Tuesday, August 12, 2014

Robin Williams and the Millenial Generation

Robin Williams.

He died yesterday.

It hits me as uniquely strange that he would die at this time. Why now? Think a little more about that.

The world, it seems, is spiraling out of control. Children are reportedly being cut in half in Iraq, Ebola has claimed over 1000 lives, the US has border issues and Gaza still be isn't at peace.

Then my millennial generation’s childhood escape and laughter dies. There is a collective sadness and a profundity to this particular death which, for some odd reason strikes a different heart string. Thousands are dying today. All deaths seem so terribly needless, but this one, this poor fellow seems so despairingly sad. “He was deeply depressed.”

It seems this sadness is simply and expression of the combined sadness my generation is feeling at the state of the world - we just have a place to express it now. We - us millennials - are learning what it is to be grown ups and it’s not what it was in the movies.

His death is pointing to our lack. That though even he's our beloved actor he still, as a friend tweeted, “couldn’t climb out of the darkness.” Now that the world is morning for Robin Williams it still didn’t nor couldn't save him. The need is for something not of this world.