Is this a game of good, old fashioned hyperbole?
No matter, I can play that game...
And mention those fatherless man-boy basement dwellers, with their soft hands and soft hearts and soft intellects, who've never held a job, failed even in our dumbed down educational system, insist you use the right pronouns when you address them, are dependent on their parents and their prescriptions to ritalin or adderal and who despite being coddled in the most cushy society ever have no God, no hope, no motivation and are perpetually angry because life is so "unfair".
On the other hand, those Pakistani workers that you sneer at, though it is true they are very backward, have hope, morals, a skill and the drive to to create a better life for themselves, their families and their nation.
Who are you going to put Your money on?
Basement Boy and his ilk or the man who till he was killed in an industrial accident, was striving for Something - namely, the improvement of his lot, the lot of his family and the lot of his society?
Yeah it sucks being the product of a nation-wide failed social experiment and then be criticized by the very people who conducted it. I'm sure nothing said by a younger person would hold any water so here's something from an older person:
"Nobody will have the fun I had" and "nobody will have the opportunity I had" resound pretty strongly with me.
I'm proud to be none of the things you listed, and that pride is amplified by the knowledge that I managed to be as successful as my parents and grandparents despite having the world that was laid out for me before my arrival be a not-very-funny parody of the world they had laid out for them before their arrival. I worry about what kind of opportunities my kids and grandkids will have though. It's only getting worse and I feel almost guilty passing down my work ethic when I can't see that it will make my progeny anything other than better made parts in the machine of their own oppression.
My 16 y/o daughter has a job and I think the only reason why, is because she knows it makes me proud. And that makes me sad. Because between work and school she puts in 60-70 hours/week and for what?
She is a child and already on the grind, and her job doesn't offer her the same freedom that my high-school job offered me. When I was in high school, my job bought me a truck, insurance, gas, and I had some left over for fun. Since then minimum wage went up 10 cents while the price of gas went up 400%, the price of used cars went up at least 200%, and the price of everything else went up over 60%. She can't save money without a job and a way to get there. She can't afford a car payment. I bought her a car so she could get to work, and occasionally I have to give her money for gas (to get to work) too. "Participation trophies," if you will. But what choice is there? Do I just ignore reality and bang the "get off your ass, save up your money" drum that's been banged over my head since I was her age?
Imagine working your tail off to get ahead, only to fall further behind, no matter what you do. Maybe then the appeal of sitting in a basement will, while not being totally justifiable, at least make a little more sense.
I was able to find success by ignoring the advice of my elders who all urged me to go to college. My parents, high school counselors, pretty much everyone. They said it didn't matter what I go for, as long as I get that degree, my future would be secure. I can't take credit for being any wiser than they were; the truth is I was a rebellious turd who was determined not to conform even at my own detriment. It was pure luck that I was born at that time with that character flaw.