This article is a response to Alexis Bloomer's video, "Dear Elders, I'm sorry." The unfortunately viral video received more than 40 million views since the end of last month, and continues to grow. In her assessment, Bloomer describes millennials as lacking manners, listeners of obscene music that romanticize drugs and crime, idolizing celebrities, lazy and entitled, fosterers of relationships online which replace quality time in person, requiring too much societal approval, and lacking respect of national values.

In her video, Bloomer attempts to explain the strife between baby boomers and the millennials, and ending the video with an apology, ultimately calling millennials to action in the hope of creating a difference in the future. This generational friction is not the first of its type. The Silent generation silently disapproved of the baby boomers for many of the same reasons they don't approve of us.

The Beatles, and most classic rock era bands, owe a significant credit of popularity to the boomers. Their music glorified sex, (psychedelic) drugs, and rock n roll -- which isn't entirely different from our story. The difference is thug culture versus rock culture.

The boomers overtly lacked manners, creating an entire ideology of protest in the '60s and '70s that would reverberate for decades, which we still feel the effects of today. Arguably, the millennials took the protest system of old and morphed it into the widespread disorganized complaining with which we are all familiar today.

Bloomer brings up a good thought by the boomers. They believe our obsession with celebrities is unhealthy. You can't even Google "when did society start idolizing celebrities" without a slew of unrelated click bait articles, further fueling our desire to share their success. Even though it's a tough topic to research, knowing that the celebrities of their time are still talked about now (Marilyn Monroe, Elizabeth Taylor, Doris Day, Lucille Ball, Elvis Presley, Frank Sinatra, James Dean, etc.) seems to prove that we didn't start this vicious cycle.

When the baby boomers describe us as lazy and entitled I just laugh. Where to start? Firstly, the systematic exploitation of foreign lands and people for resources, the unmonitored use of fossil fuels, the unprecedented financial placement given to them, and finally the advent of technology to solve their problems. Countries are still recovering from over speculation. The world is mostly decided global warming is real (congruent to the IPCC's findings) yet still not sold in part to baby boomer investments and think tanks. Given the most prosperous time ever in America at the time, they dug an impressive hole that we still fight to fill today. Yet, we still hear that they had it harder, and that the technology we have will be the ruination of our generation.

I do hear the comments. I do see the partial validity. But to me, we have to go and do what's never been done, solve problems never before seen, because of forethought the generation before us never had. They went on to fight the expansion of communism and corruption, we move forward to fight the proliferation of radicalism and hyperinflation. Different problems, different solutions. So, let's stop the blame game.

Here's a better call to action Bloomer's video was lacking:

Don't apologize to an older generation for not being able to reach their standards. Standards nearly constantly change as fast as the world does. Just because they won't keep up, doesn't mean you need to apologize. Your choice in music doesn't define character. Your decision to protest is indicative of your experience in rhetoric, and ability to empathize with the enemy. Just because you really need your message to stick does not mean you need to do it in an incendiary manner (e.g. don't stand on the flag).

Here's some reading about fostering relationships in personal life and social life (for those who haven't read up on "Words to Live By"), if you feel like taking the call to fostering relationships in person. Finally, don't listen to anyone who says our generation is one of laziness and entitlement, for those are the two things that put us here, not what will keep us here.