I've always hated that song. It's basically telling everyone, and especially young people, "It's okay to be apathetic and self absorbed. Just wait for someone else to do the work for you."

Something ate the comments on this blog, and I would like to know what it is.

The cat on the post below this.

Either that, or the "recent comments" code, which I've now removed temporarily.

I hadn't run across it before. My immediate reaction is similar to Ross's but some of the lyrics (I've only listened once) suggest to me something more like Max Planck's dictum: "A new scientific truth does not triumph by convincing its opponents, but rather because its opponents die, and a new generation grows up that is familiar with it."

There is a generational rhythm to change, the slow social shifts that result from millions of people living their own lives according to their own values rather than revolutionary or movement pressures. It's not passive, but it's quiet.

The interesting thing is that Obama is of Mayer's generation, though he's a bit older. So either Obama's redeeming his generation, or he's leading a new generation to one-up GenX (that is, his college-age and GenY supporters).