Who are we? No, that’s not the right question to ask. We know who we are. The census bureau defines us as between 1982 and 2000, between the ages 15 and 34. Blah. More precisely, we are the generation that heralded the new millennium with our awkward fascinations with 90’s pop and Pokemon: “Hit me baby one more time,” “Gotta Catch ’em All!” Our time is a new era of human history. Sure, the other generations live in it, but we are this new millennium. We totes know who we are, but do we know what it means to be who we are? What we are supposed to do?
Previous generations have left us much to deal with. Sure, we’ve inherited much good. Thanks to “The Greatest Generation,” we’ve been spared from tyranny and evil. Do you ever think about how within our lifetime we’ll see the death of The Greatest Generation? As our grandfathers and grandmothers transcend into the annals of history, as time moves forward, a very important period of human civilization is put to rest with them. Yea, the subsequent generations, like those Baby Boomers, will see their death too within a lifetime. But we are in a privileged position. In our pure naïveté, as children, we listened with open ears about a bygone period in which a great war scourged the earth, devastating humanity with death, of how the world nearly came to its knees when tyranny arose. Decades of separation, of mulling and reflecting, the Greatest Generation kept their stories close to their hearts. And when their grandchildren were born, for whatever reason, they opened up. How many times have we heard from our paternal Generation X’ers and Baby Boomers, “they never talked about their experiences of the war when we were growing up…” Except with us, the Millennials. The Greatest Generation entrusted us with their stories, so we learn to appreciate what we have, to prevent the world from collapsing on itself as it once did.
Progress is not measured by the advancement of technological innovation or spectacular inventions. It is measured by our collective capacity to continually redefine what it means to be human. Only decades before, humanity discovered the means by which utter annihilation could be realized. Nuclear holocaust is a reality. Viral epidemics are an occurrence. Humanity has more concerted means to destroy itself than it has in finding viable alternatives to fossil fuels. More immediate, we’re plagued with countless socio-political issues: social security is a Ponzi Scheme and, as great as universal healthcare is, we Millennials are expected to pick up the tab for the retiring Baby Boomers. This sucks.
Nevertheless, we owe much gratitude to Generation X and the Baby Boomers for the Internet, the computer, and whatnot. And what have we done with all this great tech stuff? Why, we’ve instantiated a crucial social element to it all. We’ve brought down to earth from the heavens the ethereal computer and the Internet. The advent of social media, of startups, apps, etc., well, we can own all that. We’ve conscripted technology for social and economic progress. Once, Google was just a website. Now, we’ve turned Google into a verb, to google, to search the world, not just to learn about it but to discover ways to make it better. And the best part of it all: this is just the beginning. We’ve just started on this grand adventure!
If anything, our attitude as Millennials can be said to be exceptionally optimistic. Baby Boomers were dedicated, Generation X was defining. But only we share the attitude of the Greatest Generation. When they came out of the great war they won, as any victor, they were elated, energetic; they were optimistic. The effusion of their optimism put them to work, trying to make a better world after the great war that almost destroyed the world. Sadly, in many respects, they did not make the world better. War, death, and hatred continued. Could it be said that their candid optimism blinded them from the reality of the world? Who are we to judge. But maybe that’s why the Greatest Generation entrusted us with their stories: they see themselves in us; they want us to learn from their mistakes.
It is said that we Millennials are intent on authenticity. That is our defining spirit. Our need for the authentic, to be genuine, is a gift. We can see bullshit from a mile away. Politics sickens us with its superficiality and lies. We are critical, but not to the point of unrelenting skepticism. We know how to hope from our hearts. We are honest. We are our own selfies. The distinction of the “public” and “private” selfs, to us, is chicanery and clandestinely illusionary — we do not accept this. Rightly so. Who we are on Facebook is a representation of our own genuine self. To be in Sartrean bad faith, denying the reality of our individuality, is what leads to society’s slavery of the self. Our need for authenticity is what keeps us free; free from the status quo and free from a complacency of a world that needs change.
In our sprightly optimism and authenticity, as the Millennial Generation, we can bring about a new era. We must bring about a new age or face the possibility of civilization’s extinction. Climate Change or Global Warming (whichever euphemism one employs), overpopulation, food scarcity — only to name a few catastrophes on our path to progress. The earth will be a better place to live in because we must make it so. “To effect change, not affect change” should be our mantra. This is what it means to be who we are. Baby Boomers and Generation X likely scoff at us as overly naive and callow. “That’s cute, your positivity and youthful attitude, but the reality is or the facts of the matter are…” But let us not resign to their pragmatic indifference! Through the skepticism and cynicism of prior generations, our kindly grandfathers smile, speaking their words of wisdom to us: “Go forth into the world and do great things, with utter optimism in your power to do so, as we once tried to do. But achieve it. Win your war. Be exceptional.” And this we must do to survive. This is what it means to be part of the Millennial Generation, to be exceptional. For if we retreat from that, with all the cataclysmic problems and apocalyptic uncertainties on the horizon of this new millennium, how will we make the world a better place for our own children, and the future generations to come?
Indeed, our actions as Millennials will set the tone of humanity’s prosperity or destruction, as the species ventures into a new millennium.