Watched David Letteman last night and want to share this.

[tiredtoo]

David Letterman show last night. Dave tells Rachel Maddow he is disgusted with election/campaign after watching 3rd debate. He expresses concerns about what the world will be like for his 8 year old son. Rachel replies she too at times, is disheartened with what is going on but, she has faith because the young people of today are not listening to the talking heads on tv (including her), they are doing research and forming their own opinions as to how to proceed. I post this in an effort to keep the young folks inspired and asking them to join me in regaining control of our government from the corporate powers. And I am also concerned about the world my grandchildren will live in.

[The Blue Flower]

1. The young people are my hope, too

I'm in my 60s and remember the hope of the young of my generation. Looking forward to the passing of the baton.

[lunasun]

2. they are not alone in their concern!!

[lalalu]

3. Many young adults don't even watch cable.

Forget watching the pundits. They usually have an internet hookup and watch everything online. I do believe they have more variety and the ability to interact.

For instance more young adults favor universal healthcare and legalizing marijuana. It is because they have interacted with people overseas and wondered why we have such archaic systems and laws. It is also why there is a push to limit internet freedom.

[vinny9698]

5. In the past decades, few people traveled to Europe, but when they came back they were more liberal

You get to see the big difference between the countries, bullet trains, socialized medicine, 30 day paid vacations, all jobs part-time or full-time have benefits. And the people have as much freedom as we do.
But now with the internet and social media, one can see and do research and see the benefits to the workers of a European lifestyle.
The rich have the European lifestyle, paid vacations, good health care, pensions. But the workers are not worthy of such a life.

[lalalu]

7. Exactly

[defacto7]

12. This is true!

I have seen an advanced civilization in the 90's and 00's working and living in Europe and it surprised the hell out of me how much freedom and "real" wealth they had. I'm not talking about hoards of cash in the bank, I mean real life things like time to live and enjoy life instead of grinding yourself to hell trying to eek out a living or just make ends meet. We have to worry about retirement to the point of dying before enjoying it. Most Europeans never worried about it at all. And medical care? They can't understand having to make it an issue, it's just a given.

[Spitfire of ATJ]

15. "But the workers are not worthy of such a life."

This is something I've railed about.

I traced it back to the Cold War.

One of the reasons we had such a strong middle class in the 50s and 60s is because the United States was promoting Capitalism over Communism and created the middle class to show the world the superior quality of life for our citizens under our economic system. The Soviet Union was having a hard time coming up with refrigerators for their people while we were buying new cars and mowing our lawns and going on vacations with the family.

After the fall of Communism the whole attitude shifted and the wealthy decided we didn't need that middle class anymore and became the worse stereotype the Soviets used to talk about when they used the term "Capitalist Exploitation".

It's sad to think that the powers that be considered the middle class to be nothing but a sales pitch but that seems to be the case. Now the message to that middle class is they are selfish for expecting their "entitlements".

[libdem4life]

20. I happened to be in Southern France on my first trip abroad when Elvis died.

Every place we went, people would gather around to give their condolences and ask for information. We were in a college town as Foreign Students. His music was everywhere. It was touching.

Trying with my pigeon French, students would ask us to talk with them in English so they could practice. Same with the shopkeepers.

At one point I got sick and had to the hospital. When I asked "how much"...she looked at us kind of funny. In very good English the bookkeeper told us that we were guests in their country and were glad to help. Then she insisted that we go meet her brother, and she called him right then, the Chief of Police, so that he could watch out and help if ever needed.

[Akoto]

4. I'm 27, so if that still counts, then I agree with her!

I was born in '85, so I'm a Millennial. I was also a very early nerd (I owned D&D books before I was even 10!). I've had the benefit of growing up with a world that was, at the time of my birth, just beginning to change with the advent of incredible technologies.

Even back when I was in middle and high school, the kids were more accepting than many pundits of today are. Not universally (there were still plenty of jerks and bullies), but many of them were. We grew up with a diverse group of friends, at least in public school, from every gender/ethnicity/economic background/sexual orientation. That last one was something I think was big in my age group: the idea of people who were born gay (or of another orientation) had begun to secure acceptance among the young, and the push grew from there for equality.

It's my opinion that the internet changed everything. I remember, as that young nerd, sitting at my uncle's computer and experiencing the early commercial internet (early CompuServe/AOL) for the first time. That's something I'll never forget. The internet allowed me to meet people who shared interests I had been shy about, people I'd never have exchanged a word with otherwise. For a library rat, it opened up a hundred libraries at the stroke of a key. Most importantly, it exposed me to different ideas and points of view than my own insular social circles alone. The internet and all it provides has grown from being a new thing to being a fact of life, and it helps people to get some perspective on what ideas sound nuts and which ones many people find reasonable.

[Firebirds01]

6. Im 29

and with you.

