Youth Priorities

Youth and Priorities

The revolution has always been in the hands of the young. The young always inherit the revolution.-Huey Newton.

In today’s day and age the youth have become indoctrinated by the television, and young people tend to run from themselves in order to fit in with. Individualism is a rare commodity and the collective sense is to do what is popular and socially acceptable. Thus, several teens and young adults pursue dreams not meant for them, and too many of our youth want to be actors, rappers, musicians, models, sports stars and etc. Now there is nothing wrong with pursuing these careers if one feels that they have a chance at making it in these perspective fields, however the reality is that their chances of making it in Hollywood are slim to none. Hollywood has been historically known to be a dirty and cheap business and a lot of people who do make it end up selling their souls to become famous. One can only run from themselves for so long until they have some kind of mental breakdown. Today I watched a disturbing video of Danger from For the love of Ray-J and her mental status thoroughly showed that the spotlight of Hollywood truly was not meant for her. I will post a link to this video at the end of the note. In this video she showcased serious signs of mental illness, and her physical look showed her stress from being in the spotlight. A lot of Reality T.V stars have serious mental issues and their addiction to attention only provethat they were not loved by their parents, and desperately need someone to justify their existence. With the current state of our economy and the Criminal Justice system it would only be logical for the youth to further their education in fields that can possibly implement change, yet young people only continue to run further away from themselves, by trying to become someone that they are not. For example, Maurice Clarett a star Running Back at the Ohio State University had a opportunity to play professional football, but his ignorant decisions to ride around in his car with loaded guns lead to his incarceration and early end to his football career. If he were to accept himself for who he truly was then this situation may not have occurred. Running away from oneself is a major issue because when it comes time for these young people to grow up and accept themselves, they will realize that they were running from oneself and if they were to accept who they really are then their lives would improve drastically. How hard is it to sing or rap with the right studio equipment, producers, and record executives? Why limit yourself to one petty dream that can be accomplished by the average Joe off of the streets? The youth must realize that they do have the potential to accomplish and implement major changes in this society, but if they continue to limit themselves to petty dreams then our collective condition , which consists of debt, unemployment, incarnation and meritocracy, will only continue to worsen.


Immigrants come to this country on a daily basis and are amazed at our stupidity as a society. Citizens often worry about things that are not important while immigrants come to this country and worry about surviving. Although immigrants do not have room to criticize our ethics and social standings in this country, since their homelands lack the essential needs for them to live a comfortable life, but they do make a great point. Our schools continue to fail and drop out rates continue to rise. Countries like China push hard for academic success, although they fail miserably in regards to human rights. Blaming schools can only last so long until students and parents must take accountability for their downfalls. Sometimes I think the youth forget how far this country has come and how much further we have to go. A young Malcolm X and Huey Newton marched for social justice at young ages, but our generation and the generation before us have dropped the ball. We have become complacent and I see it on a daily basis. Now I am no saint but I am aware of whom I am and I know where I want to go. My dreams and aspirations are reasonable and realistic. I plan to finish my undergrad studies and attend law school. In addition, a problem with many young people is that their dreams and aspirations are not realistic because they do not know themselves. Blacks and minorities are continuing to be incarcerated disproportionately yet nothing is being done to address these problems. If Malcolm or Martin were alive I can guarantee society justice would be achieved, but the youth today have become satisfied with their mediocrity in this society. In order to ensure change, awareness of self must be taught at a very young age to ensure that our youth have a fighting chance in a globalistic society. Chinese children know at very young ages what fields they gain employment in, but our children dream to be like Lil Wayne and Kobe Bryant. I can only agree with Barrack Obama's sentiments on the youth in America. He stated, "You are probably not that good a rapper. Maybe you are the next Lil Wayne, but probably not, in which case you need to stay in school." If change does not occur in America then America will be left behind while “so called” third world countries will continue to gain ground on us….