Many thanks to David Brooks at the New York Times for yesterday’s Op-Ed piece on the post-adolescent, pre-adult phase many of us 20-somethings seem to find ourselves in:

During this decade, 20-somethings go to school and take breaks from school. They live with friends and they live at home. They fall in and out of love. They try one career and then try another.

Their parents grow increasingly anxious. These parents understand that there’s bound to be a transition phase between student life and adult life. But when they look at their own grown children, they see the transition stretching five years, seven and beyond. The parents don’t even detect a clear sense of direction in their children’s lives. They look at them and see the things that are being delayed.

Don’t worry, parents. According to Mr. Brooks, we’ll grow out of it:

What we’re seeing is the creation of a new life phase, just as adolescence came into being a century ago. It’s a phase in which some social institutions flourish — knitting circles, Teach for America — while others — churches, political parties — have trouble establishing ties.

Maybe this helps to explain why Ron Paul is so popular out here on the internets. Technically, he is a Republican, but he is clearly not sticking to the party line. I hope that his popularity marks a real shift, rather than a passing phase. If the Millennial generation continues its support for liberty and new voices in politics, we could see big changes by the time I’m 40.