twenty years olds are these people who (for the most part) don't contribute to society. they are (and here, i should preface, that this discussion is referring to the "general" but rather, the specifically north american, and privileged), in a sense, the most useless people in the world, (except for the much-too-depressing concept of the elderly). and i know that they say that the youth is the future, and that's just because they are. you won't breed generations or keep that cycle going if it weren't for the youth, yes; but they are only a silver lining by virtue of their reproductive capacities. they hold the potential to press the refresh button on this evolutionary cycle, and that is a nice thought, but beyond that, 20 year olds are fucking useless.
they are in a certain grid of the social sphere, in which they are both considered old enough to be held accountable for their actions, and yet young enough to exist with as little responsibility as possible. this means that they're old enough to literally do whatever they want and yet young enough to not have to do anything. this is why they say you should do things in your twenties. now is the time. now is the time, to revel in the fact, that you are living an existence, that mostly consists of sucking up an excessive amount of resources. if you are in your twenties, we could probably do without you. life is great and i encourage you to stick with it for as long as possible, both beyond and within the 20 year old sphere, but i have to tell you, that for now, we really don't need you.
when i say that you suck up excessive amount of resources, i mean that you are the only ones who have time for the internet, and your technologies, and the arts. of course twenty year olds find the arts appealing. everything, music, painting, literature, film, whatever. we're the only ones who have time for that shit. we're the ones who actually have time to BE existential. little kids don't care about why they exist - they're too busy enjoying it. and older people don't care about why they exist, because they have bigger problems.
i swear, sometimes, i just find myself really conscious - unintentionally so, of the very happenings of my life. (duh, cause i'm fucking 20). but the amount of shit that i don't do on a daily basis is overwhelmingly disproportionate to the amount of shit that not only needs to get done in the world, but that i, myself, hold the very capacity to get done. instead of burning out with purpose, 20 year olds burn out on drugs, and snacks, and the fucking internet. and this isn't just applicable to your drop out stoners. even the ones who actively participate in an academic culture, spend most of their time, sucking up resources regardless. chances are, you fit the description of a full time student, part time shit-job holder, and all that means is that you get to spend most of your time doing stuff according to your own schedule, and then on the occasion that you have to submit to the economic structure of the world, you work a couple hours at some shit job, so that you can continue to participate in luxuries, like shopping, and, i guess eating isn't a luxury, but eating whatever you want, whenever you want, seems to be.
and yeah, louie ck is right. even the ones who think they're contributing, are really only taking advantage of opportunities built for themselves. go ahead, build those homes in those third world countries. of course, it's better than not doing that, but the reason you get to fly over, under the umbrella of that particular organization, is because the social system constructed that concept with your very useless existence in mind.
now, of course, i encourage the youth to be active in society, and for those who feel driven and genuinely tired with the amount of effort they put into their, hopefully, worthwhile existence, i encourage you. but i remind you, that you are a small percentage of the general.
going to class, is a fucking luxury. i don't want to position education as a privilege and not as a right - but just think about how it works. you take a social system and you get the opportunity to restructure it according to your own comfort and needs, and then you get to spend your days sitting in giant rooms with loads of other people, like you, listening to someone talk about the things you find interesting, and if you DON'T find that concept appealing, you don't have to do any of it! you can walk out, with the unrealized comfort of crossing the street into any fucking neighbourhood you want, really, and if you stop, and you think, mmm, i want a coffee, you go, and you get that fucking 4 dollar latte, and you continue your existence as a resource sucker upper.
twenty year olds are the one's who sit on steps of various buildings, pass snacks, joints, and jokes around. twenty year olds are surrounded with empty coffee cups. twenty year olds get to say things like, "i don't know. i'll see if i feel like it." and the crazy part is, this little detail is kind of applicable to twenty year olds from all spectrums. from lower income households, to higher income households. even if you can't afford that vacation plane ticket every month like others can, you can still probably afford to pass your days in a sort of mutually liberated and boring rhythm. you don't have to have a pace, and that's a luxury that twenty year olds carry over from their childhood, into an aspect of their adulthood.
and i don't say any of this to discourage twenty year olds from existing. in fact, i say this to reaffirm those moments when you find yourself sad, and you just don't know why. because that's what twenty year olds do. everything is awesome, and they know it, and then they get sad, and they don't know WHY, because they're also grown up enough to know that there's nothing to be sad about.
and i think, maybe, when that happens, it's cause we might be sad that we're useless. it's something that's sort of out of our control. all we can do is take advantage of these amazing opportunities given to us, and not just because you're western or possibly white, but because you're in your twenties. what the fuck else are you going to do?
