One of my favorite things to hear is how bad our generation is… Everyone hates Generation Z/Millennial's or whatever they call us kids aged 14-30.
The older generation just yells at us for being "too sensitive" or lazy and saying that their generation has better music or taste. Excuse me Carol, but last time I was at work, I was not getting yelled at by a younger kid but rather a grown adult who thinks that if they yell loud enough or threaten to shop somewhere else, they can get their money back. Before you start complaining about a generation that is far more advanced than you, look at yourself. Look at how the times have changed. The LGBTQ+ community has so many more rights than they have ever had before, women are pushing ahead in politics and the corporate world, equality is being considered, and society is understanding that mental health is important.
You're a baby boomer. You were born between 1946 and the late 1950s. You had Woodstock and the Stones in the '60s, discos and coke in the '70s, Wall Street in the '80s, Bill Clinton in the '90s and now you're retiring to Colorado and Florida on the backs of your stressed-out kids whose own children stay at home with them into their 20s because they have no jobs. Tom Brokaw once wrote a book about the "greatest generation", those brave people who survived the depression and fought in World War II. Unfortunately, that great generation spawned a generation of narcissists: the baby boomers.
When you look at those "white only" diners and drinking fountains in those photos from the 1960s you just can't believe it. Or how women were treated. And gays. But many of our beloved boomers were teenagers back then, living with parents who watched Ozzie and Harriet and were raised to believe that people who weren't white weren't to be trusted, women were meant to stay at home, and gays were sinners. Over time, these attitudes have changed, mainly because people in their 20s and 30s are smarter, better educated and more open-minded. Unfortunately, and although we've even had a black President, the last remnants of the boomer generation who still use power in their churches and companies are doing their best to keep women out of the corporate suite, protest against gay marriage, keep racism on the forefront, and fight immigration reform.
The good news is that the baby boomer generation is quickly getting older. Ten thousand boomers are retiring each day. We can't ship them all off to an island, unfortunately. But I'm optimistic that the next generation of leaders will not make the same mistakes. Governments will take care of people who are truly needy—not just because they turned 65 and have a car—and this will help fix our deficit problems. Racism will continue to decline as the world becomes smaller and more social. Our environment will improve because kids in elementary school are being taught to care about the planet. Ultimately, these generations will fix the problems that the boomers created.
This goes for any generation. Stop trying to complain how these "millennials" don't know what it's like in the real world or how sensitive they are. If you are constantly talking about us, then it seems like your jealous of us. You keeping talking about us like we're that one person who got away. You wish you could understand but you don't. So go back to trying to figure out how the computer works. You complain about us too much and we have better things to do, like figure out how to clean up the mess you guys left behind. You should spend more time trying to set up your Gmail on your flip phone than talk about us.
Has the world gone mad? Or did it ever stop? Why is it so hard for people to let others be? Why it is hard to realize not all young people think the way you do? I have my own reasons, the younger generations have them as well and it is time to respect everyone.
I understand we do not all have the same beliefs but let us try to respect everyone anyways.
