Recently, I saw an article tagline that I have heard maybe a million times in my life. The title was describing how Millennials and the subsequent generation are ‘killing’ another industry or institution. Homeownership? Diamonds? Guns? Religion? Marriage? Better hide these poor, innocent establishments before the youths ruin the traditional market and thus, the wooooorld!
Okay. Maybe that was too harsh. But I feel like I cannot escape the negativity. And it has always been like this.
Meaning, throughout history, it seems to be a pattern for people slightly older than you to call you idle, entitled, narcissistic, and whatever other generalized insults they can back with random statistics. It was like this when the Greatest Generation watched in horror as their children became hippies at Woodstock. And it is like this today with Boomers and Gen Z-ers. It is perpetual. When we get older, I am almost certain we will call the next generation names. Not only that, but we will probably worriedly predict that they will bring about the apocalypse, just like our parents predicted for us.
However, such prophecies of the end-times have always proved unjustified and simply wrong. In fact, the opposite seems to be true. American life, overall, has gotten much better for the average person. Today, we enjoy cultural and technological progress that has made existence so much more pleasant.
So, my question is: why do we always resent future generations when history shows that we should be totally hopeful for them?
Well, the answer is mostly psychological.
The new generation easily accepts the modern version of society in technology and mannerisms. After all, it is what they grew up with. Meanwhile, the preceding generations cannot typically adapt to this change, causing a response of agitated uncertainty when faced with an ever-changing society. Ergo, the older generation believes that they maintained the market and culture better as an insecure response to no longer having primary control over said market and culture.
It’s understandable. However, it is also a melodramatic and unhealthy cycle for every generation to do when they age. Personally, I choose to believe in the kids and kids after that and the kids after that.
No matter how many years you have had, everyone brings something positive to the table. Young folks incredibly understand the current ways of society as second-nature. The aging generations possess a worldly wisdom that is impossible for youthful adults to have. If older generations and younger generations work in tandem, real problems can actually be solved!
Genuinely, there exists much biblical validation for this idea of teamwork with the children, in 1 Timothy 4:12, “don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, and in purity.”
We fixate on little “regressions” in culture instead of focusing on what the generations have in common. Baby Boomer or Millennial, people are innately the same. Being born in a specific range of years does not make a person better or worse. We are all actually very similar, so it is high time we get over ourselves and get something done.
