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Rolling in the Middle

If you were to ask me if I am a conservative or if I am a liberal, I would probably answer, "I am a conservative liberal". That would be as good as saying that "I am a idiot", though that would just be the message that you want to assume and that I don't want you to assume.

In my terms, it just means that I when it comes to certain opinions or mindsets, I am a mix of conservative, liberal and everything else in the middle, someone who believes that people my age should stand up and acknowledge elders when they enter the room, but it is not necessary to listen to them if they start lecturing me on how I should behave.

The reason that I am writing this though is that lately I had the opportunity to witness certain instances of clashes between the old conservative and the modern liberal generations. And from where I am standing, when the old preaches the young to work hard, to sleep and wake up early, to eat healthy and most importantly to lead a life with a moral compass, I cannot seem to agree more. However, when the young rebuts on how the world and circumstances have changed and how that requires them to sleep and wake up late, live a life that they want, unrestricted by certain archaic values and diets, I think they have a point too.

I am not in a position to comment on the older generations. Regardless what they say, my generation is where we are because of their sweat and toil. Though that should not be a reason for them declaring us to be hedonists (people who live a life of pleasure). I feel we have come a long way. The stereotypes and closed minds that were a characteristic of the older generations are slowly vanishing. We are more accepting. We are  'nicer' people who have a greater respect for the individual next to us.

Though my only concern lies in the fact that in my generation, when it comes to issues close to the heart, it is me first, everyone else later. Not that it is not a natural tendency, but sometimes when I hear of couples splitting because of 'irreconcilable differences', I wonder if they forgot about that child in the middle.

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