Are The ‘Woke’ Generation For Good or Just For Now?
Time is such an ever-changing concept, and generations before us and generations to come after us will experience such a vast change in societal wants and desires. I recently visited my grandma and grandad respectively on both sides of my family, and tried to delve into their experiences and views of the world, in particular with response to this awful global pandemic that is unfolding before us. It is very easy to assume that our older relatives are so ‘old-fashioned’ to the changing world around them and that their views are subjected to the times they are so used to.
They have not ever experienced anything like this even in their lifetime. And when I say they, I do not just mean our grandparents and older relations. We are ALL collectively affected by this forcefully imposed lockdown.
A definition of ‘woke’ is derived from African American origins, and means being aware and knowing what's going on around us, linking to social injustice and racism.
My grandad was unfortunate in that he had to start work at the tender age of eight years old in the coal mines. He is eighty nine years old, so he has experienced so many things in his lifetime that I will, hopefully, be fortunate not to experience, such as World War Two, The Holocaust, the nuclear age expansion, the Cold War, just to name a few. However in other areas, he has had the pleasure to experience events that have changed the way we live today, for example the moon landing, the development of the internet, decolonisation of empires, allowing countries to gain some level of independence again.
Our childhoods will forever contrast, and so will my children’s. We assume that because of our horizons being broadened by the day with new immense technological advancements and surgical implementations, that our ancestors can not give us the meaningful methods of how to cope in this time of consistent change. Well, reality is we can learn so much from their stories. Yes, they may have had different music, different politics thrown around and different celebrity influencers, but the real message is still clear.
All of life’s lessons that we need to be taught, follow through generations and our roots. They are such a valuable resource for learning how to sustain healthy relationships, working hard at school and achieving your dreams and ambitions, dealing with inconveniences and the idea of legacy; looking back at where we have come from and where we will go in the future. They are the biggest and boldest links to our cultural heritage and family history.
Should we correct older generations and is age an excuse? That’s a question that has many answers. The older generations have lived through so many changes into the societal order whether that be race, social class or sexuality. It is hard to contemplate older views being fair, if you are brought up a certain way, you may find it difficult to see the other side. Even the difference between a grandparent and a parent is so diverse. The views my father and my grandmother have are complete opposite ends of the spectrum, yet same as my own compared to my father.
Even when I decide to have children, the time would be so different from now. We cannot even comprehend the decisions and the climate that we may have to face in the next coming decades, particularly in response to these horrendous periods of time. A world cannot be predicted, but it is likely that technology will be even more advanced than it is currently. The Guardian wrote an article back in 2011 predicting some of the events that may happen in the next 25 years, with the first being that the world will have an extremely complicated relationship with each other. From a 2020 perspective, the damage that is continuing to be taken by countries around the world, including: the US and North Korea and nuclear weaponry, China with the rest of the world from it’s spark of the global pandemic of Covid-19, and Britain potentially suffering an economic crisis, one so large that could result in a revolt.
As I walked into my grandad’s house for the first time in many years, I noticed so many things that he had done which I can learn from. The hugest one, is the art of saving money. Coming from a fairly large family, he embodied the child who had to share things. I have always hated sharing a bedroom with my twin sister, but knowing that the times then for rationing and living in fear of the future particularly in a time of war with no technology or forms of entertainment such as television, it is safe to say that if he could manage, we can. He is also very much used to his regular routine, and will not waste any food or water etc.
An example that has really touched me in the past couple of months is their responses to lockdown. My grandparents are all unfortunate to be living alone in various locations. Even during a completely damaging time for mental health and uncertainty, they all remain positive. While the media is going into turmoil from many emotional events that have taken place, for example the murder of George Ffloyd and the aftermath of responses which has caused for revolutionary changes, my grandparents remain passive aggressive, instead of just aggressive.
Even through their time, my grandmother describes the inhumane inflications upon the black community, and even recalls not really being aware of the gay community until she was seventeen years old. It is mad to even begin to think that people had to be very careful, there was not really much room for freedom of speech, as we all know what happened to Martin Luther King after his moving ‘I Dreamed a Dream’ proclamation, ensuring American citizens had civil and economic rights and an end to racism which led to his tragic death. We are in such an advanced world to what was unfolded over fifty years ago.
This sense of a ‘woke generation’ has been carried across the decades. Education is so important to our values and humanity, which started off from your ancestors. Think of it this way; the impact that your parents have had on your upbringing was a result of their parents upbringing. Every argument, every outburst of sadness and every moment of recognition and reconciliation may have had some impact on your life and has shaped you into the person that you carry yourself through every passing day.
I can remember when I found out my mother had depression when I was extremely young, and she decided to take myself and my sister to the library to isolate herself from everyone around her. This is where I discovered the joy of reading and engaging with literature, which has carried me through to now as I am undertaking a degree in English Literature and have high hopes to write and publish my own material as I grow older. These decisions my mother took on my life at such a pivotal moment, would have drastically changed the outcome to my interests. I may have hated reading and taken a different course of interest, like ICT?
I feel like it is very easy for me to rant about age because when you are young, that is the time where it is much more accepting of making mistakes and learning from them. Our ancestors have taught us the necessary skills to enable our survival through cooking, cleaning, moving house, maintaining a job, studying, falling in love, setting goals, confidence striving. There is never a correct age to learn new skills, to make mistakes and educate yourself on the current issues in our fast paced planet.
I feel I have learnt so much from not just my grandparents but, also, my parents in helping craft this woman who can take on the world in any way she can. Through generations, there has been so many changes to the structures of the social hierarchy and the issues that are tackled - from racism to homophobia, climate change to political wars but the main message is still clear. There is never one correct method of coping with a ‘woke’ generation and nobody should ever be discredited due to the times or conditions they were brought up in. Every person on this planet adds value to the human race and without our relatives experiencing the traumatising yet fascinating periods of their lives, there would be nothing to learn; we would keep repeating the same mistakes instead of using our gained knowledge to tackle any of the future obstacles in generations to come.
Written by Megan Evans
I am a 19 year old undergraduate student in my second year studying English Literature at Cardiff University. Writing has been an ambition of mine for many years, and I am hoping to pursue a career in journalism in the future, due to my undying love for magazine publications.
My plans for the future are to do an MA in Magazine Journalism after I finish my final year and I have recently been offered two amazing roles at multi-award winning publications at Cardiff University Media: advice columnist position for Gair Rhydd newspaper, and culture editor for Quench magazine. I am hoping to contribute regularly to this magazine alongside other commitments, because I value the opportunity to write particularly on topics that are typically understated.