With education and recession being all the rage lately, some are feeling that they may have shorted themselves earlier in life. While this may (or may not) be true, there are still options for those (who wish) to succeed in life. Likewise, there are those who took advantage early on and are comfortable with life and their position in it. With that said, the direction we are heading here is towards those that aren't satisfied with life, but claim they are. The same bunch that don't desire anymore than what they have because of misinterpretation and under education. Something went terribly wrong between the "Boomers" and "Generation X". Major fundamentals of the American way of life were lost, while a revolution lurked.

To analyze the time line between present day and the late '50's (when the American Dream was alive and well), is extremely difficult. But even at that, it wouldn't be difficult for you to see that more has changed in the last 50 years, than almost any other 50 year stretch in history. Might I add that change is not always for the better. The point I am making is that we are already seeing a shift back towards a progressive civilization. When just a few years back, it was cool to drop out of school and dig ditches, society now trends toward reaching for the sky.

Those who are successful and ambitious, keep up with the times. They know what it means to get their hands dirty and be able to come away with something. They also accept that change doesn't mean something changes and then stays that way for any period of time. And before we really fire away here, this blog is about the Gen X parents that lack common sense right? I think that a very fair majority of parents (me included), would say that the ultimate goal in raising children is to have your children turn out better than you raised them and have them get more out of life than you did. You want your kids to be able to trust you and and count on you when they need it most right? Now what about the parents that don't care, but say they do? The ones that think because you've turned 18, they are free of concern and that parenting is over like a lopsided baseball game in the top of the ninth.

Lack of education is a heavy, heavy contender in this problem. I used to ask my grandfather what it was like going to school in the '40's and '50's. When your life depended on a good education and a sluggish attempt at one wouldn't get you anywhere but wishing you had tried harder. And when you ask the "parents-no-more" of today, you typically get, well we liked to party, or we only had to take basic algebra to graduate and get mediocre jobs that would give us enough to just get by in life. These are the same parents that refuse change and will not acknowledge that they really don't care. There are stories and blogs by kids all over the internet, about having bad parents, but this isn't quite what I'm shooting at. I'm aiming more at the fact that education is key and yes it matter's.

Days of working in a factory with only a diploma are numbered, no matter which way you look at it. As technologies and industrial needs advance, so too must the skills and knowledge base of any given worker. As automation and outsourcing are knocking on every company's door, the working class need to stay competitive and make themselves marketable. Even the blue collar guy sweeping the floor needs to have a decent sense of how business operates and profits (which is ultimately your paycheck). Company meetings are no longer an exclusive social for managers and executives. In a few short years, it will certainly be a necessity for some post-secondary education to even get a low-level job. And so it shows a total lack of common sense when a parent tells a child that you don't need an education to get by in life. What they really don't get, is that the majority of people from my generation (Y), don't want to just get by in life, be miserable, and raise their children that way.

Some people will never change and the law of averages strikes again. The sad fact is that there are a number of people that don't care about anything in the world. Not politics, money, success, education, or society. But the absolute worst, are the parents who did an 18 year tour of duty and simply quit. Most people cannot fathom the idea of disowning a child because kids are a burden. Believe me, it happens. To the Gen Xers out there that live life to the fullest and enjoy raising successful, happy kids (if you have them), you are our (Gen Y) role models and thank you. Everyone needs a family to fall on when all else fails and you live up to it.

If you are one of the all too many people whose biggest road block is bad parents, keep at it. Ambition is only half the battle and it is an uphill battle throughout life. Now that my grandfather is gone, I don't have many people to rely on. As is too common these days, my grandparents helped raise me like a child of their own. Still trying to find a cosigner to return to school, I plug away at it. If you can relate to this, don't let it drag you down because if left unchecked, it can and it will. Don't worry about what they say because they're only telling themselves that they can't (the universal word for failure). The day you doubt yourself, is the day you write yourself off.  And to all of you who think that education isn't becoming the biggest hitter in the game, GET A CLUE!