HAGEN: Talkin' 'bout my generation

Normally in this space, I write about fairly innocuous topics such as why iPhone apps may be a harbinger of doom for society or how not to freeze to death during a Boston winter (harder than it sounds). Something happened this past week, however, that I cannot joke about and think would be dangerous to ignore. On Friday, The House of Representatives approved Title X, an amendment that eliminates government funding for Planned Parenthood. I fear too many of my classmates will dismiss it as “some women’s issue” when in actuality, its passage confirms a reality we have turned our backs on for too long: our generation is being screwed over.

This piece of legislation will be extremely detrimental to the female population of this country. Despite what our uneducated congressmen and women claimed, public tax dollars are never used to fund abortions, thanks to the 1976 Hyde Amendment, and the overwhelming majority of the clinic’s activity is aimed at women’s health. For a huge portion of women who could not afford cancer screenings, gynecological care, birth control (you know, that thing which prevents unwanted pregnancy in the first place) and pre-natal assistance, Planned Parenthood was their only option.

As a woman I am disgusted that my wellbeing is of absolutely no concern to the leaders of this country. It is a slap in the face to know that I have been deemed a second-class citizen and have been deprived a basic right in the face of zealous and illogical ideologies. However, this recent development on Capitol Hill is merely a single piece of the extremely disturbing puzzle being assembled by our government. What happened last Friday is not just about the absolutely atrocious treatment of women but also about that of our generation as a whole.

It is startling to realize that the government can dismiss a fundamental need like health so cavalierly, and it begs the question, what will they take away from us next? Those in charge in Washington, D.C. have done an impressive job of ripping apart our future. It is common for the younger generations to bear the brunt of their parents’ mistakes, but our generation faces a burden so great that we are in serious danger of being completely crushed by it. Our current officials are bequeathing to us an extremely generous will. We will inherit insurmountable mountains of national debt, a seemingly endless war and a failed social security system. We are being passed on a lack of adequate health care and the scorn of much of the international community. The temperature of our earth is increasing while our dependency on oil is hardly diminishing. We are graduating colleges and universities in huge numbers with massive tuition debts and are somehow expected to pay them off in a nonexistent job market. We have been pushed off the edge without a safety net to catch us.

For perhaps the first time in America’s history, our lives will not be better than those of our parents. It is not enough that the government has taken away our future. Now it is impossible to say “well, at least I have my health,” because Capitol Hill is doing its damnedest to deny us that as well. Ronald Regan once said that “Each generation goes further than the generation preceding it because it stands on the shoulders of that generation. You will have opportunities beyond anything we’ve ever known.” Yet our generation is not being lifted upon the shoulders of the generation preceding, it is being trampled underneath its feet. We will have problems, uncertainties and grievances, not opportunities, beyond anything we’ve ever known.

This Saturday in cities across the country, including Boston, there will be a series of marches held called “Walk For Choice” in support of Planned Parenthood. Walk if you care about the health of a mother, sister, cousin, aunt or friend. Perhaps more importantly, however, walk for the wellbeing of our generation as a whole. Walk if you want to look toward the future with hope, not hopelessness. Walk if you are tired of feeling helpless as the nation’s officials continue to squash our potential. Walk if you want our leaders to know that we realize the decisions they are making will not negatively affect them today, but rather us tomorrow. Walk if you want to finally have the ability to say “stop!” Our generation must unite in order to walk forward together because if we do not, as was proven by the House last week, the generations above will continue to push us back and push us down.