Failed

We have no control over when we are born, where we are born, who we are born to and the why is anyone’s guess. I was one of the lucky ones; I was born to white, middle class parents in North America during the early fifties. It just doesn’t get any better than that.

Yes, I was a baby boomer, the generation born with silver plated spoons in their mouths and a life that just seemed to get better and better each and every year. Sure we had some political issues that were more than a little bit frightening at times, but for the most part those problems solved themselves in other countries with virtually no input from Canada at all. We had the best childhood anyone could imagine growing up with parents that for the most part had good jobs, a bright future and a pretty safe environment to be raised in. Our music was just amazing and forty to fifty years later it is still relevant and entertaining. Life was and is good.

I was lucky enough to be something of a hippie in my late teens and early twenties. I just missed the real age of love by a few years, but I did catch the tail end of it. I was able to smoke grass when it was inexpensive and not nearly as strong as it is now. We were able to get a good buzz but still be able to function in the world. My friends and I were part of this generation and what marked us apart from other generations is that we challenged the way society worked or didn’t work. We protested against governments, corporate greed and vowed the world would be a different place when we took the reins of power.

I wasn’t alone, I had many friends that believed the same as I did and saw the world for what it was. We weren’t going to be sucked into becoming capitalistic cogs, greasing the wheels of corporate greed. We would treat others with kindness and love, making sure that all had the same opportunities we were born with. The world could be changed and would be changed in our lifetime. This was the Age of Aquarius after all, wasn’t it?

Sure, there were some that would fall into the same life of money grubbing that our parents and their friends did, but not my friends. Oh, there was one or two who decided that money was a necessary commodity to effect change and that is well. After all, there is room for everyone in a perfect world.

Fast forward fifty years and although there have been significant changes; the world is much the same. The politicians are in the business of politics to get re-elected, the corporate world is bigger and more powerful than ever, controlling what we buy and how we buy it. The music is still here, but those people we had faith in were just music businessmen for the most part and wrote songs that sold in their market to the demographic they aimed at.

My friends for the most part have been swallowed up by this world we live in. We have become mailmen, businessmen, doctors, lawyers, factory workers and retail sales people. We are all conspicuous consumers, buying the latest cameras, computers and big screen TV’s. We have big houses in the suburbs and look to retirement for a well earned rest. I listen to my friends on facebook and elsewhere complaining about the immigrants who are living in squalor and taking jobs that Canadians could have. They are blaming others for the state the country has gotten itself into. My friends elect the big business party so they will protect what they have worked so hard for. If they raise minimum wage, our coffees will cost ten cents more and when we buy dinner it might be 5% more than it is now. That’s bullshit! We don’t need more understanding; we need more police and more jails to put the ne’er do wells into. You know those that want to take what is mine.

I love my friends and those that aren’t my friends, but I can’t help but wonder what happened to us and how did we lose the path we were following. I don’t know…I just hope the next generation can do a better job than we did. We tried and for the most part…failed.