We are the GREATEST fvcking nation!

Maderas84

Maderas84

Member

This article was written by a 26 yr old college student by the name of Alyssa Ahlgren, who's in grad school for her MBA. What a GREAT perspecitve...

My Generation Is Blind to the Prosperity Around Us!
I'm sitting in a small coffee shop near Nokomis (Florida) trying to think of what to write about. I scroll through my newsfeed on my phone looking at the latest headlines of presidential candidates calling for policies to "fix" the so-called injustices of capitalism. I put my phone down and continue to look around.

I see people talking freely, working on their MacBook's, ordering food they get in an instant, seeing cars go by outside, and it dawned on me. We live in the most privileged time in the most prosperous nation and we've become completely blind to it.

Vehicles, food, technology, freedom to associate with whom we choose.These things are so ingrained in our American way of life we don't give them a second thought.

We are so well off here in the United States that our poverty line begins 31 times above the global average. Thirty One Times!!!

Virtually no one in the United States is considered poor by global standards. Yet, in a time where we can order a product off Amazon with one click and have it at our doorstep the next day, we are unappreciative, unsatisfied, and ungrateful. ??

Our unappreciation is evident as the popularity of socialist policies among my generation continues to grow. Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez recently said to Newsweek talking about the millennial generation, "An entire generation, which is now becoming one of the largest electorates in America, came of age and never saw American prosperity."

Never saw American prosperity! Let that sink in.

When I first read that statement, I thought to myself, that was quite literally the most entitled and factually illiterate thing I've ever heard in my 26 years on this earth. Many young people agree with her, which is entirely misguided.

My generation is being indoctrinated by a mainstream narrative to actually believe we have never seen prosperity. I know this first hand, I went to college, let's just say I didn't have the popular opinion, but I digress.

Why then, with all of the overwhelming evidence around us, evidence that I can even see sitting at a coffee shop, do we not view this as prosperity? We have people who are dying to get into our country.

People around the world destitute and truly impoverished. Yet, we have a young generation convinced they've never seen prosperity, and as a result, we elect some politicians who are dead set on taking steps towards abolishing capitalism.

Why? The answer is this,?? my generation has only seen prosperity. We have no contrast. We didn't live in the great depression, or live through two world wars, the Korean War, The Vietnam War or we didn't see the rise and fall of socialism and communism.

We don't know what it's like to live without the internet, without cars, without smartphones. We don't have a lack of prosperity problem. We have an entitlement problem, an ungratefulness problem, and it's spreading like a plague."
 
Maderas84 said:

This article was written by a 26 yr old college student by the name of Alyssa Ahlgren, who's in grad school for her MBA. What a GREAT perspecitve...

My Generation Is Blind to the Prosperity Around Us!
I'm sitting in a small coffee shop near Nokomis (Florida) trying to think of what to write about. I scroll through my newsfeed on my phone looking at the latest headlines of presidential candidates calling for policies to "fix" the so-called injustices of capitalism. I put my phone down and continue to look around.

I see people talking freely, working on their MacBook's, ordering food they get in an instant, seeing cars go by outside, and it dawned on me. We live in the most privileged time in the most prosperous nation and we've become completely blind to it.

Vehicles, food, technology, freedom to associate with whom we choose.These things are so ingrained in our American way of life we don't give them a second thought.

We are so well off here in the United States that our poverty line begins 31 times above the global average. Thirty One Times!!!

Virtually no one in the United States is considered poor by global standards. Yet, in a time where we can order a product off Amazon with one click and have it at our doorstep the next day, we are unappreciative, unsatisfied, and ungrateful. ??

Our unappreciation is evident as the popularity of socialist policies among my generation continues to grow. Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez recently said to Newsweek talking about the millennial generation, "An entire generation, which is now becoming one of the largest electorates in America, came of age and never saw American prosperity."

Never saw American prosperity! Let that sink in.

When I first read that statement, I thought to myself, that was quite literally the most entitled and factually illiterate thing I've ever heard in my 26 years on this earth. Many young people agree with her, which is entirely misguided.

My generation is being indoctrinated by a mainstream narrative to actually believe we have never seen prosperity. I know this first hand, I went to college, let's just say I didn't have the popular opinion, but I digress.

Why then, with all of the overwhelming evidence around us, evidence that I can even see sitting at a coffee shop, do we not view this as prosperity? We have people who are dying to get into our country.

People around the world destitute and truly impoverished. Yet, we have a young generation convinced they've never seen prosperity, and as a result, we elect some politicians who are dead set on taking steps towards abolishing capitalism.

Why? The answer is this,?? my generation has only seen prosperity. We have no contrast. We didn't live in the great depression, or live through two world wars, the Korean War, The Vietnam War or we didn't see the rise and fall of socialism and communism.

