"We are the desperate in the decline" - Green Day's message and Occupy Wall Street

[Boston]

I wrote a new editorial. Read it on the main site or right here:

Earlier this morning, I saw a video of an innocent girl being maced and neglected by the NYPD during the Occupy Wall Street protests. I had heard about them prior to seeing this video, but I honestly hadn't educated myself on the situation very well. As I read informational articles and editorials theorizing why so many young adults my age and slightly older were protesting, I came to two conclusions: this is my story and Green Day, with songs like "21st Century Breakdown" and "See the Light", helping to narrate it.

Like many of the fans who started listening to Green Day during the American Idiot era, I am now a college student, laboring away reading arguably pointless texts and writing endless theses about things that in no way correlate with my life or future intended career path, just as the generations that preceded me did. The thing that differentiates me from said generations is that all of this work may inevitably lead to absolutely nothing. As The Guardian's David Graeber put it, we are

"...kids who did exactly what [we] were told [we] should: studied, got into college, and are now not just being punished for it, but humiliated - faced with a life of being treated as deadbeats, moral reprobates."

Occupy Wall Street represents a recapturing of our futures from the bureaucratic minority in order to ensure that we will be able to access the basic privileges that our parents and grandparents were afforded.

Where does Green Day fit into this picture? As I read articles, editorials, and first-hand accounts of what is happening and why, I couldn't help but hear Billie Joe declaring that "we are the class of ['13], born in the era of humility," and that "we are the desperate in the decline." Suddenly, the second verse of "21st Century Breakdown" resonated with me like it never had before. Billie is singing directly to us - he is reflecting the anguish and frustration of the generation of young adults that his own son belongs to, the generation of young adults that will soon be entering into the workforce with no strings to grasp at. He is saying what our entire generation is screaming at Wall Street - that we want to "[make] it as working class hero[es]", that we will not settle for "the scars on [our] hands [as] a means to an end", and that we will question and provoke the "heroes and cons" who have lead our lives down this path. Billie Joe attempted to give us an outlet for our collective frustration, encouraging us to "scream, America, scream"; something which the so-called Facebook Generation is finally ready to do.

21st Century Breakdown offers another song which also correlates with our generation's struggles and attempts to motivate us away from our laptops and into action. "See the Light," the last song on the album, is future-oriented and optimistic, as opposed to American Idiot's past-focused bitter resignation in "Whatsername." I believe that the difference is intentional - American Idiot was written and released at the height of the Bush administration, whereas21st Century Breakdown was released right after Obama was elected. These two points in American history reflect almost polar-opposite views of pessimism versus optimism; the Jesus of Suburbia lamented over losing his opportunity years ago, but the narrator of "See the Light" wants to "pound the pavement to take the liars down," - in other words, they're willing to do whatever it takes to ensure that they "see the light" and "don't... lose [their] sight." The songs ends with a very reflective piano melody that suggests encouragement to not only find what is wrong with the world, but to fix what is wrong with the world.

Although it is clearly not the motivator of the recent protests (or even on anyone's radar except mine), Green Day's messages, especially on the 21st Century Breakdown album, resonate with me and motivate me to continue to inform myself about the Occupy Wall Street protests and to potentially take a more active role myself. Their words continue to reflect my anxieties about my future; a future that is entwined with "the class of '13" and compounded by "the Bastards of 1969"; a future which will hopefully result in the reclaiming and achievement of opportunities currently thought to be long gone.

[Mary711]

Very interesting read! Thanks a lot for sharing your thoughts with us!

[SophiaAndTheAve.]

Wow, that was really interesting thanks for posting it. i love the way it's written, especially the last part

[Ashley!]

Very Interesting read, thanks for sharing!

[Undómiel]

I just read this over on GDA. Wow, it's really good and amazingly well written, a properly researched articulation of your thoughts. I have to say I agree with the sentiment as well. You talk about how we're told we have to do well in school and then go to college and then to university and all the rest of it and I sometimes can't help wonder, what for? I mean from a personal experience (which is moving a little off your point I think, but how this article struck me) it was that I did SATS when I was 13, GCSE's at 15, AS' at 16, A2's at 17, I'm going to an Undergrad course from the age of 18-21 then on to postgrad and part of me can't help but wonder; what waits at the end? It all seems to me like our generation is going through the motions they should and getting the results on paper they need and yet, things aren't materialising for them at the end of it.

