Generation Y & Z
What is war to generation Y & Z? Me being a part of generation Y, the group of people born after the mid 1980s and typically associated with the Internet, Facebook, blogging, being highly peer orientated and brand conscious, I wonder what does war really mean to us? War is one of the many computer games in which we shoot typically Middle-Eastern looking enemies. Or war is what we hear and see on the television or in cinemas, or what we read about in our history textbooks or the Internet, yet not touch and embrace. To this generation, war seems like this queer new stranger we meet online, who at times makes no sense at all.
Though I’m not particularly proud to say so, but I admit to being at times, rather self-gratifying and self-centered. And I believe this tends to be the case for much of my generation. Though for moral reasons, we may try not to be, it is still something that has been intrinsically cultivated in us – the question of ‘what do I get out of it?’. Everything is about MY-space, I-pod, YOU-tube, maggie-MEe (just joking); we tend to be so typically focused on ourselves and this individualist culture surrounds us so much that it is impossible to escape it. What this means is that, we value our mortal lives, the ability is enjoy and self-satisfy and gratify; we fear death even more for it takes these away. Would this generation consider dying or even risk death in war? On an individual level, I believe that most would say no, for our lives mean too much to us.
Between nations, globalisation breaks down the concept of national boundaries and patriotism, especially for generation Y and Z. What does it mean to be of a different nationality from another person, when you’re just seconds away online and have everything in common? People’s social circles are no longer restricted to within one’s country but to all over the world, we meet foreign friends online or during our travels or even in school. If war broke out between one’s country and the country of any of these people, would one pick up a gun to fight and potentially kill the other person or his/her relative? I believe not. National boundaries are breaking down and the world seems to be just made up of one country, ‘The Internet’. In recent years, the world even seemed to respond as one cohesive unit to global disasters like the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami, whereby relief and manpower poured in from all over the world.
What too is patriotism to this generation of youths? If war threatened to break out and involved Singapore, would we stay and defend our homeland, or would we flee to another country and bring along with us our material wealth, family and enjoyment with us? Even without the outbreak of war, people are already migrating all over the world to seek a better life or job or happiness. What is National Service to this generation? Most people would call it a waste of time, because they don’t get to further their self-ambition and self-interest. It makes no sense as war seems not to be an immediate reality, like I mentioned, its something they have not physically touched.
Within countries themselves, globalisation seems to bridge the ethnic gap among generation Y and Z. It brings a greater common understanding of each other and a common identity. Like the case of breaking down of national boundaries, ethnic boundaries are broken down. Youths of different ethnicity are bound into one group where skin colour or ethnic practices seem trivial, and where we speak each other’s languages and understand each other’s cultures or practices. To this generation, this breaking down of ethnic boundaries gives less reason for conflict.
In the lives of generation Y and Z, religion too plays a greater role and purpose. In the past, religion brought about conflict as much of it was intertwined with power and politics and wealth. Though religion today still holds some of that characteristic, I believe it has evolved into a new identity and role to this generation of youths, focused more on morality or even self-actualization. War between countries predominated by the same religion are less likely to occur. Also, I believe that between religions, there may be less reason for conflict due to the rise of various schools of religious thoughts, such as Agnosticism or Monotheism or Polytheism that change people’s perception of their religion and other religions. Consequentially, creating more religious tolerance. Most moderate forms of world religions in themselves promote peace and harmony. Even without a sense of morality and in this violent generation, the majority of generation Y and Z would tremble at the act of killing another human (actually doing it is far different from saying one dares to do so). For those without a religion, its one less reason for conflict.
As this generation of Y and Z start to become the next generation of leaders and citizens, I believe war may evolve too. Though I feel that this generation Y and Z culture not only applies mainly to youths within developed countries, but also to a limited extent in developing countries whereby this culture has been spread by globalization to a larger degree in urban areas and a lesser degree in rural areas.