We don't know what it's like to live without the internet, without cars, without smartphones. We don't have a lack of prosperity problem. We have an entitlement problem, an ungratefulness problem, and it's spreading like a plague."
Click to expand...
Doesn't she know she is supposed to feel guilty? :( ;)
 
Cornholio said:
And browsing/posting on imtbtrails.com? ;):facepalm:
Click to expand...
It's not the same and you know it. Our generation has seen the ugliness of war and the extremes of terrorism so we appreciate the qualities our country provides. We were outdoors as kids, enjoying this beautiful planet and when it was time to grow up we worked our asses off and made it. There is nothing left for us to prove.

Posting here is our reward for our labors. :p
 
Maderas84 said:

This article was written by a 26 yr old college student by the name of Alyssa Ahlgren, who's in grad school for her MBA. What a GREAT perspecitve...

My Generation Is Blind to the Prosperity Around Us!
I'm sitting in a small coffee shop near Nokomis (Florida) trying to think of what to write about. I scroll through my newsfeed on my phone looking at the latest headlines of presidential candidates calling for policies to "fix" the so-called injustices of capitalism. I put my phone down and continue to look around.

I see people talking freely, working on their MacBook's, ordering food they get in an instant, seeing cars go by outside, and it dawned on me. We live in the most privileged time in the most prosperous nation and we've become completely blind to it.

Vehicles, food, technology, freedom to associate with whom we choose.These things are so ingrained in our American way of life we don't give them a second thought.

We are so well off here in the United States that our poverty line begins 31 times above the global average. Thirty One Times!!!

Virtually no one in the United States is considered poor by global standards. Yet, in a time where we can order a product off Amazon with one click and have it at our doorstep the next day, we are unappreciative, unsatisfied, and ungrateful. ??

Our unappreciation is evident as the popularity of socialist policies among my generation continues to grow. Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez recently said to Newsweek talking about the millennial generation, "An entire generation, which is now becoming one of the largest electorates in America, came of age and never saw American prosperity."

Never saw American prosperity! Let that sink in.

When I first read that statement, I thought to myself, that was quite literally the most entitled and factually illiterate thing I've ever heard in my 26 years on this earth. Many young people agree with her, which is entirely misguided.

My generation is being indoctrinated by a mainstream narrative to actually believe we have never seen prosperity. I know this first hand, I went to college, let's just say I didn't have the popular opinion, but I digress.

Why then, with all of the overwhelming evidence around us, evidence that I can even see sitting at a coffee shop, do we not view this as prosperity? We have people who are dying to get into our country.

People around the world destitute and truly impoverished. Yet, we have a young generation convinced they've never seen prosperity, and as a result, we elect some politicians who are dead set on taking steps towards abolishing capitalism.

Why? The answer is this,?? my generation has only seen prosperity. We have no contrast. We didn't live in the great depression, or live through two world wars, the Korean War, The Vietnam War or we didn't see the rise and fall of socialism and communism.

We don't know what it's like to live without the internet, without cars, without smartphones. We don't have a lack of prosperity problem. We have an entitlement problem, an ungratefulness problem, and it's spreading like a plague."
Click to expand...
Ho man, do I have a few coworkers that fit the bill. ?? None of whom are the [young] Indian traffic engineers or the Chinese climate change experts (oh the irony), or even the adults who used to have to change a channel by gettin off the couch. Great post Maderas...as long as she recognizes it’s not a hoax.
 
as you know I ride at sunset into the night. Tonight I did not see anyone else out on any of the other local trails. As I was just about done I did see one light on the main Wildwood fireroad. I thought about that, am I the only one lucky enough to enjoy this great nature experience, where was everyone else? Pounding 12 while watching MNF? Everyone talks about climate change, mass loss of flora and fauna. Of course they feel this way, they never get out.
Happy I am so lucky be here and on the empty trails.
Just me, the high chaparral, the critters, and the night hawks
 
I usually stay out these rants but Somebody should say something.... Did not watch the vid... Don't care...

So let me get this straight...

While sitting in a hipster coffee cafe and looking around you determine there is no meaningful hardship / hunger / abject poverty / inequality of opportunity / oppression / racism / infant mortality/ poison in our water etc... in the US.

And your bar is that the US is not poor by global standards... That's your bar...

Huh....

And yes we are the greatest nation and I come from a family that knows what that means... And I am concerned for it, but not for the same reasons you are.

I am really unfond that we post this crap on a MTB forum .. yes I shouldn't read it... But I made the mistake of opening it... My fault... won't do that again...

Every generation picks on the next...so to put that in perspective...I graduated high school before you were born.

