Tirade of a Puritan

I'm not technically a "Puritan" in the religious sense of the word; rather, I am a Puritan in the sense of being disturbed by the state of ethics and morality in my generation and its culture today. Of course it's no business of mine, but the way my peers carry out their lives today absolutely drives me insane. It seems all teenagers want to ever do is party, party, party- they call it being "free" or "having fun," but in reality they are miserable slaves. The most distressing part of it all is I can complain about it, but I know nothing I do or say will make any difference.

Warning: This will be a puritanical diatribe against you, my generation.

Here are some of the actions that I know many of my peers commit- the actions that make me indescribably frustrated with them.

I don't quite understand the appeal of getting totally wasted at a party and making a fool of yourself. How is that fun? I realize that alcohol is used socially to loosen inhibitions, but that's no reason to drink yourself into a stupor. I'm no fan at all of those who insist they need to smoke this or drink that to get high. It makes me wonder, is your life so pitiable that you need to rely on substances to enjoy it?

Our generation is simply obsessed with sex. Are we really that simple that we're controlled by a basic, animalistic drive? I really don't think this generation can control itself- and that, quite frankly, is pathetic. Our generation has an uncontrollable libido. People seem to like to put themselves at risk simply for an immediate carnal gratification. That's idiotic. I don't want to hear anything about "love"- real love doesn't need sex. The "love" claim is an excuse. Would you leave your significant other if they threatened to stop having sex with you? Good love is truly satisfying, and a premature sexual relationship isn't.

In another instance, too many members of our generation get some sort of thrill out of "being a rebel"- like writing 'F' you on a bathroom stall. What's the joy in that? For those of you who've read Catcher in the Rye, you'll remember the character Holden Caulfield also lamented this kind of behavior. Fraternities practice hazing, while school kids get a kick out of playing practical jokes on the elderly neighbor. Where's the decency or respect?

This is a good list- an organized example of three of the things this generation does that I hate: substance use, sexual overdrive, and general disrespect.

I've built two theories as to why our generation does these things. First, I've come to the conclusion that many of us do these things to compensate for the emptiness in our lives, because we lack either the intelligence, creativity or will to do something constructive and meaningful. I believe we develop passions for ourselves in order to fill the spiritual void. We love to drink, or have sex, or make idols out of our bodies, wealth or ideas. We call it being free, but in fact we’re total slaves to our passions- we can’t give them up, but just pretend we don’t want to.

My second theory is borrowed from Plato. In The Republic, he complains about the prisoners in an allegorical cave: they are trapped down there in the darkness, with no knowledge of the outside world, and are fascinated by the shadows they see on the cave wall. They don't know that the shadows are not the real things in themselves, partially because they don't know any better, but also because they don't want to know any better. They prefer the current, incomplete, and immediate gratification they receive from seeing the shadows instead of making an arduous escape from the cave and seeing real objects up above. Nobody seems to want to make an intellectual journey to see the absolute truths in life, because they are satisfied by things like drinking themselves stupid or immersing themselves in sex.

I'm preaching right now, and I know it. But that doesn't make my diatribe any less valid. People try to escape the moral conundrums of their lives by calling people like me, the moralists, "squares," "elitists," or "intolerant."

I refuse to drink myself to the status of an incoherent moron at parties, and therefore people say I'm "boring." I'm not boring; I have too much respect for myself and everyone else there. I know there are other really enjoyable things in life that do not require degrading myself.

When I went overseas last summer, my sister was buying my little brother a beer. That was fine with me. But she kept buying my impressionable brother more beers. She was not being a responsible older sibling, and I called her out on it. Her response: "What do you think you are, better than me?" I was flabbergasted. I'm not trying to be an elitist when I complain about these things. I really mean it for the good of those involved. For the sake of all of us. I think my sister responded that way because she knew deep down that I was right, but couldn't bring herself to admit it. My peers may call me a square or elitist in a desperate attempt to assuage the real guilt they feel.

Lastly, people say they just want to have fun, and that people like me don't want to let them. I think their methods of "fun" are wrong, and I say so. But somehow, according to them, that makes me intolerant. I think that's also a cover up- a stubborn refusal to admit the wrongness of their actions, and the fact that there's a better way. People don't like to be told what to do, I know that, but we've taken this natural human emotion way too far: when someone tells us not to do something, we do the exact opposite just for the sake of not listening. I have to say, that's really immature of us. I do it too a lot, and I hate myself afterwards when I realize it.

We human beings are inherently flawed. We can't help everything we do. But that doesn't mean we can't improve our conduct. Nobody will ever act perfectly, and that includes the moralists, but we should be committed to trying to be better. The pursuit of perfection has no attainable endpoint, but it is a journey that betters us in the process.

My generation: we're better than this, and we're not allowing ourselves to be.