By Ian Ortega
One of the periods that has interested me the most was the counter-culture revolution in the late 60s when the youths in various countries rebelled against the establishments.
They rejected rules, defied authority and created a new culture that saw the birth of the hippies, the druggies, of course even the personal computers, feminism, equal rights for blacks and whites, the civil rights movements, we had Malcolm X, we had Jesse Jackson, we had Martin Luther King.
Not only that, the youths rejected the war in Vietnam, they questioned the lies that had been told to them by their governments and their parents.
There was no period as this. It was a time that shaped a generation.
I increasingly see that in most Ugandan youths today. Articles about musicians and sextapes are bound to be read more than those about electoral reforms.
They may call this a generation of spoilt self-entitled kids, but believe me or not, this is a generation that is creating a new culture. They are not interested in your politics. They are not interested in all that BS that has been sold to the old.
Slowly by slowly the generation is rebelling and losing its innocence. It’s starting its cultural revolution, it’s creating its own culture. A grand culture that signifies the destruction of the old social order and everything it stood for.
A changing consciousness is what defines this generation. They are dropping out, dropping in and tuning it. The last critical mass that this generation will need is the musicians to join in and create the music that will define this era. When the generation gets its Ugandan Bob Dylan, or Timothy Leary or Jimi Hendrix, everything else will be history.
In the words of Albert Camus; “I rebel; therefore I exist.”
This generation is slowly rebelling through a counter-culture. Don’t be surprised by our nudes, our selfies, our fashion, our drug and shisha culture. The new is replacing the old. And the old hates to hear this, that there is a generation that is not interested in politics.
