Another Shot at the 60's - The New Beat Generation

Unemployment among young people in USA stands at over 20%, and that doesn't even count part-time people who are freelance website designers (about 40 million people). Here we are faced with a whole phenomena of permenantly irresponsible people drifting from place to place, party to party, gallery opening to gallery opening, looking for something to actually do with their lives except quote Jack Kerouac or tell people they are 'freelancing'

So while Asians Blacks and Mexicans are busy actually doing all the work, a whole generation of 20's-40's white people have nothing to do except join a retro band, whine, and try out tantric sex. 

Instead of working, more and more people are thinking about things (because they have time) People espouse 'sharing' (because they have no money themselves) People talk about 'a new Paradigm of living', as we hurtle towards December 2012 (because like me, they themselves are rapidly hurtling towards unemployability) 

'Those nasty damn exploiting capitalists' they say. 'The system must change'. 

But really guys, it will, but it's going to get much worse before it gets better so may as well buckle up and if you really want to change things, like Ghandi - take action, don't just take yoga classes.

This new beat generation is here to stay, but the whole 'new paradigm' is fatally flawed. It's all well and good to moan about ruthless big business, exploitation, and control of the general populace by a small number of rich people, but whats the viable alternative? making beads? It's been suggested that barter systems can work too. Of course they can but only on a small scale. For beads, beans, car repairs, that sort of thing. But what about airplanes and ships that actually bring you those sweatshop built shoes and hats? or the trees that go to make your vegan cookbook? Yes yes. Im afraid theres a big difference between the wishful thinking of armchair hippies and the reality of life, dear friend. Socialist ideas do tend to go pear shaped due the general fuzziness of the bearded fellows espousing it and real human nature, which, like it or not is like all mammals - competitive and status oriented. 

One trend that I do like is the fact that people do seem to be having another shot at the 60's. Again in a really bad way, but the thought is there. Either i'm hanging about with more freaks than I used to, or spiritual awareness is growing at a rate of noughts. The population is split down the middle, with materialistic rational scientific non spiritual people on one side and, on the other, people for whom this simply isn't enough. 

They, like me, seek answers. Rational Science takes an objective outside observers viewpoint. But this is impossible viewpoint, because like it or not, we are part of it all. It also doesn't fully explain the big bang or evolution for that matter, despite the possibility that they are correct. Is the spiritual truth simply hidden for us until we, as humans, are ready for it? Is it that guys like Moses, Jesus, all these kind of guys were ready, so they got the necessary info for the meaning of life ? Is the answer really 42?

I'll write a specific article on this later, meanwhile take a look at this series (its about 60 episodes long!) but quite an interesting take on the subject. And enjoy yourselves. Get used to being skint, being 'freelance' and being 'spiritual without a clue what it means ' . You aren't alone