance for patience in the day to day process of development, nor with no understanding or acceptance of the very meaning of worth as we tend to not put any concrete value on meaningful things anymore, our ability to exercise the political animal instinct within us is close to obsolete in a world maintained by automated incentives and robotic mentalities.

Our generation has too much power but not enough competence to wield such power towards the right direction. That power is information. But much of the information presented is misguided. And although respected institutions, such as universities, try to provide us with more reliable source to extract information and data from, even universities are limited with the sources they deal with and are constrained by the bureaucracies in place that wish to see a specific model for all studies produced that do not allow the possibility of any real breakthroughs to take place. If anything, breakthroughs, innovations and revolutionary moments arise out of mainstream academia or disciplines of certain institutions and groups. But like the school model that narrows the mind of a student, especially in higher studies where you are meant to look at something very specific or narrow to open a much larger subject of interest that is mostly lost in debate and seldom applied in the real world, rather than look at many plausible and beneficial sources to help solve specific real life problems that actually matter and impact our way of life, our digital era based on the platforms we heavily use also narrow our minds in supplying us mostly with information or content that is mostly sellable and never truly beneficial. What we need today is more than just information or an education that is meant to only look good for CVs that get us jobs from 9 to 6. What we need is guidance. But guidance based on what and led by whom? We seek to answer those questions pertaining to our past experiences, current endeavours and future wishes. For, the guidance I wish to promote throughout my work, is one based on prioritization, purpose, meaning, creativity, rather than what meets the eye or is found floating on the surface of our horizons. Our generation has helped give rise to times of "Live and Forget". We focus too much on "living", whether it be in the movies we watch, the songs we listen to, or the material and content we are exposed to. But our form of living is the opposite of engagement. It sides more with forgetting, ignoring or skipping to just manage to feel better. Like morphine given to contain the pain within, it does not do anything substantial if one does not change completely their lifestyles for the better. If we choose to ignore the warning signs beaming right at our face on every interval and from every corner, we position ourselves in, we will for sure lay the foundation for the destruction of our species number one feature that has helped us prevail over all other species; our reason. For, we strive for greatness or to make an impact, yet, we fail to determine what it is we are striving for. This has become a generational problem, which needs attentive care conducted by our individual selves. If we are to truly make an impact, we have to start by making an impact in our own lives, before we may impact others. If we are to even begin pursuing such a path, we must develop a greater understanding within ourselves on the type of beings we wish to be in the years to come.