24 January 2010

Wait for it!...

Well, now that I've got your attention, I'll tell you that this isn't going to be that interesting.

I was just thinking on my break at work the other day that this age in history has become so speed-obsessed and riddled with this demand-and-supply of need for instant gratification that it has actually precipitated this phrase, "wait for it!" as coined by Generation Me. Our current world has become so far removed from simpler times that education has become more about how to access information rather than retaining it, which is only logical being that there is SO much (too much) information out there, and we are having to adapt to those enormous chunks of information by concerning ourselves less with memorization than acquisition.

I've realized this through having two children in school, having a teacher for a husband, working with a wide range of ages, and being naturally analytical about the rising level of chaos in the world in general. I mean, children are awarded for being disrespectful, sneaky, and a whole host of other stupid reasons just because we are looking for something to feel good about. I guess. Or because these children are different or darker or wittier than we remembered being or seeing in school. Or whatever. But it's creating these swells of humans with egos the size of the Atlantic Ocean that have no business being that full of themselves and it shows, even on television and in movies. With great power (this increased working knowledge of things in the world/the elevated average state of mind) comes great responsibility (being able to handle knowledge with care and great fortitude) and there is a visible, trend-shifting, overall lack of being able to handle any of that knowledge. We, as a generation, have rarely accepted what we have been given with any fortitude, grace, appreciation, or humility.

I just can't handle it! Well, I can, but even considering that I'm from this same me-first generation, it drives me crazy on a number of levels. 1) I loathe change more than I realized (or the older I get--"things aren't the same as when I was in school" as put in my best crotchety old woman voice) and 2) the care and consideration that it takes to know something is falling by the wayside. But that's life. And for as prolific as the number of brats being produced (and reproduced), there are nearly as many heroes, inspiring people, and humanitarians of every kind in the world.

It's just that this phrase struck an amused chord with me. It just seemed so fitting that in a world where instant gratification and self-gratification are practically synonymous, that the lingo among young people would evolve and produce a phrase that actually, though rhetorically, instructed the impatient listener to just... wait for the climactic point in the story. Imagine being so impatient and so hurried that you had to be instructed to wait for an orgasm halfway through a romp...

#1: "Oh, baby!"

#2: "Myeah. Oh, baby!"

#1: "Oh OHH. Oooooh. Oh, oh, o--"

#2: "Nooo! Not yet"
"Waaaait for it..."

#1: "Too bad. I'm done."

And for the record, I know it's just a phrase. It just got me thinking. And I haven't blogged for a while.