As I sat at one of my favorite restaurants with one of my long time friends, a moment of silent contemplation overcame us. A group of teenagers passed by, they were obviously working age. Two of the guys were asking for change from passer bys and the girls were dressed like they were going to a club. It was noon and we were in Shibuya a Tokyo prefecture of Japan… My friend leans over to tell me that these kids were High School Drop outs, a growing trend in Japan. He told me that kids are dropping out because there is no real hope in Japan. Most kids either don’t want to work 6 days a week like their parents or they have just given up on the homogeneous lifestyle that Japan presents. The elders of Japan are worried about Japan’s future.
I’ve always seen Japan as this Micro-Cosem of America’s future, that is why it was so interesting to travel, not for the culture but for it’s almost prophetic look into where America is going. Cell phone usage, television shows and to some degree work ethics, seemed to be remotely mirrored after my return to the States.
I’ve not been back for some time now. But one thing that sticks with me is the look of dispair my friend had on his face when he looked at those teenagers. As if there were no hope.
I often thought that we may suffer the same fate as Japan as I saw the number of cellphones grow, and the television shows, for lack of better word, get “stupider” and less creative. “No offense Japan.” Creativity has become an art form of redundancies and regurgitation. Then the question, “What of our youth?” What are we presenting for them in the way of hope?
Where do we differ in America? Perhaps one is in our diverse history and society. America has a pattern to it, and it happens in its social change. We are not a homogeneous society, nor do we sit back and accept the way things are for very long. Change has never destroyed a country, especially if it is change from newly gained wisdom, technology or ways of production.
Those who oppress different social classes in America will always be there. The ones who are Islamaphobes now, were the ones that were anti-Semitic, Racist Against Blacks, Pro-internment camps for the Japanese and the rest is history.
Why do we act as if these things are new, if change is new, if oppression is new and the boundaries that we have to over-come are one day just going to disappear? All of these things are here for our growth as humanity. Remember the old saying; whatever does not kill us only makes us stronger. We must deal with these things the way WE know how to, by doing things that makes US stand out from the rest. These habits will make ripples that will long surpass us, and give creed to new ways of thinking and doing. A replenishment on hope for the next generation. Our struggles are only for our children.