Not all of us are disappointed, at least not in our own kids. I have my complaints about how they handle their day-to-day lives, and how they often refuse advice or choose to learn the hard way. Standard parenting stuff. Those are the same complaints my mother had. When it comes to the younger generation, if I voice a concern which I'm well aware my mom or dad could make, I recognize and account for it. Rap & Hip-Hop music, after all, can't compete with Led Zeppelin, the Beatles, or Dylan.
On the other hand, there is a reason to be disappointed when the issue revolves around responsibility and entitlement. Some claim this is a standard complaint from generation to generation. Perhaps it is, though I don't remember my parents consistently commenting about the work ethic or willingness of any of my friends to think and act responsibly. There were moments when singular behaviors led to stern conversations about smoking, or drinking and how 'kids aren't like they were'. Of course, I'd later hear my parents tell humorous stories of their own proclivities as adolescents and young adults. Some behaviors and complaints do travel across eras.
My parents taught me to work. They instilled an understanding that I'm responsible for myself, and my family, and I need to earn the income to fulfill that responsibility in a dutiful fashion. I began seeing a therapist recently to work through some job-related concerns I have. She keeps using the terms "thoughtful" and "caring" about stories I recount. I always make a face and say "it's an obligation." Maybe some of the things I do are thoughtful and caring. I prefer to think I'm living up to my obligations. Others can think what they want about my motivations. I don't consider an obligation a negative. Like all things in life, there is a price. Obligations are prices with positive feedback loops. Live up to them, and you're trustworthy and should earn a level of respect.
The difficulty I have with the younger generation in my office is an unwillingness to fulfill obligations. More importantly, they confuse obligation with expectation. Sure, they all mean well. They are polite, courteous, friendly, oh-so-PC, inoffensive to a fault. Their 'obligations' to society are met. Obligations to accomplishment are severely lacking. While Woodrow Wilson may have felt the proliferation of cars was symbolic of an entitled generation, I believe an entitled generation is one which wants things handed to them, free of any perceived price.
I don't think all kids are disappointments like this. I see plenty who put themselves out there and work hard. Unfortunately, there is an overwhelming, and very visible, number who believe that just getting a college degree is some kind of magical potion which creates jobs, intelligence and responsibility. We have candidates catering to this mindset in both parties. As I pointed out to two of my management peers, who happen to both be starting families now, there's a strong chance they won't even consider sending their kids to college, nor should they necessarily assume they will have to.
If I had to say I'm disappointed in the next generation, and I'm not completely, it's primarily because journalists present entitled behavior as the norm all young folk should expect. That isn't to say I'm not concerned about misplaced priorities, poor behavior, and outlandish desires. At the very least, college protests 50 years ago were about stopping a war. Today they are just about how to surround students with bubble wrap. Stories about these outliers are presented in generally positive tones, despite the very negative aspects of what they are seeking and the methods which they utilize. There is never a question of motive or potential outcome, just a supposition the means justifies the ends.
Ultimately, society will struggle on somehow. I have faith in the human spirit. Even if every last young person was simply an entitled brat who didn't want to work, work still has to get done and will get done. People tend to find a way. Civilization made it through the Dark Ages. Which probably means the only real reason we can possibly have to be disappointed is because we just don't want to see every generation repeat the mistakes of prior ones. There's no need, or desire, to repeat the Dark Ages any more than there is a need or desire to repeat the 1950's. While the first article I linked to suggested advancement, growth and spread of wealth created a sense of envy on the part of older generations, I'd say that's the least likely reason for disappointment. I don't envy what my kids have or will have. I think it's great they are living in such a world of abundance. Like anyone else, I just don't like seeing avoidable mistakes being made. Even more importantly, I don't like seeing those mistakes being treated as net 'positives' for society.
