OPINIONS |
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Is unhappiness prevalent and widespread on campus?By Larry Stephens 
Just recently, a group of us were standing around and discussing the apparent look of profound sadness, fear, anxiety, anger and/or frustration etched on the faces of so many students here on campus. These painful countenances indicate more than just the basic concern that students are supposed to have when they are trying to succeed in college and build a new life for themselves. This collective angst belies a deeper pain. There is a crack in the foundation. I am too old to connect on a truly meaningful level with most of our traditional students. In fact, I'm old enough to be their father, but having no children of my own, I don't have a clue as to what they are really feeling! I was an undergraduate in the late 1970s, and there is no way that we can draw any parallels between my generation and the young people of today. In fact, America was a very different country back then. Oh, we had our share of concerns. The Vietnam War was still a recent memory, and no one wanted to join the Army. It was definitely un-cool to even be seen wearing a uniform. Nowadays, the military looks pretty good...as long as they don't ship your butt to Iraq. Long hair was in vogue, casual sex (minus AIDS) and loud, blaring rock music were permanent fixtures of dorm life, and no one worried about getting shot by a disturbed classmate. Terrorism was something that happened on occasion in Europe, but not here. Yes, we worried about the job market and finding gainful employment upon graduation, but we weren't obsessed with it. We were, in a word, "carefree." We were optimistic about the future. Most of us had come from traditional nuclear families (the World War II Generation) and did not have to deal with the hassle of being reared by abusive, or even well-meaning, but grossly inept step-parents. Even though the United States and then Soviet Union (aka, Russia) were locked in a deadly nuclear arms race (with enough TNT between them to vaporize every inch of the planet several times over), most of us assumed that no world leader in his right mind would ever initiate a missile strike. Policymakers at the time called it MAD (an acronym for "mutually assured destruction"). So, in a very real sense, we didn't even worry about the nuclear threat that much. But things have changed in the last 30 years and changed radically. The nukes are still here, and more people have access to them. Global terrorism is a clear and present danger. Columbine was just the beginning; it seems that every week another high school class gets shot up. Since 1976, the divorce rate has doubled from 30 percent to 60 percent of all marriages, and families are fragmented as never before. The job market has tightened considerably. Those of us who actually do work are laboring longer hours for less pay just to make ends meet. To be honest, it's a mess. I guess I've just answered my own question! The painful realities of life in the 21st century beg the question, "What can we do about this mess?" Abraham Lincoln once said, "People are about as happy as they make up their minds to be." This seemingly trite statement emanated from a man who fought chronic depression most of his life! How dare he say something so banal! But wait a minute. There may actually be some truth to what Lincoln said. Given the reality of how powerless we truly are, about the only thing we have control over is our attitude. Somehow, we've got to manufacture our own happiness as opposed to putting our faith in the external world. People will let you down; the economy will let you down; and the Bush Administration will definitely let you down. Nothing is guaranteed in this life. Today you're healthy; tomorrow you're diagnosed with inoperable cancer. Today somebody loves you; tomorrow they decide to leave you. Today you have a job; tomorrow you may not. I, personally, have chosen to place my faith in a Higher Power. It is my sincere hope and prayer that everyone can find peace of mind without resorting to chemical substances, or any of the other escapes that people so often choose. Quite frankly, the world is just too unpredictable and life is too short to be squandered in a state of perpetual misery! A wise old codger once told me, "Take your lumps like a man, move on, and try to be thankful for what is going right in your life, instead of always focusing on the negative." I thought he was being uncommonly pessimistic at the time, but you know something...he was right after all! If you're unhappy, you're not alone. But, more importantly, realize that things aren't supposed to go smoothly as long as you're dwelling on this Earth. Expect problems to come your way. Most of us are in the same boat from cradle to grave. On the positive side of the ledger, you're still alive. Be thankful for the good things that are happening in your life and strive to help those around you. You can make a difference. |