In all sincerity I hope you find what you are looking for, best of luck... Peace.
 
da big hills said:
as you know I ride at sunset into the night. Tonight I did not see anyone else out on any of the other local trails. As I was just about done I did see one light on the main Wildwood fireroad. I thought about that, am I the only one lucky enough to enjoy this great nature experience, where was everyone else? Pounding 12 while watching MNF? Everyone talks about climate change, mass loss of flora and fauna. Of course they feel this way, they never get out.
Happy I am so lucky be here and on the empty trails.
Just me, the high chaparral, the critters, and the night hawks
Click to expand...
Yes we do.
 
Try writing the same article sitting somewhere else in the United States, other than a Starbucks in a sanitized corner of commerce.

If our poverty line is 31 times higher than anywhere else in the world, doesn't that mean people need to make 31 times the amount of money to not be destitute? Not sure that's a real bragging point. What this 26 year old proves is she needs to go somewhere else other than a Starbucks.

I appreciate her point of view that most Milennials who are whining should be more grateful and less entitled. However, it's nothing new that those in college like to feel good by seeking social justice for others. Their eyes are being opened to a world bigger than themselves and their well-cared-for friends. Then they feel guilty and turn that towards liberal social policies intended to balance the scales of economic, political or judicial injustice. Robin Hood assuages their newfound guilt. This is not new. It is a recipe that has been happening for decades. Whoever is reading this - your generation did this in college too. Perhaps the bigger problem is that we parents and the current parents of school-age children mow down any potential challenge or obstacle in the path of our children so that they do not have to experience even the slightest discomfort. If they do, we insist on Wellness Specialists to fix them.

And, for the record, the plural of MacBook is MacBooks, not MacBook's. :facepalm:
 
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da big hills said:
as you know I ride at sunset into the night. Tonight I did not see anyone else out on any of the other local trails. As I was just about done I did see one light on the main Wildwood fireroad. I thought about that, am I the only one lucky enough to enjoy this great nature experience, where was everyone else? Pounding 12 while watching MNF? Everyone talks about climate change, mass loss of flora and fauna. Of course they feel this way, they never get out.
Happy I am so lucky be here and on the empty trails.
Just me, the high chaparral, the critters, and the night hawks
Click to expand...
Those darned Night Hawks! Blending in perfectly with the ground until you are right up on them when they suddenly blast off to fly away. :mad::D
 
herzalot said:
Try writing the same article sitting somewhere else in the United States, other than a Starbucks in a sanitized corner of commerce.

If our poverty line is 31 times higher than anywhere else in the world, doesn't that mean people need to make 31 times the amount of money to not be destitute? Not sure that's a real bragging point. What this 26 year old proves is she needs to go somewhere else other than a Starbucks.

I appreciate her point of view that most Milennials who are whining should be more grateful and less entitled. However, it's nothing new that those in college like to feel good by seeking social justice for others. Their eyes are being opened to a world bigger than themselves and their well-cared-for friends. Then they feel guilty and turn that towards liberal social policies intended to balance the scales of economic, political or judicial injustice. Robin Hood assuages their newfound guilt. This is not new. It is a recipe that has been happening for decades. Whoever is reading this - your generation did this in college too. Perhaps the bigger problem is that we parents and the current parents of school-age children mow down any potential challenge or obstacle in the path of our children so that they do not have to experience even the slightest discomfort. If they do, we insist on Wellness Specialists to fix them.

And, for the record, the plural of MackBooks is not MacBook's.
Click to expand...

WRONG! WRONG! WRONG!






















"small coffee shop" probably means somewhere other than Starbucks. :coffee:
 
bvader said:
I usually stay out these rants but Somebody should say something.... Did not watch the vid... Don't care...

So let me get this straight...

While sitting in a hipster coffee cafe and looking around you determine there is no meaningful hardship / hunger / abject poverty / inequality of opportunity / oppression / racism / infant mortality/ poison in our water etc... in the US.

And your bar is that the US is not poor by global standards... That's your bar...

Huh....

And yes we are the greatest nation and I come from a family that knows what that means... And I am concerned for it, but not for the same reasons you are.

I am really unfond that we post this crap on a MTB forum .. yes I shouldn't read it... But I made the mistake of opening it... My fault... won't do that again...

Every generation picks on the next...so to put that in perspective...I graduated high school before you were born.

In all sincerity I hope you find what you are looking for, best of luck... Peace.
Click to expand...
Better to read this here than talk about it out on the trail, though.
 
This may trigger some of those with fragile white middle class syndrome..... But you need to check your privelege before you make assumptions. You
live in southern California I assume..... 36000 living in tents in L.A alone....

It's not a choice for all of them contrary to the popular opinion....

Our government can't even assure access to clean drinking water in some places.
 
When I feel I may not have enough or been successful enough, I take pause and reflect on those less fortunate, how as an American in OC I have a higher standard of living than probably 90% of the people on earth.
That makes me grateful and sad at the same time.

