Another gem of a chapter from Christian Smith’s Lost in Transition: The Dark Side of Emerging Adulthood deals with, in his opinion, one of the deepest (and most subtly hidden) plights of 20-somethings today, that of political distrust and disconnect. Because the 2008 election was so reportedly groundbreaking in the involvement of new voters, it seemed that a new dawn had arrived for the American political milieu, that once again people were believing in and participating in a “change they can believe in.” Change. Any way you accord yourself along the line, now, it’s evident that the general enthusiasm has…
Lost in Transition (to Adulthood): Whatever Makes You Happy?
In line with the boomers-stickers speech from Wendell Berry, Christian Smith’s Lost in Transition: The Dark Side of Emerging Adulthood is a sociological look into the hyper-relativist boom-ist mentality of today’s 18-23 year old. His book identifies five of the premier values of emerging adults today (consumption, sexual relativism, binge drinking, political apathy, etc.), all of which point to an infantilized adulthood, an adulthood priding itself on mobile acceptance, a conception of freedom which paradoxically kills it. Smith is a bit heavy on the criticism, to the point that his understanding misses empathy, as well as too much of the…
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