PURELY DICTA FEATURE
Open Letter to the Youth
Hunter S. Thompson was just eighteen when he wrote Open Letter to th essay which called for America’s youth to “hark-en the call of the future years later, we address the youth of our generation, for whom it seems n D-Generation, For once in your life, stop and Listen! It’s not your fault: you choose not to know better. And that’s not your fault either. Oh informed but imprudent youth, step away from the keyboard and un-swathe thyself from your cocoon of denial. Don’t let it be the immediacy of death that rouses you from indolence. Cock your ear – what is that sound? How often you hear, but does it ever resound? You use them interchangeably, but there is an important distinction between Information and Knowledge. I need not ask stupid questions. Do you realise this... do you realise that…? No, I will not beg the question! You know the inconvenient truth of global warming. You know that terrorism is a ticking time-bomb – the new ‘communism’ – which is less a creeping scourge than an all-pervasive venom. You know the inevitable price-tag of stimulating the flaccid global economy. Yes, these problems seem terminal, but do not shy away from the fact that they are anthropogenic! Therefore, your burden is beyond reasonable doubt. The inexorable truth – my friends, my brothers – is that the survival of the world and generations to come is yoked to your shoulders. And so duty-bound, you respond how? There are three types of people populating this decaying planet. First, there are those who deny that we face consequences: ‘It’s not a financial crisis if I still get my bonus.’ Then there are those who deny their ability to ‘right’ the course of their future: ‘I am but one person – what can I do?’ Little can be done for these people, for denial is a potent analgesic. But, worst of all, there are those people who are aware of the facts, the options, and the choices that must be made, yet find it more convenient to ignore them. In other words, you! No doubt, you retort, ‘But I take action!’ Yes, you exercised your right to vote, you signed that university petition, you joined that Facebook group (or, if truly impassioned, you created that Facebook group). Your rationalisations are most convenient! You’ve convinced yourselves that, with such token gestures, you have discharged your duty of care to the world. Sartre LOLs in his grave – bad faith, bad faith, bad faith! You talk about change rather than institute it, you coffee shop conversationalists. Springchickens of the new millennium, change for you is dogmatic but catatonic. The truth stares you in the eye like a Gorgon: you’ve either averted your eyes or turned to stone. But I understand why you act as you do. Trust me, I do. Social commentators have labelled you the ‘choice’ generation, and what could be more fitting? You have so much choice that you choose not to choose and procrastinate instead. The time has come for you to realise your independence. Dispense with your hedonistic propensities and work until you are eighty-five. No longer can you take for granted that someone will make the tough decisions for you. They are just as scared as you are! There is simply no time for adjournment. If you’ve managed to read this far, I am surprised by your resolve. You have grown so accustomed to skim-reading, podcast-listening and headline-surfing that reading properly substantiated and critical thought has become a chore. You are overstimulated! You feed on the sensationalist media, and assume its malformed opinions and
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Purely Dicta Ed. 2 2009