¿Para Qué?

As México celebrates its bicentennial of independence and its centennial of revolution, it is also imagining its future. In Guanajuato, there have been a series of talks and panels about the future and about social change. This morning we attended a talk by Maestro Mario Luis Fuentes, a prominent commentator and the director of the Centro de Estudios e Investigación en Desarrolo y Asistencía Social. He identified three critical areas for social change in México now:

1. Trabajo - Work. People need jobs. He said there are young people in their twenties who have never had a job because there is no work to be had.

2. Sistema de salud - Better health care for everyone. And he focused on the need to address mental health as well as physical health. He said there is growing awareness of the abuse of sleeping pills and such, indicative of a quiet epidemic of depression.

3. Sistema de educación - Stronger public education. Young people need to develop skills and hope for navigating their aspirations in the world. He said the words he hears among young people today are, "Para qué?" For what? What does anything matter when there are few jobs and opportunities? Where is the meaning?

The dialogue could be the same in the United States.