Greatly Deceived Generation

This morning I read an AP article about the young man who went on a shooting rampage at the new Batman movie.  As I read his story, it sounded like the story of so many people in my generation.  We were told in elementary school, middle school, and high school to continue our education after high school and to pursue a white collar financially secure career that fit with our gifts, talents, and dreams.  But after completing college, so many of us discovered that the only jobs available to us were jobs that did not require the education we received.  Those who were able then decided to further their education with a masters or doctorate degree.  But once in those programs, we discovered that the higher the degree we earned the less likely were our chances of finding a spouse, having a happy marriage, and getting a job.  Some of my peers who are completing their PhDs are discovering that indeed the job pool is even thinner than when they began.  So what are they to do - acquire a job that challenges them less than what they have been trained for?  And if so, how are they to pay off that high education debt?

And what about life?  Were any of us prepared to just live life?  We were told that it was all in our career and our career would either make our happiness or withhold it from us.  So little emphasis was put on basic life skills like personal accounting and financial management, basic skills to maintain a home, how to raise children and have a successful marriage, how to do and find happiness in the mundane.

The previous generation had good intentions in wanting the best for us and of course they were not able to see the future impact of the way we were raised. The big question is, "How will we raise our children differently?"  Will we revert back to the way we were raised?  Go to an opposite extreme?  Or find a place of balance?

I suspect as the news story unfolds, we will discover that the young man who attacked the theatre goers had an agenda or message he wanted to share with society.  He obviously wanted to live to tell his story, otherwise he wouldn't have worn all that protective gear. The question is: what is the story he wants to tell?  Does he think that this story will make him a success? Or at least guarantee him some financial gain and a name?  Or did he really just go crazy?