From condemning what women wear at football games to criticizing our "lack of" social skills, other generations, and even other millennials, constantly denounce young people here in the U.S. Whether it is online or at the kitchen table, society tells us that we are lazy, narcissistic, immoral, and spoiled.
My favorite vilifying phrase is: "we are the worst generation ever."
In a society obsessed with "making America great again", citizens yearn for a time in history when our country, and its people, were exemplary. Most reimagine a post-WWII era, when the economy was booming, traditional American values were prominent, and life was much simpler than today. Dad returned from his 9-to-5 at the plant, John and Mary entered inside after a day of backyard fun, and mom had dinner on the table: peace, prosperity, and patriotism for desert.
We have Islamic terrorists invading our country and black people sitting down for the national anthem. The economy is mediocre at best, and foreign countries beat us in trade. In fact, America doesn't win at all anymore, but it cannot be not my fault. Maybe it's the minorities, the immigrants, or maybe it's the millennials...
For the previous generations, the Silents, the Boomers, and the Xs, our generation is not destroying America.
You destroyed her a long time ago.
From the politicians to the voters that elected them, Americans have destroyed the very fabric of what this country is, what it stands for and what it believes in. And our generation, the lazy, narcissistic, immoral, spoiled, no-good millennials, will be the ones who save it, not out of want, but out of necessity.
We are the generation that will have to pay your debts, $20 trillion and counting, and fix your unbelievable fiscal decisions. We are the generation that will need to reverse decades of pollution, from our air to our oceans, so that we, and further generations, can survive on this planet. We are the generation that will have to end hyper-partisan gridlock, in order to create a government that actually functions and doesn't threaten American democracy itself.
And we will not only tackle these issues, and the many more delayed by your generations, but we will do so successfully. I am confident that we will usher in an American renaissance. We will be the most tolerant generation in American history, tackling the racial and religious issues pervading our society. We will make unimaginable advances in technology and medicine. We will essentially save America from itself.
We will advocate for the greater good, not the lackluster norm. We are the dreamers, the innovators, the activists that will shape a better tomorrow, not look back on an unexceptional yesterday.
America is not great, it was never great. Perfection is relative, and instead of looking back, millennials dare to look forward. History is the ultimate verifier and based on the extraordinary men and women I see daily, changing the world around them despite strong opposition, I confidently propose a radical prediction: Millennials will be the best generation in American history.
Tomorrow we will elect a new president, and the 2016 Election will be over. But on November 9th, the deep-rooted issues that pervade this country will still exist. President Clinton, or President Trump, will do absolutely nothing as the leader of this country. Nothing will change: the problems will be postponed, and nothing will be solved.
