Thanks for nothing, Mom & Dad

As the global recession has gotten worse and shown more and more signs that it will be here for some time to come, it's understandable for those who have graduated in the past year to feel like fate has sucker-punched them.

Having worked hard to get a degree, many graduates are finding it difficult to find a job, much less a promising job in their field of choice. The fresh graduating class didn't do anything to cause the economy to shrink and the unemployment rate to rise, but are among the hardest hit. Add to that the feeling that having done the "right" thing by going to school, and being unable to see the reward, it's almost natural to look around for somebody to blame.

Douglas Belkin, in a June 10, 2009 Wall Street Journal article finds a scapegoat--Baby Boomers. At least a few who spoke at spring 2009 commencement ceremonies were willing to take the heat, offering a big mea culpa on behalf of their entire generation. (Click on the text to link to the full article).

But their apologies fell flat with some students, who wondered why the speakers weren't urging their fellow boomers to do more to clean up the mess they created.

"They have been pretty selfish, but they're still going to be around," said Ben Slaton, a Butler graduate. "They need to do their part."

The speeches, which were tailored to their audience of early 20-somethings, understandably dwelled on what younger people could do to help fix the country's problems. And no matter what this year's crop of speakers said, they were likely to encounter skepticism from students entering the worst job market in decades.

This attitude can't be very helpful. Graduates who buy into this apology are just buying into a narcissistic world view created by the Baby Boomers. They know they created much of the wealth and technology we enjoy today, but they also think that it was something they did to cause this downturn.

In reality, recessions happen pretty regularly, and we were due. Globalization is happening rapidly, creating new economic challenges and competition. Are American Baby Boomers solely responsible for that? Are they responsible for terrorism, the wars we are fighting, and other global unrest that strains US resources?

Regardless, efforts are better spent looking forward than assigning blame.

Actor Joseph Gordon-Levitt offers this bit of optimism in the June 2009 issue of Esquire Magazine:

"Today's a great time to be any creative type of person, I think, and in just about every aspet of creativity, this generation is going to blow away every generation ever. Because we're the first ones with the Internet."

He may have a point. Recessions are always incubators of creativity. Think about all the people with dead-end jobs or no jobs at all daydreaming and starting to formulate new ways of doing things or new products to create. This graduating class has the benefit of interacting and sharing those ideas with millions around the globe thanks to modern technology. The creativity unleashed when this recession ends will be exciting to see.

This generation is better served developing those creative talents and finding ways to use the skills learned in college instead of looking for a generation to blame--even when we have their permission.