A Nation That Won’t Take Risks Risks Everything

We Americans need to channel Chumbawamba, the 90s one-hit wonder responsible for the tune “Tubthumping,” and get up again when we get knocked down. But that’s all we should channel from that band – they fancied themselves as some sort of commie/anarchist collective and, aside from one catchy tune, they suck. Here’s the thing – we are becoming a nation of risk-averse losers afraid to test ourselves against the harsh realities of the world. We are a bubble-wrapped society so committed to “safety” that millions of us are willing to give up our freedoms and dignity for the illusion of it. Time to reinvigorate ourselves by taking rational risks.

Let’s look at those crazy kids today. Some call them Zoomers, I call them dorks. Look at this poll of 12th graders and despair. In my senior year (1983), 85% had dated, 75% had jobs, 85% had tried alcohol, and 85% had a driver’s license – I was at the DMV when it opened at 8:00 a.m. on December 24, 1980, baby, ready to roll in that dull orange Datsun B210! Now check out the most recent stats from 2015: 58% have dated, 56% have jobs, 63% have tried alcohol, and 72% have a driver’s license. And you know it’s all gotten worse in the wake of COVID and the rise of helicopter mommies – and not cool helicopters, like Apache gunships. 

The point is not that I think high schoolers should be covertly sneaking shots of dad’s Pappy Van Winkle. The point is that these activities all represent independence and risk, and kids are just not willing to embrace that today. But risk is everything – was there ever an entrepreneur who did not take risks? Or any kind of winner at all?