Speaking up for Generation X

"Leaving hot, cramped England, the grey dull of a congested motorway is intensified through a shimmering haze. Everyone is crowded together searching for their own quiet retreat.

"Stepping into the cool, air-conditioning of Heathrow, one last claustrophobic lesson in patience and the escape will be on. Is this the way to term it? Is the search for something better really an escape? Is it not what we all do on a bank holiday and wish it would continue forever?

"But there are people who have looked to their horizons and asked, what's the point.

"No generation has questioned this more than today's 17 to 30-year-olds coined by many as Generation X. The slack, lazy, MTV generation, who have apparently never had it so easy.

"Generation X is far from inept. The world is frightening but it is also exciting for the generation which has grown up to understand it. The last three decades of the 20th century have been formative for the mothers and fathers of the next century. Generation X is the most highly educated yet, a generation that can finally think for itself.

"Generation X is far more cautious than others. They have seen the good times but they also know the bad. Gone are the days of jobs for life. Education and greater worldly experience has led to a decline in the appeal of religion.

"But the whole answer lies in the contraction of the world.

"When your bank holiday has already been ruined by your temper, turn round, ask yourself what it's all about. If the answer is the mortgage and the kids then it's too late. That, remember, was your choice."