Mental illness in our parents generation was handled much differently than it is now. Heather would probably have been institutionalized and I’d be leading a tragic, Thomas Hardy life raising sheep and hopping from farm to farm while my daughter worked in the house as a servant.
Employers, particularly in start-up mode, demand more from their employees than did employers in previous generations, save coal mining or serfdom. E-mail flies at us all hours of the day and night. We are expected to act promptly and with our shit buttoned. 24/7/365. I’ve worked for several start-ups. You can’t tell me it’s otherwise.
Our generation is not weaker. We are stronger. We put up with a barrage of attacks on our family life every single day. To buy a house in today’s world is different than it was for our parents. Our money doesn’t go as far as it once did. We work harder and more productively than any generation that has preceded us. We are not candy ass.
We have the power today to make our lives what we want, not what somebody tells us. We have the courage to stand up and say that we have an illness, and we shouldn’t be discriminated or suffer prejudices for it. We shouldn’t be afraid to live our lives in control. We have that power.
Don’t make me bust out the Chomsky.