Sure, they're young and a bit annoying, but weren't we the same at their age? And we came in at a great time, a time of prosperity, where the country was rich and running the world, and where salaries were high, every job came with a pension, opportunities were plentiful, real estate and education cheap. We have no business being too critical of them, after all, we left them this world. They didn't create it. We are at the twilight of Empire, its downhill all the way from here, and they are slowly getting hip to that.

And there's something else, too. These kids have been told from day one (by us!) that if you "work hard and play by the rules, eventually you will make it". The unspoken corollary to that is, of course, if you give it your best and still can't get anywhere it must be because something's wrong with YOU. When you're working two jobs and can't make the rent on a cheap apartment, when you're in hock for the rest of your life for the worthless college degree that left you with no real job skills, and where all the old farts on going on cruises and living in gated communities while you can't afford to get that nasty rash on your back looked at.

Today's kids are in a tough spot, but its not all their fault. Sometimes they think the world is hostile and malicious, but they're young and they just don't know that it is actually indifferent. And if their elders never taught them differently, can we really blame their children?

My parents grew up during the Great Depression, defeated both Fascism and Communism, but from them I heard the talk about the old days, and I learned that even times of unprecedented prosperity can end brutally and unexpectedly. I may have rolled my eyes then, but enough stuck to me that I was able to make some preparations for our current Age of Anxiety.

That young woman was never told the truth, at least, not the whole truth. She may be young and inexperienced and impatient and even a little overblown with her own sense of self-importance. But she was lied to, and she's just now starting to figure that out. And she's busting her ass at two jobs and can't even pay her bills, much less the interest on her student loans. She's pissed, but she's the future.

And every year there's 1% less ice at the poles.