My son and two of my stepsons fit the description given of today's aimless youth. Paul got blown up in Afghanistan for his reward in trying to better himself. My son got crapped on by Village Inn for his loyalty and the third is in college taking 15 credit hours so he can prove to the Navy that he is a good risk. I mis-spent my youth in Vietnam and various hospitals overseas and in the States. I am not sure there is a good answer for today's youth, I know I don't have one.
You do the best with what you have. Find any way forward. Realize 99% of all jobs are just to put food on the table, a roof over your head and enable you to live. When in doubt, go find another until you find one you like or can at least stand.
No, there is no answer. It's in the hands of every individual to look at the situation, realize it for what it is, and still move on with developing a life. My generation knows we're the ones that will be paying the bill for the excesses of the previous, oh, four? generations.
I remember the last time I heard an old codger going on about "kids these days". Harmless fool, of course. Still lit into him. I explained in a very polite way that the largest and effective driver of socialism in America was the AARP. As much as folks complain about welfare, it is a drop in the bucket compared to buying old folk votes with tax dollars. I reminded him that social security revenue was roughly equal to all income tax revenue collected. If his generation wanted respect from the "young punks", perhaps he would be better served by earning it by not trying to bind the next generation with debt, instead of treating the matter as yet another entitlement based on the criteria that he has consumed more oxygen. For some reason, he did not like that.
