I've kinda had it with all of the BS

[BrotherIvan]

38. I think the number one thing in my lifetime that has contributed to apathy is downsizing

People of my parent's generation could raise a family on one income, afford a house, look forward to a better future for their children and not have to worry that all of that would literally vanish from one second to the next due to the caprice of your boss--or the the boss's son--or your job being shipped overseas. Because you were in a union; because you had a skill and experience. The very clear cut message that you are a wage serf, beholden to these powers who at any time could pull the plug it what has made us passive and afraid.

My European significant other observes so often how Americans are filled with fear. But nothing is worse than the fear that you and your loved ones could starve or be out on the streets. That there is nothing in your life that is solid, dependable. Everyone I know in my generation and below, to a person, has at some time been laid off and most likely bullied out of their job. My mother, on the other hand, was a teacher for 41 years in the same school district and retired with a lifetime pension--she was taken care of and didn't have the same constant background hum of financial stress.

This last recession was just a reminder taste for many of us that you don't control anything, the bosses do, so you may as well sit down and STFU. We are beaten and broken and left to demand very little because we have forgotten our own worth.