Our Youth Day celebrations have lost meaning, I fear.

A media house's recent survey illustrates the point.

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The question that was asked of the public was, “Would the youth of 1976 be proud of the South Africa of today?” I found myself wondering what the point was. Suppose the answer was in the negative, then what?

Then, one of the news items on a broadcast network showed a group of young people toyi-toying. One carried a banner that read “Educated and unemployed”. I found myself wondering, “Does education equate employment, or is education used as a proxy for ‘I have skills’?”

But say it was such a proxy, then the question would be, “If you have a useful skill, why are you waiting for employment instead of creating employment?”

Have we spoiled our youth? Have we told them, “You must wait for someone else to rescue you?”

Is that a fair question?