SMH (Shake My Head)

When I think about my generation (my peers, my friends, my classmates, my peeps), all I can do is shake my head.

Not the head shake you give when you see someone ridiculously dressed walking down the street. And not the head shake you give a three-year-old imitating an inappropriate dance from a music video.

I'm talking about the head shake you give without rolling your eyes or a grin on your face. I’m talking about the truly disappointed, honestly desperate and sincerely disturbed shake of the head.

The head shake you give when you're sitting in a class and the professor asks, "Who can name three Republican presidential candidates?" and there's only 6 hands raised in the class of 150.

The head shake you give when you complain to a classmate about the tuition increases for next semester and they respond, "That sucks, but I don't really give a damn. I'm graduating this semester".

The head shake you give when Obama pulled the troops out of Iraq and sent troops to Uganda (reverse that order). And when the NDAA was passed, (National Defense Authorization Act, which gave the federal government the right to indefinitely detain U.S. citizens without a trial, for those of you still trying to catch up). And there are protests and genocide and children starving all over the world, yet trending topics on twitter include but are not limited to: #ReplaceMovieTitleWithHoe, #ThingsLongerThanKimsMarriage, and #AmberCole.

(Those all really happened in case you’re wondering)

Where do I even start? When did we become so uninformed, so so selfish, and so so so careless?

We can blame it on social networks and reality TV and advertisements and the news. We can blame it on cell phones and iPods and computers. We can blame it on our parents and teachers and even each other.

 But at some point we have to take responsibility for ourselves (I included). We have to know and we have to care. One day we will have to be responsible for our own lives, and our children’s, and more importantly our world.

 And I fear that day. That’s why I shake my head.