If you are anything like me, you are getting tired with the world. Exasperated with society, pop-culture, and with the world that we know. While there is much to appreciate and there are so many things to be grateful for, it is hard to not feel completely vexed with the world and what we are surrounded by. With the daily news full of tragedy, controversy, and politics, we quickly get lost in a gloomy whirlwind. Especially while studying at a liberal arts college, we students are usually bombarded with controversy in classes, and we are expected to consider these topics at a greater length. With so much negativity constantly in our lives, I can easily say that I am tried of the world in it's current state.
Perhaps it is because we are finally adults, and we are expected to focus on these issues at hand, but there seems to be a hyper focus on the negativity in the world. Social media is flooded with paragraph posts about political opinions, memes with clever captions demonizing cultures, races, peoples, and nearly every type of social group. Religions are being attacked, progress halted, and it seems that there is a never ending flow of hate from one opposing view to the next. There is an unnerving lack of sensitivity to those who are different from us, and there seems to be few attempts to try to understand and accept these people. We see differences as frightening, and something to be skeptical of rather than celebrated. In our world, having opposing views is one of the largest "problems." There are so many issues at the forefront of our society; the upcoming presidential election, gun control, religion, sexual orientation. Yet there is an appalling lack of open discussion and or debate going on between those with opposing views. Instead of learning about differences, it seems totally acceptable and the complete norm to avoid communication, and immediately post hate and express opinions without being receptive to the opinions of others.
Beyond the hate, there is a shocking amount of violence that plagues our world. Murder, suicides, terrorism, and hate crimes seem to be on the news every day. There is no easy solution to any of these problems; legal and constitutional rights are some things that are not easily challenged or approached. There is not an easy answer, but I can easily say that I am tired of the violence, and I expect many other people are as well.
Along with every other source of frustration in the world, I believe that many people, myself included, are fed up with the hypocrisy that we are constantly exposed to. As one classmate and friend said; "We are expected to behave, dress, and act a certain way, but when we do all of those things, we are immediately made fun of for it." We are told to fit in, but then we are called "basic." We are told to be ourselves, but we are then dubbed "weird" or "eccentric." There have been movements to promote acceptance of all body figures and types, yet there is still the undeniable body shaming that even the most "perfect" people undergo. There is no way to escape the social hypocrisy, but it goes even beyond that. Politics and politicians are some of the largest contributors to the issue; regardless of political party, nearly every politician is guilty of saying one thing, then doing the opposite. Even the leaders of our free world and society, the people who are supposed to be idols are adding to the problem.
There is a long list of frustrating issues in our world, but the most frustrating is the lack of answers. The climate of our society is one of tension and frustration, but it seems that no one has a solution. Of course, there is no easy fix to any of the problems that we see. Violence, social norms, and judgmental tendencies are not easily solved.
However, I do believe there is hope for our generation. Many friends and classmates have expressed the same frustrations, and many of us are motivated to start the change that we desire. We are looking for a more open, accepting society, one that fits the lofty ideals that we are conditioned to expect. Our generation wants to find the answers to the problems, to be more inclusive,and shape the world that we are inheriting into the world that we desired. As a whole, we may be tired of the world that we live in and the problems that we see, but we are also motivated to take the challenge, and make the world what we wish to see.
