HBO's Def Poetry: Do we need a draft?

I watched Def Poetry last night. It was fascinating and definitely worth seeing. But as I listened, I wondered if the young people of today understand the challenges that they are going to face in the future. Our nation’s well-being is at stake and though I loved the Def Poetry show and the idea of, the creative and meaningful self expression, I was worried too as I watched. I saw young people sharing their thoughts some were good, others were mostly narcissistic. There were a few that had depth. Yes, racism and discrimination are constant problems and it’s good to speak out against it, but I wondered: what are you doing about it? Want to get even? Get an education. But that would be too what?

My generation had the disadvantage of a draft. It forced us to see a bigger picture. Young people today spend way too much time looking at themselves in the mirror and too little time trying to understand anything except them selves. I hope Def poetry catches on and that it inspires the younger generation to look beyond their own lives and their own limited understanding of how the world works. They are going to see problems that no other generation has had to experience and unfortunately do not appear to be up the challenges that lie ahead. That was reflected in their poetry. Maybe we do need a draft. It would force young people today to be about something bigger than them selves. I'm going to watch again. It's interesting to see what's on their mind...