It is no secret the millennial generation is the target of critique from older generations. This is not necessarily anything new — I am rather confident generation after generation throughout time has been criticized by the preceding generations. I am additionally sure, however, this kind of criticism varies between generations. One particular brand of criticism I frequently hear thrown around about millennials is about how much we complain, how discontent we are.

Perhaps we should not be so discontent, such criticism follows, we are living at arguably the best time to be alive. Certainly, current political situation aside, it is a fortunate thing to be living in the 21st-century, especially in America. We have modern medicine and we have democracy (for the most part). There is technically no legal segregation or persecution of minorities and higher education is not restricted to the most elite. We are literate, many of us come from comfortable homes, and many of us do not have to worry about how we are going eat. We have sophisticated cell phones, warms beds, and hot water.

What is there to complain about?

It could be said of those young people who “complain,” or who are discontent either with their lives or with the world more generally (or both), are simply needy, spoiled, and unrealistic. The more uncharitable critics may say they are being shallow and vain in asking for more.

However, I would argue just the opposite about our so-called complaining generation. What would be shallow, in my opinion, would be for us to just sit back and reap our modern-day luxuries without worrying about future generations or, indeed, without worrying about less privileged members of our very own generation. With the comfortable lives many of us lead, it would be so easy to just settle into a materially contented way of being and not seek more.

However, the fact that many millennials see there are improvements still to be made, and speak out to say so, says something positive about our generation.

In general, we are very fortunate, to be sure, but that does not mean we cannot want — and ask — for more for both ourselves and for others. Some may call this complaining but I see it as using our high faculties to recognize the world is not perfect and what good it does have, what good we do experience, is not guaranteed now or ever.

This kind of discontentedness, which I actually see as something good, can apply on both the individual and global level. Moreover, I want to stress I am not necessarily advocating for the strictly material kind of discontentedness in which a person just wants to acquire more things and is never satisfied. Many people, however, are very underprivileged materially and certainly it is more than alright for them to be discontent in this regards.

To think about the individual level, imagine a young person coming from one of the most comfortable background imaginable. He or she could have a well-off family and could go to a good school, achieve high grades, and hold a great job. Yet, this person could still be discontent. I do not think being so would be necessarily unreasonable. Yes, this hypothetical person is very privileged. Maybe, however, he or she recognizes a lot of these privileges could vanish instantly and thus strives every day to not get too comfortable.

The broader, more global discontent is, I think, an even greater kind. Just because one’s own life is going well does not mean that person is okay with the fact many other people’s lives are not going so well. Just because we have democracy, feminism, and minorities’ rights today does not guarantee we will have them tomorrow.

Just because we have these aspects does not mean there is not vast room for improvement on all three fronts.

Discontent is not unique to millennials, to be sure. There have been protests, strikes, revolts, petitions for ages. Human beings, in general, have not been content because we are not complacent beings. We have ambition, we have empathy and sympathy, and we see there is always hard work to be put in to make the world better. Discontent signals not unnecessary complaining on our part but, rather, higher levels of understanding and, indeed, higher levels of compassion.