One of the things that most annoys me is the conversations that people aged 50 and over have about "young people today." Almost always it focuses on how hard working they were when they were kids and how everyone who is under 30 now is lazy (Republican talking point) and/or doesn't "care about things the way we used to" (Annoying Ex-Hippie talking point). Some version of this idea, that your group is morally intellectually and spiritually superior to those who came after you, has been spouted for all time by aging generations everywhere and it has almost always been based totally on the generation's mis-perception of its own youth.
Today that idea has manifested itself in a drive for mandatory national service. Usually, when this wretched proposition presents itself, it comes as a plan to force young people to devote a significant portion of their time serving the country as a way of uniting the country and getting people to be less selfish. Now, don't get me wrong, I agree that service/participation in a movement is a good thing, brings people together, and should be incented, but why is it young people (and only young people) that are forced to make these sacrifices?
I mean, Generation Y is going to be the generation who will have to foot the bill for all stupid wars, tax cuts, and general excesses supported by the Baby Boomers in the 80s, 90s, and 00s. So why should we also be forced into service as a way of making these Americans feel better about their country? Why should a generation of Americans forced to go deep into debt or go to Iraq to pay for college now have more duties heaped upon them?