>Why can't the young people of the United States grow up with a sense of purpose about improving themselves and the world around them, as earlier generations of Americans apparently did?
Because there are no jobs in that. Cynicism and snark aside, nowadays the purpose of education in America is to get you a job: for a lower-class student, to get a job at all, for a higher-class student, to get a cushy job.
Actually, doubling back, the purpose of education in most of the world is to get you a job. The number of people who learn just to improve themselves and the world is, well, really tiny, actually.
That doesn't explain the difference between US and the rest.
Either the rest of the world has other, more noble purposes, which helps their children to learn better. In this case, should we think about purpose? Or the rest of the world has the same goals and just reaches them better than in US. In this case - should we learn how to pursue them properly?
This all is in case US still believes the real education is important. May be it isn't? May be better education doesn't lead to a better life?
Because there are no jobs in that. Cynicism and snark aside, nowadays the purpose of education in America is to get you a job: for a lower-class student, to get a job at all, for a higher-class student, to get a cushy job.
Actually, doubling back, the purpose of education in most of the world is to get you a job. The number of people who learn just to improve themselves and the world is, well, really tiny, actually.