I read this article on the Huffington Post.
This is not the worst article I've read on Generation Y (born between the late 1970's and the early 1990's,) but, in general, the journalists that try to define my generation or 'understand' why we're all such 'entitled,' 'self-centered,' 'unhappy,' 'delusional' people enrage me. Yes, we were brought up to expect that we could achieve greatness. So, what? The real issue is that as we enter our mid-twenties, we're all confronting reality as previous generations have done when they enter adulthood. It just so happens that we're entering adulthood at a later age than previous generations because so many of us are going to college. And aside from the people I know with actual clinical depression, very, very few people I know in my generation are unhappy.
These articles frequently forget that the most defining characteristic of our generation is adaptability. I was born in '85. My family had a microwave, but our TV had no remote control. This wasn't uncommon. I remember a time when no one knew what the internet was. The first computer I got my hands on only used DOS prompt commands. The technology I use on an hourly basis, the very tools I use constantly at work, the way I receive my entertainment (aside from books) was unthinkable to me when I was young. I'd guess that most people my age would say the same thing.
And we've embraced these things. We aren't scared of change. We know that the way we work and function in 10 years -- heck, even in five years, will be radically different from the way we live now, and we love it! We're trying to create those new tools, those unthinkable resources, those gadgets that we won't know how we lived without.
And we understand that we can't control the world. We understand tragedy and disappointment and fear. We remember the crash of the Exxon Valdez. We remember Kosovo. We remember September 11, 2001. We've lost friends and family members in the Gulf Wars. We remember the dot com bust and the housing bust and we've spent a good chunk of our lives in the Great Recession. We lived through Katrina and Sandy. And yet most of us are still optimistic. Is that delusional? Is that foolhardy? No. It is the only way to live. We know that things are beyond our control, but we also know that the smallest things we do can make a difference. We pay more money to drive hybrid cars in an effort to wean ourselves off of oil. We've pushed for renewable resources. We christened the 'Go Green' movement. We're standing up for ourselves and our friends and letting the world know that homophobia is just as immoral as sexism and racism. We also remember the end of the Cold War, the dismantling of the Berlin Wall, seeing the "Pale Blue Dot" photograph sent back from Voyager. We were breathless as Curiosity landed on Mars. We've seen AIDS go from a death sentence to a manageable, while still devastating, disease. We know we, standing on the shoulders of past generations, will find a cure. We know we will reach farther because that's what humanity does, generation after generation.
We know it's not easy. We know we'll have to work hard. We expect to work hard. And most of us don't expect to get wealthy. We know that Social Security won't be around for us when we retire. We know that our kids will have to go to college in order to earn a living wage and that college costs keep rising. We're planning on paying off our own student debts while financing our children's education. We accept that. We know that times are tough and we're buckling down.
The Greatest Generation grew up in similar circumstances. The challenges then were, of course, different. They were worried about having enough food for their families and where the money for the next bill was going to come from. We're fortunate that the Great Recession hasn't left as many families to starve. But the economic disparity between the wealthiest and the poorest in this country is enormous. The Gini index is the highest it's been since they started measuring and estimates are that it's the highest it's been since the era of Standard Oil. We might not be struggling to put food on the table, but we're struggling to keep the electricity bill paid and the car filled with gas. The Greatest Generation was made tough by the Great Depression. They learned from it and they taught those lessons to their kids. Who's to say that we won't do the same? We are willing to work hard. We are willing to pull ourselves up and we want to pull others up with us. Who's to say we won't succeed? Who's the say history won't finally see us as determined, adaptable, ambitious, hard-working, global thinkers? I think it will. Maybe I'm just delusional.
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