I'm not sure the target audience (probably you and me when it was written in 96) would react quite as negatively as you suggest. Sure all of this seems somewhat

I'm not sure the target audience (probably you and me when it was written in 96) would react quite as negatively as you suggest. Sure all of this seems somewhat harsh to direct at an individual, but when directed at an entire generation, it leaves the reader a lot of wiggle room to say "this is directed at slackers", etc. I guess I read this more as old wisdom that people coming of age should think about -- it reminds me a bit of that song "Wear Sunscreen" that came out a couple of years after this. Sure, the advice isn't necessarily original, but that doesn't mean it's not worth being aware of or thinking about once in a while. As I was reading this, I thought this might be something I'd hand to my 8 year-old to read some day. Not because I think he's an lazy ingrate, just because it seems like interesting food for thought.