Good article, Amanda.

[fiercecircus]

what sucks is... when our parents were our age, you could get a good lifelong career job with just a High School Education.

Then, when we were in school, they told us we HAD to go to college. A 4 year degree was the ticket to the job of your dreams.

Now, the reality is, in order to be competitive, you need a Master's degree or more. Our children will need multiple masters. Or doctorates.

BUT WHO CAN PAY FOR ANY OF THIS? A state college is cheap enough, at least, but what about someone who's smarter than that? Any private college is at least 8-10k a semester. It's nuts.

and now take someone like me- too crazy and too A.D.D to deal with college at age 18. Fair enough- now i'm an adult and i want to go back. But how can i afford it? I can't quit my job or i'll lose my housing. What about an adult who is trying to support their kids? And what about the people that take out student loans, but then find out there are no jobs in the market or they got the wrong degree (and god forbid, studied something they actually LIKED, like ART.)

It's a mess. School is a mess. Everybody i know is working in some other field than what they studied. Everyone's doing fucking insurance sales or some bullshit like that.

[Hermione]

What a brilliant piece Amanda. I agree with everything you said about how the messages on that album resonate, and you expressed it so well. Thanks for sharing your thoughts!

[in_your_face]

Omg you really nailed it. That's a wonderful read, and yeah..i enjoyed it.

[Marlee]

That was very interesting, thanks for writing that

[LudeBoy]

what sucks is... when our parents were our age, you could get a good lifelong career job with just a High School Education.

Then, when we were in school, they told us we HAD to go to college. A 4 year degree was the ticket to the job of your dreams.

Now, the reality is, in order to be competitive, you need a Master's degree or more. Our children will need multiple masters. Or doctorates.

BUT WHO CAN PAY FOR ANY OF THIS? A state college is cheap enough, at least, but what about someone who's smarter than that? Any private college is at least 8-10k a semester. It's nuts.

and now take someone like me- too crazy and too A.D.D to deal with college at age 18. Fair enough- now i'm an adult and i want to go back. But how can i afford it? I can't quit my job or i'll lose my housing. What about an adult who is trying to support their kids? And what about the people that take out student loans, but then find out there are no jobs in the market or they got the wrong degree (and god forbid, studied something they actually LIKED, like ART.)

It's a mess. School is a mess. Everybody i know is working in some other field than what they studied. Everyone's doing fucking insurance sales or some bullshit like that.

I know exactly what you mean. I'm in college my self, and I'm pulling teeth just to make ends meet and survive. I can't get hired anywhere because people don't want to work around a schedule, and god forbid I get a CALL denying a position, no they EMAIL me telling me I won't be hired.

This was a great read, sadly I don't think many people are going to take in or actually care about the facts and what affects their future. But if Facebook shuts down..... oh boy.

[Autumn83]

When I read that, the next morning before school I wrote those lyrics on my arm. Thats how awesome that was.

[melissawebster]

This thread is so prophetic to me. I've been following the Occupy Wall Street protests all weekend and all I've been able to think about is 21st Century Breakdown and how much that song encompasses the message and feelings of the people involved, and how truly clueless the older generations and our political leaders really are. They just don't get it.

[oscar is a nimrod]

Whenever I see this thread I think it is referring to the fail amount of real news we have got

[Disapperingirl]

Another writing very interesting and brilliant, it was so well written that it made me think...

You know, you describe the hopeless economic situation of the American youth, but right now I see the ssame problems here, around me...and I started realizing that I'm actually into these problems...I AM part of the class of 13, I'm just 16, and while I keep studying on my books, I see the governement stealing everything from my country's youth...no jobs, no pensions, no opportunities, I feel like they're making a fool of us, and we are so powerless..."condamnation is what I understood"...

But we must control our lives. And our futures. I want to take my future back, and to do that I'll start fighting, dreaming and screaming in the present.

Thank you Amanda for sharing your thoughts