I’m writing this article partially in response to Larry Lorenz’s claim that my generation is “too complacent with authority.” While I agree with Lorenz that today’s leaders must be publicly criticized for what I perceive to be irresponsible – and in many cases reprehensible – acts, I must also point out that there are many reasons for my generation’s apathy.

One: We’re cynical. I’m sure the ’60s were an amazing time. We’re all familiar with the myth aging hippies have created about how great they were about denouncing the system. And maybe I’m wrong, but it seems like a lot of those same hippies are now yuppies who think social responsibility means shopping at Whole Foods and requesting Fair Trade coffee at Starbuck’s.

Two: There are a lot of problems in the world, and it’s overwhelming to try to protest each of them: genocide; AIDS; NAFTA; the war in Iraq; a possible war in Iran; torture; economic hitmen; corruption; corporate farms; education, healthcare and social security; slavery; minimum wage; the environment; child labor; child prostitution; drugs; riots; overmedication; suburban sprawl; Wal-Mart; and let’s not forget New Orleans and the entire Gulf Coast. Seriously. Where do you even begin? I do what I can online through Amnesty International, Oxfam, the ACLU and other such groups, but my conscience has never been eased by signing these petitions.

Three: I don’t know about everyone else, but I’m tired. I’ve got jobs and school, and I’m trying to figure out what to do with my life. I’ve got a family and personal relationships. I volunteer when I can, and if you ask me how I feel about specific issues, I can probably offer a pretty good rant. But I’m living in a world where my choice is Democrat or Republican, supporting ethically ignorant corporations or starvation, getting depressed about something down the street/on the other side of the globe or doing my homework and relaxing with a friend. With only so many hours in the day and so much energy in my body, I have to apologize if I don’t raise my fist about Darfur, Baghdad, Sao Paolo or Washington, D.C.

I should probably write more letters and march in more protests and get more upset that no one around me seems to care about anything outside of his or her own life, myself included. But in all honesty, I played the protest game. I went to those marches and demonstrated, dressed up and handed out flyers, shouted and wrote letters and none of it amounted to anything other than me feeling guilty and self-righteous. I’ve had a homeless man live with me; I’ve boycotted; I’ve been on service trips; I’ve volunteered; and I’m a vegetarian, but I still buy from major corporations and for all my scathing comments I can’t seem to get our president out of office. I’m at the point in my life now where I feel like I’ve got a small circle of influence, and I’m going to do what I can to positively affect that. I hope to join Americorps to help rebuild New Orleans before I move on to teaching. In the meantime, I’m just going to try to be nice to people without yelling at them for not agreeing with my politics.