Having stuff isn't what life is about. I value happiness over just about all else.

That is all I have to say about that.
 
Danimal said:
how as an American in OC I have a higher standard of living than probably 90% of the people on earth.
Click to expand...

Probably closer to 99.5%.

Derkderkall said:
This may trigger some of those with fragile white middle class syndrome..... But you need to check your privelege before you make assumptions. You
live in southern California I assume..... 36000 living in tents in L.A alone...
Click to expand...

Just goes to show I'm out of touch. I don't even know what this is supposed to mean. That I should feel guilty because I worked hard in life? I don't think so. In my opinion life is 10% luck, and 90% what you make of it. And yes - that 10% luck can be BAD LUCK, and sometimes life just screws you. But if you think that all the homeless in Skid Row are there because they are really just awesome people who got screwed by life... you don't spend enough time in Skid Row.

And if you have enough time in your life to hang out on Internet web sites talking about your mountain biking - guess what? You're f@cking privileged.
 
BonsaiNut said:
Probably closer to 99.5%.



Just goes to show I'm out of touch. I don't even know what this is supposed to mean. That I should feel guilty because I worked hard in life? I don't think so. In my opinion life is 10% luck, and 90% what you make of it. And yes - that 10% luck can be BAD LUCK, and sometimes life just screws you. But if you think that all the homeless in Skid Row are there because they are really just awesome people who got screwed by life... you don't spend enough time in Skid Row.

And if you have enough time in your life to hang out on Internet web sites talking about your mountain biking - guess what? You're f@cking privileged.
Click to expand...

Not a guilt trip.

You're right. Skid row are not all upright citizens. What I'm implying is, that many of those people have never had the support or chances a lot of us get. They definitely aren't born as tweakers.

Let's put it this way, many of us have more chances with less severe consequences if something goes wrong in our life.
 
Maderas84 said:

This article was written by a 26 yr old college student by the name of Alyssa Ahlgren, who's in grad school for her MBA. What a GREAT perspecitve...

My Generation Is Blind to the Prosperity Around Us!
I'm sitting in a small coffee shop near Nokomis (Florida) trying to think of what to write about. I scroll through my newsfeed on my phone looking at the latest headlines of presidential candidates calling for policies to "fix" the so-called injustices of capitalism. I put my phone down and continue to look around.

I see people talking freely, working on their MacBook's, ordering food they get in an instant, seeing cars go by outside, and it dawned on me. We live in the most privileged time in the most prosperous nation and we've become completely blind to it.

Vehicles, food, technology, freedom to associate with whom we choose.These things are so ingrained in our American way of life we don't give them a second thought.

We are so well off here in the United States that our poverty line begins 31 times above the global average. Thirty One Times!!!

Virtually no one in the United States is considered poor by global standards. Yet, in a time where we can order a product off Amazon with one click and have it at our doorstep the next day, we are unappreciative, unsatisfied, and ungrateful. ??

Our unappreciation is evident as the popularity of socialist policies among my generation continues to grow. Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez recently said to Newsweek talking about the millennial generation, "An entire generation, which is now becoming one of the largest electorates in America, came of age and never saw American prosperity."

Never saw American prosperity! Let that sink in.

When I first read that statement, I thought to myself, that was quite literally the most entitled and factually illiterate thing I've ever heard in my 26 years on this earth. Many young people agree with her, which is entirely misguided.

My generation is being indoctrinated by a mainstream narrative to actually believe we have never seen prosperity. I know this first hand, I went to college, let's just say I didn't have the popular opinion, but I digress.

Why then, with all of the overwhelming evidence around us, evidence that I can even see sitting at a coffee shop, do we not view this as prosperity? We have people who are dying to get into our country.

People around the world destitute and truly impoverished. Yet, we have a young generation convinced they've never seen prosperity, and as a result, we elect some politicians who are dead set on taking steps towards abolishing capitalism.

Why? The answer is this,?? my generation has only seen prosperity. We have no contrast. We didn't live in the great depression, or live through two world wars, the Korean War, The Vietnam War or we didn't see the rise and fall of socialism and communism.

We don't know what it's like to live without the internet, without cars, without smartphones. We don't have a lack of prosperity problem. We have an entitlement problem, an ungratefulness problem, and it's spreading like a plague."
Click to expand...
@Mikie , clean up on aisle 007.
 
Derkderkall said:
90%?

I don't know you
Or your background.

But

If you were there child of a single, minority, immigrant, unskilled laborer who did not speak English at home and lived in a neighborhood with bad schools. You would be exactly where you are today?
Click to expand...

Easy there, Derk. @Danimal said "I have a higher standard of living than probably 90% of the people on earth." He did not say everyone in OC has that standard of living.
 
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