28/01/2016 (The Jordan Times – Jordan by Ahmad Y. Majdoubeh*): By “lost generation” I am not referring to Gertrude Stein’s famous description of the generation that grew up during and after World War I in America and Europe. I am borrowing the term to describe the current, sad, state of our young people, in Jordan and the Arab world at large. I do not subscribe at all to the various stereotypes about Jordanian and Arab youth by members of previous generations, including mine, who think that “our” generation was better than “this” generation. We were tougher, they would tell you, more responsible, more constructive, more loyal to our heritage, more involved, etc. This is not true, and I only understand such sweeping statements as either part of a romantic nostalgia for the past, which is a universal human trend, or a result of viewing matters from a very narrow angle. All generations tend to be critical of their present, but when they grow older and become more attached to their past, they start glorifying their past and criticising the present of others.
* Ahmad Y. Majdoubeh is Dean Faculty of Foreign Languages University of Jordan Amman – Jordan
http://www.jordantimes.com/opinion/ahmad-y-majdoubeh/lost-generation%E2%80%99
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