Have you ever thought, “Hey, my generation is pretty pathetic”? Our fathers and their fathers had small wars and world wars, dust bowls and not-so-great depressions, and Ravi Shankar and Woodstock. They engaged their environment and each other. In contrast, we have World of Warcraft and Star Wars, economic booms and hedge funds and dirty rap that’d make Serge Gainsbourg blush. We don’t engage our environment. We ignore what’s around us, numb our feelings and simply exist.

Our generation doesn’t have a rallying point. We don’t have passions. We don’t have goals. We don’t have commitment. Our human interaction has been debased to friend requests on MySpace and the annoying “ping” of instant messengers.

I hate the overused cliché of “our glorious past,” a romanticized history of bygone eras. Yet, it’s partly true. Back then, there was a greater sense of community. Back then, in popular colloquialism, people actually cared. When the U.S. was caught in the throes of global war, the entire nation – from the young children to the retired men – devoted their time and resources to the war effort. But it’s not like that any longer.

Today, the U.S. is once again at war, but the most action many Americans give it is a flick of the remote control when Anderson Cooper starts reporting new deaths in Iraq. “CNN is always so depressing,” we think. We’ve lost our sense of community and don’t care anymore about people. We ask each other how we are on the sidewalks of campus, but get impatient if anyone goes beyond the expected, “Good, and you?” Last year, I almost killed myself, but no one knew and no one cared. We don’t want to know how our friends are feeling, because that requires commitment and commitment requires action.

Our apathy is nowhere more prominent than in the public realm. Once upon a time, Vietnam sparked widespread riots. Nowadays, we shake our heads, not our fists. But it’s not just the war. When it comes to the environment and stopping global warming, many university students contribute more hot carbon dioxide than actual effort. In our cafeteria, nearly 100 per cent of the coffee- and tea-drinkers cheerfully say “good morning” to each other, grab a paper cup, and slam a plastic lid on the whole contraption. These same students then spout angry diatribes against the Conservatives for not doing enough for Kyoto. Need I point out that your mornings won’t be so good if you keep up the hypocrisy?

We are upset by animal cruelty (note the outrage over Bill C-37), but love to sport dead animal skin around our waists or on our feet. We abhor (or support) abortion, but find it in bad taste to broach the subject. We are aghast at the Canadian government’s alleged support of torture in Afghanistan, yet the pressure on the government isn’t coming from the masses, but from organizations like Amnesty International. Last month, the Afghan government arrested the single official responsible for the torture (a laughable proposition) and a reassured Canadian government began transferring prisoners back to Afghan prisons. The situation is despicable at best, but there is no widespread public outcry.

Don’t be lame. Start doing something. Start doing anything. If you actually care about the environment, bring your own mug to the cafeteria. If you are anti-war, stage a protest. Our world is in pieces because no one wants to pick them up. Apathy is a depressing situation, and the only Prozac out of this is for people like you and me to do something.

Start a riot. Write a letter. Cast a ballot. Start caring, because the only person who can give a damn is you.