Especially on the acceptance of others. Many (most?) republicans our age think it is fine that GLBT people get their rights. Even if they dont agree with homosexuality, they say that the person shouldn't be stopped from having a normal life and marrying, so on.


There is a let less hate and vitriol from the youth imo. Conservative folks in their 20s will openly make fun of Rush and Oreilly as much as Dems do.

[glinda]

8. I think that is the reason Dave did not have any children for a long time.

He strikes me as thoughtful particularly on the environment.

[Spitfire of ATJ]

9. Link to full episode...

http://www.cbs.com/shows/late_show/video/2295805420/the-late-show-10-23-2012

For those who missed it.

Go past the third dot on the time indicator. It'll active a commercial or two but it will skip you ahead by 25 minutes for when she comes out.

[hootinholler]

13. Thanks for the link!

I fell asleep last night.

[Spitfire of ATJ]

16. Ain't the intertubes great?

BTW: Here's a clip covering the OP topic...

[AlbertCat]

21. The only prob with young people doing their research....

... is, they have to think rationally and logically or they get taken in by total BS! There's more BS on the Internet than is imaginable!

[Spitfire of ATJ]

22. I remember the early days when it was pointed out that not everything on the internet was true,...

....and the reaction was, "What good is it then?"

That was when the Internet was being compared to newspapers.

As if everything in the paper was true.

[Arugula Latte]

10. I like the younger generations SO MUCH more than my own.

I'm an old Gen Xer, almost but not quite a Boomer. We came of age under Reagan, and some of that poison seems to have infected the brains of many of my contemporaries.

[calico1]

17. I agree.

I am a late Boomer.

What I find sad is many in my generation were idealistic when younger but now have become the very thing they criticized of older generations at the time. Sigh..

I just hope young people today do not let this happen to them.

[Jennicut]

25. I don't get many of the Boomers.

I am a younger Gen Xer. Most of the people around my age are pretty open minded. I am in my 30's. I have not come across too many ultra conservatives among my friends but in my parent's age group (60's) there is a ton. What happened to many of the baby boomers?
I came of age with Clinton as President and had good feelings toward Dems so I registered as one in 2004.

[ErikJ]

11. Letterman to 6% undecideds "MAKE UP YOUR DAMN MINDS!!"

I LOLd at that one.

[uwep]

14. Do not repeat the 2000 election

that is why we went down the wrong road. Maybe Al Gore was not as physically appealing at Bush
but he would have continued the Clinton years. If we make a mistake like that again, there will be
hell to pay. I believe that if Gore had won, we would not have invaded Iraq, we would have focused
on Afghanistan and assisted the Northern Alliance. We would not have lowered taxes on the rich, we
would not have lowered taxes on unearned market trading income, we would have preserved the surplus
and continued to pay down the debt. republicans are supposed to be physical conservatives. The want
a smaller government, but they continue to expand the role of government to satisfy their own religious
beliefs. republicans are lemmings.

[AlbertCat]

18. I believe that if Gore had won, we would not have invaded Iraq,

Hell, if Gore had won, 9/11 wouldn't have happened.



Gore wouldn't have had a 1 page DPB and would have listened to Richard Clarke.



Also there wouldn't have been any Bush Tax Cuts.... so the whole economy nose dive probably wouldn't have happened.

[defacto7]

19. I'm a boomer, and I have seen the pendulum swing

from one end to the other. I don't think of my generation as the baby boomers, I think of us as the age of disappointment. We had in our sights freedom and equality, openness and equality, with a future for health care, and we were pointed toward outer space and technology that would take us to much grander places than we are now. Then the 80's and 90's came where those freedoms were slowly ground down to bondage. There was a lot of fake money rolling around but it was Reagan's fools gold that disappeared with the crashes... and that was inevitable in the minds of the thinking.

What we have now it the outcome of greed and shortsightedness. It's the outcome of conniving manipulators who have no point in living except to take and hoard. It's the outcome of religious fundamentalists who can't see reality for the fog of their dogmatic agenda.

If the future belongs to the youth, then the youth of this day have to take charge and be leaders. Take back the freedoms that are still sitting at the edge of the horizon. They are still there, waiting, but you have a war to fight. It's you're own war, and that war is against ignorance and greed. Settle for nothing less than victory.

[kathman-duzi]

23. Another boomer here and I thank you for your

insight and putting these well thought out conclusions together here for us!

I too lived these times and share and vogue for these opinions from my personal experiences.

Even the woman's movement, feminism fought for freedom over their own bodily processes with advances in medical intervention is now in danger. Rape now is being spoken about like it is just a happening not a violent sexual act against women and god believer or not is being brought in to sanctify the out come of this crime. Incredible.

During the 2004 election I was at a real low wondering when was enough enough. 13 homes when more than half the world has none? WHY, hoarding is a good possibility along with pathological manipulation, ego and greed.

[Tigress DEM]

24. Let's be like the Native American Indians and plan for the success of 7 Generations to Come.