youth culture

Some reading for your Saturday. (Updated by Mike)

• A Missouri state senate race was decided by youth volunteers.
• Russell Simmons, a famed hip-hop producer, appears on Fox News to discuss his GOTV effort.
• An excellent article delving into McCain's failure on technology policy and its connection to his poor performance among youth.
• Paul Krugman ponders our globalized economy and its understated fragility with regard to geopolitics.
• David Broder tackles the well-oiled machine that is the Obama campaign.
• The Toronto Star has an interesting column on the disappearance of fashion's connection with politics; it turns out Millennials would rather profess their opinion online and turn them into social movements -- who knew?
• MSNBC examines the volunteer efforts of China's Ba-Ling-Hou Generation, the American Millennial's counterpart; many Chinese youth have mobilized to confront the damage from the recent massive earthquake that struck a few weeks ago.
• U.S. News and World Report has a profile on the generations of the two presidential candidates; unfortunately no discussion of the impact of Millennials.
• User Generated Content at its best:

My mother REALLY wants me to go to Family Day at the Southern Baptist Church this Sunday.

So, in my FM fun this week, I wanted to look at some recent studies I've seen that talk about young people who are or who aren't alienated by organized religion and contrast that with actions we are seeing across the country

According to the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life, 44 percent of young American adults agree that religion is a very important part of their lives. For most, that's thanks to the parental forces. Mom enters

The National Study of Youth and Religion in an ongoing report claims that

"One of the most widespread and persistent stereotypes about U.S. teenagers is that they are alienated from “established” or “organized” religion and that this alienation is increasing."

But the reality (according to them) is that, "the majority of 12th graders in the United States — about two-thirds — do not appear to be alienated from or hostile toward organized or established religion"

Y'all have heard me go off about how evangelical practices have turned into adopting the cultures of young people as a means of recruitment.

This was not the case back in the day - this has only been a recent (20 years or so) development that has been quickly spreading from Orange County and the corners of West Virginia to the Bible Belt (like we needed any help...)

So it comes as no shock to me that young people suddenly don't feel alienated by religion - because religion isn't religion as we once new it. The anti-dancing, anti-rock n' roll, suit wearing, sticker stickin, holier than thou world that we see contrasted with these guys in my favorite ad that actually talks about our generation:

The NY Observer last week came up with a piece about what they are coining as the New Victorian’s – twentysomethings who are opting to settle down, marry, and have families right after collage.

No these youngsters are not the product of snake handling religionists who talk in tongues, marry at 12, and have babies to repopulate their cult – these are – in the case of this article – ivy league graduates with a good head on their shoulders and beaming with potential for progress in the big city. The traditional stereo type – possibly a byproduct of the 60’s – was to label co-ed graduate women with the anti-men, femi-nazi, lesbians, and a slew of others that amount to the fact that they will never marry, focus only on their careers, don’t even think of having children, and have as many lovers as they desire.

Ah but times, they are a changin’.

“While their forbears flitted away their 20’s in a haze of booze, Bolivian marching powder, and bed-hopping, New Vics throw dinner parties, tend to pedigreed pets, practice earnest monogamy, and affect an air of complacent careerism. Indeed, at the tender age of 28, 26, even 24, the New Vics have developed such fierce commitments, be they romantic or professional, that angst-ridden cultural productions like the 1994 movie Reality Bites, or Benjamin Kunkel’s 2005 novel Indecision, simply wouldn’t make sense to them.

As one soon-to-be-married, female 26-year-old online editor who lives in Williamsburg put it: “It’s no longer cool to be a slacker and be living in your basement.”

This is something my friends and I talk about all the time and there are a lot of reasons behind the kind of mindset here.