"I have Nothing to Live for"

The youth welfare charity The Princes Trust has announced that depression among 16 to 25 year olds has reached endemic proportions. When asked in a survey whether they agree with the statement “I have nothing to live for”, 9% said yes. This works out as three quarters of a million people, see: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-25559089. Also a third of people in that age group out of work have contemplated suicide; that comes to about 15,000. We’re looking at a lost generation here. Why? The Princes Trust says that unemployment and the recession is the cause. It’s true that the economic terrorism that has struck the world is indeed to blame; and terrorism is what it is, it’s not something that’s “just happened”. I’ve written about this recently, see: http://hpanwo-voice.blogspot.co.uk/2013/12/forget-christmas-pay-your-rent.html and: http://hpanwo-voice.blogspot.co.uk/2013/12/half-million-denied-social-care.html; but, as the saying goes, man does not live on bread alone. The controlled demolition of our morale takes many other forms too. For instance it’s not just the level of unemployment that is so devastating, it’s the distinct cultural change of attitude that has emerged in recent years towards unemployment and unemployed people. Being out of work used to inspire compassion, it was seen as a misfortune and deserving of sympathy; today it’s regarded as a product of moral deficiency, laziness and cowardice; even treason. Modern media coverage of unemployment invariably emphasizes the amount of money unemployed people cost the state. It’s become almost a crime, see: http://hpanwo-voice.blogspot.co.uk/2013/10/on-benefits-and-proud.html. There are also numerous other messages, some subtle and others quite blunt, constantly promoting our social worthlessness, see: http://hpanwo.blogspot.co.uk/2008/07/grimlys.html. I repeat, this is deliberate; it’s not just something that’s evolved by accident. Healing ourselves will need more than a 12% drop in unemployment or some new job creation scheme, it will require us to understand the nature of this attack on our spirit, the poisoning of our financial system and the degradation of our self-esteem. From this awareness must come the will to resist.