I recently told a high-school aged student that it is each generation's responsibility to ensure that the following generation surpasses it. I told her she could call on me for anything at all that I might be able to help her with in terms of playing the guitar, music and audio production. I will share everything I know, because one day she's going to pass me, and then I will call on her.
The generation that begat me gave us some things that are easily surpassable: Richard Nixon, Vietnam and Captain and Tenile. But it is the generation that also gave us Shel Siverstein, Exile On Main Street and put a man on the moon.
My generation has produced some things that will be easily surpassable: AutoTune, reality TV and the short attention span caused by, um...something...I forget. Oh yeah! Online media consumption. But we are also the generation that is responsible for the Odyssey years. We took leaps forward in the racial dialogue by putting a black man in the white house. And there's Radiohead.
These lists are not exhaustive to be sure. And maybe it's because I just turned 40, or maybe the fact that I have no children of my own (I can't figure out how you get them,) but I've been thinking a lot about this stuff. Where are we headed? How will we get there? What is my role? When are there going to be hovercrafts?
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Nice. I've been thinking a lot about these things too lately. Especially the hovercrafts. ;)
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