Tuesday Links: Young Adults Are...

Welcome to our newest feature, "Young Adults Are..." Every Tuesday, we'll be relying on the internet to tell us about ourselves.

This week, young adults are...

In crisis, emotionally.

People 18 to 29 are "losing confidence in the country's moral direction." We're also liable to suffer long-term psychological consequences because we're coming of age during a recession.

Unhealthy (and likely uninsured.)

We're not getting enough sleep or eating as many whole grains as we should be. In addition, half of us are living with HPV.

Young adults are also...

Feeling good about ourselves.

Young adults are "optimistic" (well, all right: "overly optimistic") about our health and happiness.

Open-minded.

Nearly all of us (90 percent) are comfortable with the idea of interracial dating and marriage.

Young adults: do these statistics resonate with you or reflect your personal experience? Do you think it's possible for media to tell the truth (or any part of the truth) about who we are?

Share Your Faith Question #3: "Thank You"

Howard Zinn

1922 - 2010

(To see video of Dr. Zinn discussing his legacy, click the photo.)

"I want to be remembered as somebody who gave people a feeling
of hope and power that they didn’t have before." -- Howard Zinn

When news broke on Wednesday evening that the professor, historian, and peace activist Howard Zinn had died, a certain part of the Facebook community found themselves suddenly mourning. Young adults all over the country (most of whom first encountered Zinn and his book A People's History of the United States* as college students) were saddened to realize that the man who had so inspired them to work for peace and justice was gone. The group "Thank You Howard Zinn" gained literally thousands of new members overnight and was inundated with messages of grief and gratitude. "We will both mourn and organize," said one; another, "Thanks for making history something I actually can understand!"

That so many young adults respect and admire Dr. Zinn is no surprise: as a champion for those whose lives and concerns were overlooked in both history's conventional narrative and today's struggle for power and prosperity, he was rebellious and principled. As a teacher, he assured his students that their voices matter and told them that they are obligated to speak for those who cannot.

Learn, he said. Question what you think you know. Commit yourself to justice.

Whose life or work has inspired you? Has this person influenced the course of your life?


*A People's History is available in full and for free by clicking this link.

"The Mind Free": Religious Freedom Day

Happy National Religious Freedom Day!

224 years ago today, on January 16, 1786, the Virginia General Assembly formally adopted Thomas Jefferson's Statute on Religious Freedom, which guaranteed that "no man shall be compelled to frequent or support any religious worship, place, or ministry whatsoever, nor shall be enforced, restrained, molested, or [burdened] in his body or goods, nor shall otherwise suffer on account of his religious opinions or belief, but [...] shall be free to profess, and by argument to maintain, [his] opinion[s] in matters of Religion."

The Statute served as the basis of The U.S. Constitution's First Amendment and is echoed in the Unitarian Universalist Association's fourth Principle, which promotes "the free and responsible search for truth and meaning."

Share Your Faith Question #1: Hope & Help

"In every community there is work to be done. In every nation there are wounds to heal. In every heart there is the power to do it." -- Marianne Williamson

On Tuesday evening, the island nation of Haiti was struck by a 7.0 magnitude earthquake. It is the most severe seismic event to happen in that part of the world in 200 years and only the latest in a series of natural disasters to affect Haiti.

In this time of crisis---a time when devastation is widespread, many people are facing personal tragedy, and relief is slow to arrive---communities of faith both in Haiti and abroad are coming together to provide solace for their members and to help the Haitian people rebuild, recover, and heal. (To donate to the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee's earthquake relief fund, please click here.)

As the clip above shows, demonstrations of hope are often as spontaneous as they are necessary. No matter the circumstances, a beloved community will find a way (and a place) to gather and support its members. It will sing and pray together, grieve and love.

When and how has a community provided for you, either spiritually or materially (or both?) How did the experience of receiving hope and help affect you?

Comments are most welcome!

Job Satisfaction in Young Adults Low

A recent survey by The Conference Board (the not-for-profit organization dedicated to "disseminat[ing] knowledge about management and the marketplace to help businesses strengthen their performance and better serve society") finds only 39% of people under the age of 25 to be happy in their current job.

Last night's episode of WGBH's Greater Boston (see the clip above) examines why this might be so and asks whether young adults need to lower their expectations or whether their dissatisfaction can be valuable to them in the long-term.