“Socialist, lazy, only wanting a free ride…” These are just some of the things I have been told as a Millennial. Told that we will be the leaders soon and that we are ruining the country. Looking through our political history and technological advancements, the ideals coming from our mouths are from those who are from gen x, baby boomers, and those mainly over 40. Our generation just hit their 30s which is the age that many higher political positions need you to be. Some have just finished college and are becoming productive members of society. We are just coming into our own, but many think we are set up for failure.
As a college student with financial debt and past-due bills for rent lurking around every corner, the idea of free education didn’t sound so bad. With my medical coverage through lackluster jobs, without being able to stay on the parental coverage, I would have had to pay hundreds of dollars I didn’t have for teeth cleanings and regular medical check-ups.
Looking back through the political leaders I used to support many were democratic or liberal. I didn’t hear or look for much past what popped up on my phone’s feed as full-time work and school kept me busy. Much of the information came from social media or online publications. These sites using algorithms tailored to show more of what we have been looking at rather than encouraging us to try something new.
My generation is not the only one being influenced by these tricks of the trade, but are feeding into it as well. We know we are being influenced and it’s hard to trust anything said now. Even our own government was doing investigations into Russia because they believe they influenced social sites to sway people to vote for Donald Trump.
College encouraged equality and showed us more of the atrocities of what we, as Americans, have done to the world and how we can stop it. My grandparents were a part of the peace movement for ending the war in Vietnam. Are we really so different from our grandparents in their youth? Our parents growing up with the threat of bombs falling from the sky and their parents and grandparents living through depression, two world wars, and a pandemic. Compared to that I think that our situation is not as bad, or if bad just different.
Millennials are just starting to enter the political world, and though many are now able to run for major roles those roles are still filled with older generations. We are also in a transitional phase where things like Equality for All is still being ironed out. Never before in history have we been so connected either. Views and news from all around the world available by just a few swipes of the finger. Yellow journalism and muckraking are no longer done by major news sources but by thousands who have a phone in their pocket and a few minutes to kill.
Many millennials have a lot to still work through like buying homes, raising a family, and still growing up. Every generation has its problems, ours just happens to be rapid technological innovation. No generation has been perfect, and they all have ups and downs. In the end, we are all Americans, and we have pulled together in times much worse than this.
