Since my generation was born, we have been fed the promise of a better life than our parents. Whether it be financially or socially, our parents have worked to raise us the right way -- with morale, opportunity and responsibility. As the growing divide of the generational gap between baby boomers and generation Y gets larger and more controversial, I should remind everyone that even the baby boomers were once our age.

I wouldn’t say I’m necessarily taking their side on things (not to turn this into an us vs. them deal). But there was a time when the BB generation was age 16 to 22. They were going through the same hard decisions and had world changes and conflict just like we do.

As every generation experiences, we are fed our basic morals from an early age: Do unto others as you would have done unto you, if you can’t say something nice don’t say anything at all, bullying is never tolerated, everyone is special, love everyone, etc. As children, we are mostly blind to the differences between us and other people when it comes to race or ability. We have this blindness because we are told that we must respect each other and that differences are what make us unique. Both the baby boomers and generation Y were mostly raised in this mindset when they were young, obviously with a few variants (who are still in need of these morals, today).

We age and we are exposed to the social issues around us such as racism, sexism, homophobia and differing religions. This is where the generations have handled things differently. Most baby boomers realize that there is/was an American “norm,” which is Christian, heterosexual and most likely white. They were fed the information that Christians founded America for Christian freedom. There weren’t many homosexuals at this point during the '60s to '80s -- or at least, not many of them made their sexuality public. Most people in power were white -- there wasn’t necessarily anything being fed to them about how people of different races were inferior in any way, but the traditions of law and cultural norms make them subconsciously think that way. The baby boomers were not always raised in a close-minded way, but are just used to the cultural norms that were around when they were our age.

Now, generation Y is exposed to religions of all kinds and we are fed the encouragement to follow whatever religion that we want to (the encouragement rarely comes from BBs, though). Generation Y is exposed to all kinds of sexualities, with heterosexual and homosexual being only the simplest of the list. We are shown that racism still exists on the media with the shootings of innocent black citizens and how generalizations are thrown at Mexicans or Muslims. This is a time of more conflict than any other time that the Baby Boomers have been alive, unless you count the peace protests in the 60’s for only the oldest members of the BBs.

Because of all of this conflict, our generation is reflecting back to when we were told about how we would change the world. Our generation, with new technology and advanced education, has the ability to accomplish more than any other generation before us had -- or so we were told when we were young. I was told that I could be anything I wanted to be when I grew up. I could be the first female and Latina president. I was told that education will give me the opportunity to give back to the community that had raised me and it could better the generation after me. I was told that if I work hard enough, I can get my dream job and have the life I’ve always wanted to have. My generation has been filled with the optimism needed to create a change in our world, thanks to the baby boomers who have raised and educated us.

Now, there is the whole movement of “making America great again.” Whether the older generation wants to support Trump or just wants to make America like it was before, this “them vs. us” mentality, when it comes to generations, is exactly what is making not only the left and right wing politics so tense during this election time, but also is what is creating conflict between the newcomers to adulthood and the adults who have experienced more life than us.

I must raise the question, what exactly is making America not great? What does the BB generation consider great, as compared to what GenY considers great? What ideals are we standing for? As I can see, BBs seem to want America to be great based on conformity and oneness. GenY seems to want America to be great based off of individuality and acceptance. Though neither of these goals are necessarily bad, we should reflect on why we have these goals. Obviously, it’s the way that each of these generations were raised.

Think back to the reaction of Elvis Presley’s new rock and roll. The newer generation was eating it up -- the girls in audiences were fainting because of his “hip gyrations,” but parents weren’t happy to have their children listen to “sexually promiscuous” music. Now, take that experience to today with, say, homosexuals on a TV series. It wasn’t the older generation’s norm, but it is ours. And that’s why we’re so open to seeing it.

Before this "them vs. us" becomes even more divided or more violent, we must open our minds to the experiences of others. Though the BBs have more age or experience than GenY, our generation has access to higher education and the full use of all layers of the internet to “experience” through other people’s stories. The more we force this division between generations, the more the minds of people will be closed to any opposing ideals. Whether you’re a “bigoted, homophobic, cis white Republican” or an “ignorant young liberal who loves the gays,” there will be disagreements with what you believe all around you. It is your duty to live with other ideals, other generations, and other norms, in peace. We are no longer living in a medieval world where things can be “settled” by war and yelling. Use your sources around you, and open your mind to the experiences of others.