Why aren young people more active now?
A. Recently they have become active, with Obama’s election campaign. The problem until 2008, I think, was that there was a universal belief that nothing people did could make a difference. I never heard anyone say that back in the Sixties, because we had the example of the Civil Rights Movement. It was obvious that individuals did make a difference, when they joined with others. Also, the consumption of stuff and entertainment have grown to dominate most people’s lives in this culture. Entertainment in particular is the point of life–watching sports, TV, DVD’s, eating out. Forty years ago few thought that. There just wasn’t as much money around or as much stuff to consume. Also, we grew up in the wake of World War II, so there was a certain seriousness, at least an attention to the events of the world, that was common. Until the shocks of 2005 (Katrina), 2006 (awareness that the war in Iraq could not be “won”), and 2008 (the financial and housing crises, the presidential election), yo
