You may not like what I'm about to say.
But then again, being true to your principles, you probably won't pay any attention to this at all because since when has anything good come out of listening to "children"? What can lazy kids who can't even pry their eyes off their phone for two seconds possibly have to say about "the real world"? What do they know of life? But bear with me here.
The younger generation is not stupid.
We are not lazy.
We are not cowards, neither are we unimaginative.
We didn't get everything handed to us....our lives are not devoid of struggles.
And most importantly,
WE ARE NOT APATHETIC.
Like I'm sorry, but do you not see the number of vigils/fundraisers/protests that are held? Yeah, it's the young people who're walking miles after miles, shouting their lungs out, trying to bring about a change in a flawed system which, might I point out, you created.
Those were young people who were at Tahrim square, bringing down a dictatorship. It was the young generation that fueled the Occupy movement and The Black Lives Matter movement which spoke up against social injustices. All the Facebook posts or tweets you see on the internet, they may seem farcical to you - a nonsensical virtual existence that has no effect on the real world. But that's our reality.
We don't need to meet at some underground bar in the dead of the night to create a social movement because we can do it on the internet from the relative comfort of our rooms, and raise global awareness while we're at it. And we have you to thank for it - you created the internet! So why are you so derisive of us living in the future that you had imagined and mapped out for us?
True, you lived through times of less connectivity, less technology. You didn't have Wikipedia to help you with homework or Skype to talk to your friends with. But we live in times where getting a college education leaves you bankrupt, and not getting one assigns you a life of mediocre, minimum wage jobs. We live in a world of insane competition, both in the workplace and in personal life...a world where we are supposed to be grateful, but honestly speaking, there isn't much to be grateful about.
We are made to fight wars we don't even want to fight while important matters like climate change, social inequality and human rights violations go unnoticed because we are not given a shot at serious leadership due to our "radical ideas". How are we supposed to make a meaningful contribution when you won't even listen to us? So we have to make our own platforms, speak for ourselves through a medium we find suitable. Sorry if that hurts your feelings.
"Kids these days don't know the concept of respect,"—something you say often. Respect is a two-way street. You expect us to respect you for the experiences you've gained and the hardships you've faced through the years. Fair enough. You do know more about life ...in your time. But you also left us a broken planet with a broken system, and we have to deal with it.. in our time, in our own way. And all we ask for is a little bit of respect as well.
Peace.
