Youthanasia

The Senator…pushed himself to a standing position and strode slowly to the side window with the stunning view of fall foliage and, in the distance, the Washington Monument. With hands folded behind him, he looked out the window and said, “These millions of brave men and women—casualties of war—sacrificed willingly so that our country would survive. Do you know why?” Ford had no idea how to answer the man. The Senator turned his head to Ford. “Of course you know why. Because we knew the enemy: the British, the Prussians, the Japanese, the Nazis…whatever. In each conflict we fought for our very survival.” He turned back to the window. “Today we have a very different enemy. An enemy that we can’t see…that we refuse to see.” He paused, looking off into the distance for several seconds. Then he turned and locked in on Ford’s eyes. “The enemy, Dr. Ford, is us!” Ford caught his breath. “That’s right,” he continued, his eyes boring into Ford. “We’re the enemy—our self-consumed nation. Especially the youngsters. They’re too selfish to propagate. They despise the military. They don’t vote. And they resent an older generation that lives off their taxes.” “They resent your generation,” Ford retorted, “because you’ve created the mess—unnecessary wars, pandering to big business, representing yourselves, not the people. Young people don’t vote because they’re smart enough to know it won’t matter.” “Blame whatever you want, but my generation no longer recognizes America. We see a young generation that shirks responsibility and treats us as a burden. We had to take action…drastic action.”