The Microwave Generation

The weekend is here and it is going to be a busy one.

I have a meeting of the York Rite College at noon today, and I have to run the Inscriber system at church tomorrow, and that will last until noon. So it will feel like I really haven't had a weekend at all.

The more I read on the net, and see on tv, the more I'm convinced that we have become the microwave generation.

By that, I mean we want it NOW! We are not satisfied with waiting for lunch, it has to be now. We aren't happy with the speed of the internet, it must be faster. We want instant gratification is all phases of our life. This translates across everything that touches our lives, no matter how trivial, or how monumental.

Take Iraq for instance. In just a short span of time (in the eyes of history) we have achieved domination over a foe. We have removed the previous government and have squashed the armed forces of the country. Regardless of how you feel about our foray into Iraq, we are there. Now we have to fix what we've broken. But what are we already hearing? It's time to pull the troops out and go home. That is the wrong answer. Removing the troops before the government of Iraq has achieved stability is a recipe for revolution and civil war.

That doesn't take a PhD to understand and see coming. Yet people who should know better are still clamoring for the removal of the troops. Why? What motivates them? I feel that part of the answer is found in the microwave. We've become more and more used to having it our way, right now. Not a minute from now. Not an hour from now. Heaven forbid it be a year from now. No, it must be right now.

After reading this take a look around you. How many things do you use everyday that satisfies that need for instant gratification? Cell phones, e-mail, overnight delivery all are tools of the microwave generation. Try spending a week without those. Instead of calling someone on their
cell phone, visit with them. Before typing out an email, write them a letter. I'll be willing to bet you can't do it.