The death of idealism?

Am I imagining the trend of apathy that seems to have appeared lately? People just don’t care anymore, whether it’s on the board or in a ‘real’ conversation. I’ve seen so many posts on this board by kids who are dissatisfied with ‘the system,’ or by their schools’ policies, etc. But, instead of offering a little bit of encouragement, or making a stab at some advice, often the replies are along the lines of ‘It’s life. Get over it.’

So, my question is, whatever happened to formulating your own thoughts on the way things should be run, and actually trying a little to make a difference?

I think that maybe, well, I dunno. Where is the idealism? I know that I’ve even grown hard and very realistic. Very “this is the way things should be” like. And it does often make me sad that I’m not more creative. I guess we scared osmetimes that if we get too creative then we’ll create a new religion and crosses will be burned in our front lawn with Fascists telling us to get outta town.

-crispix wonders what a Fascist does in his spare time

Idealism suffers great trauma when confronted with implementation. The attendant dismay that comes with realizing that some great idea, when applied to reality, just can’t work or will require compromise greater than one wishes to bear puts a lot of people off from even trying. But not all.

This is hardly a new phenomenon.

If you can live with your cognitive dissonance long enough, you can buy yourself a boat or something to help you feel better. Or drink.

I knew there was a reason I liked the lakes.

Idealism is hard to justify. It is hard to maintain as a logical person, because it isn’t logic, it is ideals.

The only way to maintain an innocent, idealistic attitude is to accept that it is unjustified. That is a difficult step. Some lovely, beautiful people manage quite well, and the wonders pour from them to the individuals they touch.

Idealism still has little going for it on a large scale.

I LIKE to consider myself idealistic…
The key is to believe in the inherent good in human nature. From there, it’s like falling off a log.

And I agree, idealism isn’t logical. But who needs logic? It’s great in it’s own place, but…

And I thought it was just my group of friends or age group that were all total cynics.